Tomie dePaola author page

Tomie dePaola biography

Tomie dePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1934, to a family of Irish and Italian background. He studied art at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, earning a BFA, and later earned an MFA from the California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland, California. He illustrated his first children’s book in 1965 and went on to write and illustrate books for young readers.

His books include the Strega Nona series, 26 Fairmount Avenue and The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. Strega Nona, published in 1975, received a Caldecott Honor. 26 Fairmount Avenue received a Newbery Honor and is part of a series in which dePaola recounts his own childhood.

DePaola received the Smithsonian Medal, the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota, the Catholic Library Association’s Regina Medal and the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion. He was the United States nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustration in 1990. He received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for lifetime contribution to children’s literature in 2011.

DePaola wrote and/or illustrated more than 250 books for children. The Magical World of Strega Nona: a Treasury, published on 27 October 2015, brought together six Strega Nona stories with new introductions by dePaola.