She writes from her memories as a little girl afraid of the thunder and lightning at her grandma's farm in Michigan. Thunder Cake, One of my favorite books by Patrica Polacco, is one you should bring out when teaching kids about writing personal narratives.

Kudos to Polacco for not only overcoming her challenges, but for shedding some valuable light on a disability that affects about 15% of the population. It simply means that they learn a different way. She goes on to say on her author page, that being dyslexic or learning disabled does not mean that a person is any less intelligent than those around her. One day, her teacher, who she calls one of her heroes, found out what was causing her difficulty and took the steps that were needed to get Polacco the help she needed to overcome her dyslexia. She felt so inadequate because all the other kids in her class were reading. The most interesting thing about Polacco, is that she did not learn how to read until she was 14. She believes her grandparents formed who she is today. Much of her time was spent with her grandparents and, if you look at her book illustrations, you can see that many of her books feature a young girl with an elderly character.

Looks like a storm coming to me.''Īnd so it begins as Patricia Polacco digs deep into the bright and sunny attic of her mind and shares with us snippets of what life was genuinely like for her growing up. 'Grandma looked at the horizon, drew a deep breath and said, 'This is Thunder Cake baking weather, all right.

Thunder cake book