Tomie dePaola is my all-time favorite children’s author. He has written and illustrated over 200 books that children continue to enjoy. I was saddened to hear about his death in March of 2020, at the onset of the pandemic. What a great loss to children’s literature!
At the end of each school year, we usually did an author study for about four weeks. Each teacher would pick their own favorite author and sometimes teachers would collaborate and share their author study ideas and projects.
Every year I chose Tomie dePaola. From his Strega Nona stories to his memoirs like The Art Lesson, Pancakes for Breakfast, Tom and Nana Upstairs, Downstairs he never disappoints. This is just a fragment of the books he has written. His collection includes nursery rhymes, legends and fables and encouraging books on friendship such as Oliver Button is a Sissy.
During our author study, we would organize the books by category and take time to explore each one. During that month, students were encouraged to read his stories in the bins scattered throughout the classroom.
a A
A great story to teach children about feelings.
Tomie dePaola has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators where he received a Lifetime Achievement Award. The American Library Association honored him with the Caldecott Honor and Newberry Honor awards, as well as the Children’s Literature Legacy Award (Laura Ingalls Wilder Award) for his lasting contribution to literature for children.
Loved by all children
During his career, he received honorary doctorates from Pratt Institute and Georgetown University. In 2012, Pratt Institute named him one of the top 125 Pratt icons of all time. In addition, he was selected for the New Hampshire Governor’s Arts Award of Living Treasure in 1999. He lived in New Hampshire and worked in his 200-year old renovated barn until his death.
One book that clearly denotes how Tomie got started is the Art Lesson, where he writes a story about his own experience going to school and working within limits in an art class, until his teacher gives him opportunities to express himself. He continues to recall details of his childhood in story form in the books, Tom and Nana Upstairs, Downstairs. Children will be fascinated with these stories, especially if they are introduced at an early age to his nursery rhyme collection.
Tomie dePaola also wrote information story books which can be used to teach children about Clouds (The Cloud Book), Popcorn (The Popcorn Book), Making Bubbles (The Bubble Factory). These books allow you the opportunity to show students that information can be gained in a story book that explains a non-fiction topic. These books are a perfect Segway, when introducing a non-fiction unit of study to students. Children love non-fiction books and the characters in these stories will bring them into these topics through illustrations and fact boxes that will familiarize them with non-fiction type books.
Because of my interest in his work and my classroom experience studying him and his collection, I have decided to put some of these lesson ideas on Elly Elementary. You can visit my store, Elly Elementary to see the full list which includes:
. Legends (including Legend of the Indian Paintbrush and Legend of the Poinsettia)
. Strega Nona stories (his most loved character and an opportunity to learn some Italian words too)
In addition, on my store you will see the complete collection unit on Tomie dePaola which can be used as an author study. In my store, I have also included a unit on Erandi’s Braids, which he did not write, but illustrated. In this book, you notice the similarities in his drawings.
Tomie dePaola will always be considered one of the best children’s author and illustrator. I hope to continue to enjoy his stories and to pass them down to my own grandchildren. They can learn about different genres and even discover some of Calabria, where their ancestors are from, through Strega Nona.
Please visit my store and my blog, Elly Elementary, for more education fun.
What is your favorite Tomie dePaola book? Please comment below.
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