Tomie dePaola is an extremely well-published children’s author, who has been producing published works for over 40 years. Growing up in a home where reading, writing, and illustrating were encouraged, he has been in love with this art form for nearly his entire life. He writes mostly narrative stories about different parts of his own childhood and family and other stories about different cultures. His illustrations are recognizable in all of his books, and he still continues to write and illustrate from his home in New Hampshire at the age of 78 years old with his beloved dog, Bronte.
I have never heard of Tomie dePaola before! Wow, I can’t believe he is still writing! He seems like quite an accomplished writer, with all the awards he has earned. I like the themes that you mention he writes about, such as cultural celebrations, family life and legends. I think these could be great books to read to children to teach them about diversity and other peoples traditions. I also love the use of imagery and metaphor that you point out are some of his writerly techniques. I definitely would like to introduce my students to Tomie dePaola!
I, too, have never heard of Tomie dePaolo either. It’s nice to see that he’s getting great recognition while he’s still alive. I like that he write about his own life and also about other cultures. His stories can be usde to teach about different cultures and acceptance. I bet I’ve read some of his books and don’t even know.