Mommies Say Shhh!

Patricia Polacco was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1944. Soon after her birth, she lived in Williamston, Michigan, and then moved onto her grandparents’ farm in Union City, Michigan. She lived on the farm with her mom and grandparents until 1949. Her parents divorced when she was 3, and she spent the school year with her mother and the summers with her dad.

Patricia spent almost 37 years living in Oakland, California. She wasn’t a very good student in elementary school, struggling with reading and math until she was diagnosed with dyslexia at fourteen. She went on to University, majored in Fine Art, then went on to do a graduate degree and even ended up with a Ph.D. in Art History. For a time, she restored ancient pieces of art for museums. She eventually became the mother of two children, Steven and Traci, and devoted much of her days to their education and upbringing.

She did not start writing children’s books until she was 41 years old. She is of Russian and Ukrainian descent on one side and Irish on the other. She describes her family members as marvelous storytellers, with fond memories of listening to them tell glorious stories about their homeland and the past.

Patricia Polacco has earned an M.F.A. and a Ph. D. in art history, specializing in Russian and Greek painting, and iconographic history. The mother of a grown son and a daughter, Patricia Polacco currently resides in Michigan, where she has an old farm.

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