I read an Overdrive edition e-book borrowed from my public library. The hardcover was on its way but I chose not to wait for it.

I love the art in this book. I enjoyed it even more than I have in most of this author/illustrator’s books.

This autobiographical story partly revisits some of the people who appeared in the book The Junkyard Wonders ([book:The Junkyard Wonders|7692533]). I like the two particular children and the threesome made for a lovely friendship. I was not expecting revisiting them and since the author did I wanted even more than this snapshot in time, even though she did give follow up information. While I’m sure there are tons more stories within Polacco’s stories I was expecting something new and since I’d met these people before I guess I was hoping for an even more in depth account.

The severe verbal and physical bullying that happens left me feeling sick, especially since there seemed to be no adult intervention and no consequences for the bully. Like Polacco, I hope that the bully ended up changing his ways. I am curious and I would like to know about how his life has gone. These heartfelt Polacco books often have me in tears or near tears or at least highly emotional. Interestingly, this one did too but even more so about the bullying than about the eventual wonderful response to the bullying.

I love that Polacco dedicates the book to one of her friends in it and to “all of those who march to the beat of a different drum” and how in the Author’s Note at the end she gives encouragement to kids who like herself and her two friends in the book might be “different” and she encourages them to follow their own dreams and tells them “Your heart knows the way!”

Most of all this is a wonderful friendship story.

Highly recommended for children who enjoy ballet dancing, enjoy art, have unusual interests, who are bullied, and definitely for those who bully others, and those looking for friendship stories. This would make a perfect group read aloud book in classrooms, story time at libraries, in families, and in mental health treatment centers/offices.

I am a huge [author:Patricia Polacco|46688] fan. I’ve read every single one of her books and I’m hoping that there will be many more books forthcoming. I frequently check for the next book(s) to be published. I don’t see any newer ones yet. ( )

In her 2010 picture-book, The Junkyard Wonders, author/artist Patricia Polacco described her experiences in a special education class run by inspirational teacher Mrs. Peterson. Many of the children in that class went on to do great things - work for Nasa, become a fashion designer, work as the artistic director of the American School of Ballet. In this latest title, published earlier this month (October, 2020), Polacco again revisits her youth, and her friendship with two of those students: Thom, a young boy who loves ballet, and is bullied for being a "sissy," and Ravanne, an almost-silent young girl whose fabric art is astonishing. Together, the three friends form a tight-knit group, and fiery Trisha (Polacco herself) is the most vocal in standing up to bully Billy. In the end however, it is Thom himself who is the bravest, performing a piece from Swan Lake at the school talent show, despite the initial ridicule with which he is greeted, as a boy ballet dancer...

Sticks and Stones is the sixty-ninth picture-book I have read from the prolific Polacco, sixty-eight of which she also wrote, one (Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888) that she illustrated. Of all of her books, there is only one - Still Firetalking, the second of her autobiographies - that I have not yet had the chance to read. Being thus familiar with her work, it came as no surprise to me that she would draw upon her own rich life story, in this newest tale. It is astonishing, the wealth of family and friends that Polacco has had, and the many interesting stories they have provided. Here she explores themes of friendship, difference, bullying, and gender. Gender, because part of what sets Thom apart is that his passion for ballet is considered less than masculine by some of his peers. I do not know if this has been a problem in other cultures - I think it has, to some extent, in the UK, given stories I have read where young boy ballet dancers faced familial opposition - but it certainly was in the American culture of my own youth, and of Polacco's. I think, happily, that this is changing, but in the time being depicted, a boy interested in ballet would have been a target for insecure bullies like Billy.

I found the story here engaging, and the artwork appealing, despite the fact that Polacco's style isn't always a personal favorite. I appreciated the autumn scenes in particular, with the vivid fall colors, and that the three friends are shown trick-or-treating, in their creative costumes. This is very text-heavy for a picture-book, like so many of Polacco's others, so I wouldn't recommend it for younger children, but rather for older audiences with a longer attention span, perhaps six and above. It can be used to start a discussion of the themes of bullying, friendship, and courage. ( )