A quiet rural community is dramatically changed when a meteor crashes down in the front yard of the Gaw family.

This book is based on a true story of a meteor that fell on a farm in the town of Union City, Michigan. The original meteor of this story resides in Riverside Cemetery as a family marker.

I thought the book Meteor! was quit funny in that the entire event grows as if a group of children are playing the game telephone!

Curriculum connection: Use a Critical Thinking Interactive Read Aloud of Meteor! by Patricia Polacco which will provide the thought-provoking questions essential to every interactive read aloud. Your students will soon be in deep discussions, ranging from plot analysis to author’s message exploration.

This is the beginning, first work of Polacco, and her artistry and magic shines This is the beginning, first work of Polacco, and her artistry and magic shines through. A story of a meteor that suddenly, loudly falls from the sky, right smack Dab in her grand parents back yard farm in small-town Gaw Michigan. The front door was blown away, the china dishes were smashed, the furniture was overturned, the roof was blown away, the farm animals were scattered, and any little or large event that happened as a result of the meteor became larger than life.

I love the way in which Polacco depicts the togetherness of the small-town atmosphere, how everyone knows each other, how gossip and/or information carries fast via word of mouth.

Each person who touched the meteor claims to have experienced extra strength and energy, and any talent that was with the person became more special, and illness was gone, and good, special occurences happened to all who touched the meteor. In truth, the year of the occurrence, folks left the Gaw farm feeling something very uniquely special occured. Landing in small-town Union City, Michigan, the Union City school band won the State Chamionship that year. Marietta Krimmel's currant-blueberry pie won first place in the county fair. Hollis d. Lonsberry's best hog, Herman, won Best-Of-Whos at the Iona Fair.

How I loved this tale of a smal-l town occurrence rendered into a big deal of an event. The specialness of something traveling through space many, many miles away that came crashing to earth and landed in a back yard truly was/is something very rare.

Polacco notes at the end of the story that the meteor remained in the back yard, right near the house for many years. It was removed to a beautiful, peaceful hillside overloking the St. Joseph ?river and became her grandparent's headstone. It remains there today. ( )

The story of a meteorite that landed in a family's front yard. It's very well told. Full of rich, descriptive language and colorful dialogue, ths book is a crowd pleaser. ( )