Thomas Anthony "Tomie" dePaola (; September 15, 1934 – March 30, 2020) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

writer and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

who created more than 260

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

, such as '' Strega Nona''. He received the

Children's Literature Legacy Award The Children's Literature Legacy Award (known as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal until 2018) is a prize awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to writers or illustrat ...

for his lifetime contribution to American children's literature in 2011.

Early life and education

DePaola was born in

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

heritage, the son of Joseph and Florence May (Downey) DePaola. He had one brother, Joseph (nicknamed Buddy), and two sisters, Judie and Maureen. His paternal grandparents originated from

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, where he set his well-known book ''Strega Nona''. His book ''The Baby Sister'' is about Maureen being born. DePaola was attracted to art at the age of four, and credited his family with encouraging his development as an artist and influencing the themes of his works. After high school, dePaola studied art at the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and graduated in 1956 with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

degree. He was a pupil and lifelong friend of Roger Crossgrove.

Career

Teaching

DePaola taught art at

Newton College of the Sacred Heart Newton College of the Sacred Heart was a small women's liberal arts college in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. It opened in 1946 and merged with Boston College in June 1974. The college was highly regarded during its time, and in 1971 founded the ...

outside Boston from 1962 to 1966, then moved to California, where he taught at San Francisco College for Women from 1967 to 1970. He received a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

degree from

California College of Arts and Crafts California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...

in 1969 and a doctoral equivalency from

Lone Mountain College Lone Mountain College was a college acquired by the University of San Francisco (USF) in 1978. History It was built and founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart as Sacred Heart Academy in Menlo Park, California, in 1898. The school became ...

in San Francisco. DePaola relocated to New England in the 1970s, teaching art at Chamberlayne Junior College in Boston from 1972 to 1973. From 1973 to 1976 he worked at Colby-Sawyer College in

New London, New Hampshire New London is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,400 at the 2020 census. The town is the home of Colby–Sawyer College. The town center, where 1,266 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as t ...

, as an associate professor, designer, and technical director in the speech and theater department and as writer and set and costume designer for the Children's Theatre Project. He taught art at

New England College New England College (NEC) is a private liberal arts college in Henniker, New Hampshire. As of Fall 2020 New England College's enrollment was 4,327 students (1,776 undergraduate and 2,551 graduate). The college is regionally accredited by the Ne ...

Henniker, New Hampshire Henniker is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, the reported total population of the town was 6,185, although the figure, 27.9% greater than the 2010 population, has been questioned by local officials. ...

, from 1976 to 1978. DePaola retired from full-time teaching in 1978 to devote his time to writing and illustrating books. He provided illustrations for ''Maggie and the Monster Baby'' (Holiday House, 1987) by

Elizabeth Winthrop Elizabeth Winthrop ( Alsop; born September 14, 1948) is an American writer, the author of more than sixty published books, primarily children's fiction. She is best known for the classic middle-grade novel, '' The Castle in the Attic'' and its s ...

Writing

The first published book that dePaola illustrated was a 1965 volume in the

Coward-McCann G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and J ...

series "Science is what and why": ''Sound'', written by Lisa Miller. The first that he wrote and illustrated was ''The Wonderful Dragon of Timlin'', published by

Bobbs-Merrill The Bobbs-Merrill Company was a book publisher located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Company history The company began in 1850 October 3 when Samuel Merrill bought an Indianapolis bookstore and entered the publishing business. After his death in 1 ...

in 1966. His writing career spanned over 50 years during which he worked on more than 270 books. Close to 25 million copies of his books were sold worldwide, and were translated into over 20 languages. Perhaps his most well-known work, ''Strega Nona'', was first published in 1975 and was a finalist for the coveted

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

for best illustrated work.

Television

DePaola appeared in several episodes of ''

Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomorp ...

'' as himself. In 2001 he also appeared as himself in the

Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

series ''

Telling Stories with Tomie dePaola ''Telling Stories with Tomie dePaola'' is a 2001 children's television series produced by The Jim Henson Company. Plot This show is about Tomie dePaola and his squirrel sidekick Gabe who present stories revolving around his storybook characters. ...

''.

Exhibitions

DePaola had two exhibitions in 2013-2014 at the Colby-Sawyer College. The first, called "Then" showed his early work during his formative years at the Pratt Institute and the influence Fra Angelico, George Roualt and others had on him. The second exhibition was of his later work, called "Now," came out close to dePaola's 80th birthday.

Personal life and death

DePaola was gay. He came out later in his life, telling ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...

'' in 2019 that, for much of his career, "If it became known you were gay, you’d have a big red ‘G’ on your chest... and schools wouldn’t buy your books anymore." DePaola had resided in

, where he taught from 1973 to 1976. DePaola died at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center on March 30, 2020, in

Lebanon, New Hampshire Lebanon is a city in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 14,282 at the 2020 census, up from 13,151 at the 2010 census. Lebanon is in western New Hampshire, south of Hanover, near the Connecticut River. It is the home ...

, according to his literary agent, Doug Whiteman. He was badly injured in a fall in his barn studio the previous week and died of complications following surgery. He was survived by his two sisters Judith and Maureen (the latter being his best friend) and many nieces and nephews.

Awards and honors

In 2011 dePaola received the biennial

from the U.S. children's librarians, which recognizes a living author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made "a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children". The committee noted the wide range of his stories and his "innate understanding of childhood, a distinctive visual style, and a remarkable ability to adapt his voice to perfectly suit the story." It called Strega Nona, the wise Grandma Witch, "an enduring character who has charmed generations of children." The Pratt Institute honored him with an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

on May 18, 2009. The

New Hampshire Institute of Art The New Hampshire Institute of Art (NHIA) was a private art school in Manchester, New Hampshire. It was accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) a ...

honored him with an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts on May 20, 2018. For his contribution as a children's illustrator, dePaola was the U.S. nominee in 1990 for the biennial, international

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

, the highest international recognition for creators of children's books. For single works he has won the 1983

Golden Kite Award The Golden Kite Awards are given annually by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an international children's writing organization, to recognize excellence in children’s literature. The award is a golden medallion showing a ...

, Picture Book Illustration, from the

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization that acts as a network for the exchange of knowledge between writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers ...

for ''Giorgio's Village'', which he also wrote. He won the 1994 Aesop Prize from the

American Folklore Society The American Folklore Society (AFS) is the US-based professional association for folklorists, with members from the US, Canada, and around the world, which aims to encourage research, aid in disseminating that research, promote the responsible ...

for ''Christopher, the Holy Giant'' and the 2000 Southwest Book Award from the

Border Regional Library Association The Border Regional Library Association (B.R.L.A.) promotes libraries and librarianship in the tri-border region of West Texas, Southern New Mexico and Northern Chihuahua, Mexico. The non-profit organization was founded in 1966 and, as of 2009, ha ...

for ''Night of Las Posadas''."BRLA 2000 Southwest Book Awards." ''Border Regional Library Association''. 2008. Retrieved 2009-07-26. DePaola received a Caldecott Honor in 1976 (Strega Nona), the 1982

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

(''The Friendly Beasts: An Old English Christmas Carol''), the 1987 Golden Kite Award (''What the Mailman Brought''), and the 2000

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

('' 26 Fairmount Avenue''). The Caldecott and Newbery Medals are the premier annual American Library Association awards for picture book illustration and children's book writing respectively. He won the 2000 Jeremiah Ludington Memorial Award from the Educational Paperback Association for his cumulative "significant contribution to the educational paperback business".

Selected Works

Strega Nona series

*'' Strega Nona'' (1975) *''Big Anthony and the Magic Ring'' (1979) *''Strega Nona's Magic Lessons'' (1982) *''Merry Christmas, Strega Nona'' (1986) *''Strega Nona Meets Her Match'' (1993) *''Strega Nona—Her Story'' (1996) *''Big Anthony—His Story'' (1998) *''Strega Nona Takes a Vacation'' (2000) *''Brava, Strega Nona!: A Heartwarming Pop-Up Book'' (2008) *''Strega Nona's Harvest'' (2009) *''Strega Nona's Gift'' (2011) *''Strega Nona Does It Again'' (2013) *''Strega Nona and Her Tomatoes'' (2017) – a Ready-to-Read book *''Strega Nona and the Twins'' (2017) – a Ready-to-Read book

Memoir series (first chapter book)

*'' 26 Fairmount Avenue'' *''Here We All Are'' *''On My Way '' *''What a Year'' *''Things Will Never Be the Same'' (The War Years) *''I'm Still Scared'' (The War Years) *''Why?'' (The War Years) *''For the Duration'' (The War Years)

Big Books

*''Front Porch Tales and North Country Whoppers'' *''Christmas Remembered'' *''Tomie dePaola's Big Book of Favorite Legends'' *''Tomie dePaola's Book of Bible Stories'' *''Tomie dePaola's Favorite Nursery Tales'' *''Tomie dePaola's Mother Goose''

About growing up and his family

*'' The Art Lesson'' *''The Baby Sister'' *'' Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs'' *''Stagestruck'' *''Tom'' *''Tony's Bread'' *''Watch Out for the Chicken Feet in Your Soup''

Bill and Pete books

*''Bill and Pete'' *''Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile'' *''Bill and Pete to the Rescue''

The Barkers

*''Boss for a Day'' *''Hide and Seek All Week'' *''Meet the Barkers'' *''Morgan and Moffat Go to School'' *''A New Barker in the House'' *''Trouble in the Barker's Class''

Board books for the very young

*''I Love You Sun, I Love You Moon'' *''Marcos Counts'' *''

Mary Had a Little Lamb "Mary Had a Little Lamb" is an English language nursery rhyme of nineteenth-century American origin, first published by American writer Sarah Josepha Hale in 1830. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7622. Background The nursery rhyme was ...

'' *''Mice Squeak We Speak'' *''Tomie's Little Book of Love'' *''Tomie's Baa Baa Black Sheep'' *''Tomie's Little Book of Poems'' *''Tomie's Little Mother Goose'' *''Tomie's Mother Goose Flies Again'' *''Tomie's Three Bears and Other Tales''

Video (in DVD format)

*''Tomie Live in Concert'' *''Oliver Button is a Star''

Legends, folktales and stories

*''Adelita A Mexican Cinderella Story, a version of

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' *''Alice Nizzy Nazzy: The Witch of Santa Fe'' *''Andy That's My Name'' *''”Charlie Needs a Cloak”'' *''The Cloud Book'' *''The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard'' *''Cookie's Week'' *''Days of the Blackbird'' *''Erandi's Braids'' *''Fin M'Coul'' *''Four Friends at Christmas'' *''Four Friends in Autumn'' *''Four Friends in Summer'' *''Four Stories for Four Seasons'' *''Helga's Dowry'' *''Hey Diddle Diddle and Other Mother Goose Rhymes'' *''Hunter and the Animals'' *''I Love You, Mouse'' *''Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato'' *''Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka'' *''Knight and the Dragon'' *''Legend of the Bluebonnet'' *''Legend of the Indian Paintbrush'' *''Legend of the Persian Carpet'' *'' Little Grunt and the Big Egg'' *''Mice Squeak We Speak'' *''Michael Bird-Boy'' *''Mr. Satie and the Great Art Contest'' *''Mysterious Giant of Barletta'' *''Now One Foot, Now the Other'' *''Oliver Button is a Sissy'' *''Pancakes for Breakfast'' *''The Popcorn Book'' *''The Quicksand Book'' *''The Quilt Story'' *''Smart about Art: Frida Kahlo'' *''Shh! We're Writing the Constitution'' *''T-Rex Is Missing'' *''The Tale of Rabbit and Coyote'' *''The Wind and the Sun'', a retelling of the fable ''

The North Wind and the Sun The North Wind and the Sun is one of Aesop's Fables (Perry Index 46). It is type 298 (Wind and Sun) in the Aarne–Thompson folktale classification. The moral it teaches about the superiority of persuasion over force has made the story widely know ...

Religious or holiday stories

*''Angels Angels Everywhere'' *''The Birds of Bethlehem'' *''The Cat on the Dovrefell: A Christmas Tale'' *''Christina's Carol'' *''Christopher the Holy Giant'' *''The Clown of God'' *''Country Angel Christmas'' *''The First Christmas'' *''Francis Poor Man of Assisi'' *''The Friendly Beasts: An Old English Christmas Carol'' *''Get Dressed Santa'' *''The Good Samaritan and Other Parables'' *''Guess Who's Coming to Santa's for Dinner?'' *''Hark! A Christmas Sampler'' (written by Jane Yolen) *''Hurry, Santa!'' *''The Holy Twins'' *''Jingle the Christmas Clown'' *''Joy to the World: Tomie's Christmas Stories' *''The Lady of Guadalupe'' *''The Legend of Old Befana'', concerning a witch (known as ''

Befana In Italian folklore, the Befana () is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to Santa Claus or the Three Magi Kings.Illes, Judika. ''Encyclopedia of Spirits: The U ...

'') who brings presents to good children on

Epiphany Eve Twelfth Night (also known as Epiphany Eve) is a Christian festival on the last night of the Twelve Days of Christmas, marking the coming of the Epiphany. Different traditions mark the date of Twelfth Night as either or , depending on whether ...

(the night of January 5) *''Legend of the Poinsettia'' *''Let The Whole Earth Sing Praise'' *''Mary, the Mother of Jesus'' *''

Miracles of Jesus The miracles of Jesus are miraculous deeds attributed to Jesus in Christian and Islamic texts. The majority are faith healings, exorcisms, resurrections, and control over nature. In the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), Jesus refuse ...

'' *''Miracle on 34th Street, illustrator, 1984'' *''My First Chanukah'' *''My First Christmas'' *''My First Easter'' *''My First Halloween'' *''My First Passover'' *''My First Thanksgiving'' *''

The Night before Christmas ''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', more commonly known as ''The Night Before Christmas'' and ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title ''Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas'' i ...

'' *''The Night of Las Posadas'' *''

Parables of Jesus The parables of Jesus are found in the Synoptic Gospels and some of the non-canonical gospels. They form approximately one third of his recorded teachings. Christians place great emphasis on these parables, which they generally regard as the word ...

'' *''Pascual and the Kitchen Angels'' *''Patrick Patron Saint of Ireland'' *''Petook: The Rooster Who Met Jesus'' (text by

Caryll Houselander Caryll Houselander (29 September 1901 – 12 October 1954) was a British lay Roman Catholic ecclesiastical artist, mystic, popular religious writer and poet. Early life Born in Bath, England, Houselander was the second of two daughters of Wilmo ...

) *''Queen Esther'' *''The Song of Francis'' *''The Story of the Three Wise Kings'' *''Tomie DePaola's Christmas Tree Book'' *''Tomie's Little Christmas Pageant''

Fine art

*Station of the Cross (Set of 14) in Abbey Church of Our Lady of Glastonbury,

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,284. Hingham is known for its colonial history and location on B ...

*Depiction of St. Benedict in Abbey Church of Our Lady of Glastonbury, Hingham, Massachusetts *Frescoes in Refectory of Glastonbury Abbey, Hingham, Massachusetts *Dominican Retreat and Conference Center Chapel Mural,

Niskayuna, New York Niskayuna is a town in Schenectady County, New York, United States. The population was 23,278 at the 2020 census. The town is located in the southeast part of the county, east of the city of Schenectady, and is the easternmost town in the county. ...

*Depiction of Mary and Child, Chapel and Cultural Center, Troy, NY

References

External links

*
Tomie dePaola Collection
at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

's Archives & Special Collections
"David Wiesner and Tomie dePaola" by Stacy Patterson
—with bibliography; evidently the sample course paper for INLS 890-087, A Child's Introduction to Reading, UNC School of Information and Library Science, Spring 2008
Tomie dePaola
at

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Authorities —with 288 catalog records
Interview with Tomie dePaola
about Children's Theatre production of Mother Goose, ''All About Kids! TV Series'' #43 (1990) {{DEFAULTSORT:Depaola, Tomie 1934 births 2020 deaths American children's writers American gay writers American children's book illustrators Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal winners Newbery Honor winners California College of the Arts alumni Pratt Institute alumni University of San Francisco alumni New England College faculty People from Meriden, Connecticut Writers from Connecticut Writers from New Hampshire American writers of Italian descent American people of Irish descent 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers LGBT people from New Hampshire Colby–Sawyer College faculty People from New London, New Hampshire Accidental deaths in New Hampshire 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Accidental deaths from falls Gay artists Newton College of the Sacred Heart faculty Caldecott Honor winners