Tomie dePaola

Tomie dePaola (born September 15, 1934, Meriden, Connecticut, U.S.—died March 30, 2020, Lebanon, New Hampshire) was an American author and illustrator who illustrated 268 children’s books, many of which he wrote. He also wrote but did not illustrate three books. His accomplishments earned him the 1981 Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota, the 1983 Regina Medal from the Catholic Library Association, the 2011 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (now the Children’s Literature Legacy Award), and many other honours. In 1990 he was the U.S. nominee for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award.

DePaola was born into a family of Italian and Irish descent. His father was a barber, and his mother was a homemaker. He grew up knowing that he wanted to become an artist and left his small hometown (Meriden, Connecticut) after high school to attend the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Between his junior and senior years, he received a scholarship for summer study in Maine with artist Ben Shahn. After graduating from Pratt in 1956, dePaola spent time in a monastery and then turned to jobs such as mural painting, designing greeting cards and stage sets, and teaching. He received a master’s degree from the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1969 and earned a doctoral equivalency from Lone Mountain College in San Francisco in 1970.

DePaola debuted as an illustrator of children’s books with Sound (1965), written by Lisa Miller. He went on to work with many other authors, including Sam and Beryl Epstein (Take This Hammer, 1969), Nancy Willard (Simple Pictures Are Best, 1977), Jane Yolen (The Giants Go Camping, 1979), Patricia MacLachlan (Moon, Stars, Frogs and Friends, 1980), Tony Johnston (The Quilt Story, 1985), Jean Fritz (Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution, 1987), Cindy Ward (Cookie’s Week, 1988), Jane O’Connor (Benny’s Big Bubble, 1997), and Cheryl B. Klein (Wings, 2019).

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DePaola was a runner-up for the 1976 Caldecott Medal for Strega Nona (1975), a self-illustrated retelling of a folktale about a magic pasta pot. The popularity of the book led to several sequels involving the same grandmotherly character, Strega Nona (Italian: “Grandma Witch”), including Strega Nona’s Magic Lessons (1982), Strega Nona Meets Her Match (1993), Strega Nona: Her Story (1996), Strega Nona Takes a Vacation (2000), Strega Nona’s Gift (2011), Strega Nona Does It Again (2013), and Strega Nona and the Twins (2017). In 2000 26 Fairmount Avenue (1999) was named a Newbery Honor Book.

DePaola’s writings covered a wide range of subjects. Some books were autobiographical, and others reflected his Irish-Italian heritage. His publications, most of which were self-illustrated, include Watch Out for the Chicken Feet in Your Soup (1974), Helga’s Dowry: A Troll Love Story (1977), Giorgio’s Village (1982), Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile (1987), Get Dressed, Santa! (1996), Guess Who’s Coming to Santa’s for Dinner? (2004), My Mother Is So Smart! (2010), and Quiet (2018). Beginning in 1985 with Tomie dePaola’s Mother Goose and running through the early 21st century with titles such as Tomie dePaola’s Front Porch Tales & North Country Whoppers (2007), DePaola created a series of anthologies collecting nursery rhymes, legends, Bible stories, poems, and Christmas carols.