The Blessing Cup: Polacco And Her Family of Storytellers
Though Polacco has written more than 90 children stories, she did not begin writing until she reached her 40s. Partly, she says, because of her struggle with many learning disabilities growing up, including dyslexia.
She struggled with her disorders for a long time, though she said she was always good with spoken word, having come from a family of great storytellers. "But as far as reading them or writing them down, that was an enormous struggle," she said.
Nearly three decades ago, Polacco's mother financed a trip for her to go to Manhattan to try to get a publishing deal. Polacco set up 16 meetings in one week, bringing seven or eight of her books with her. By the end of that week, she had submitted every one of them, and her career was about to begin.
"Every one of them grabbed a book," she said, "And the rest is history."