Tomie
DePaola
From the time he could
hold a pencil, the legendary writer and illustrator Tomie dePaola (pronounced
“de powla”) knew that he wanted to be an artist. But it wasn’t until
1965 after years of teaching, designing greeting cards and stage sets and
painting church murals that he realized his dream by illustrating his first
children’s book. Since then, he has published over 200 books in fifteen
different countries. In his unmistakably classic style, he has created a steady
stream of richly illustrated and extremely popular narratives that speak to
experiences of childhood, life’s changes, spirituality, and family
relationships.
He is both one of the
most popular and critically acclaimed children’s illustrators and writers of
our time. He was awarded a Caldecott Honor for the ever-popular Strega Nona,
a Newbery Honor for
In 1990 he was selected
the American nominee in illustration for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and
for his body of work he has received the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the
University of Southern Mississippi Medallion, and, most recently, a Lifetime
Achievement Award from the New Hampshire Writers’ Project.
His books have made the
“Children’s Choices” lists thirteen times. As he himself has revealed, his
success can be attributed to his rediscovery, in the early 1970s, of his sense
of himself as a child. He has said, “I re-met my child and let it live again,
and then…I took the risk of telling the truth.”