My Favorite Children's Author!

If you ask any of my former students who my favorite author is, most would tell you that it is Tomie de Paola.  And that would be correct.  I love Tomie de Paola!  With over 1200 children's books by many authors in my personal library, I could choose many to share - and I always did.  But my Tomie de Paola books are the ones that I would always reach for when I wanted to really share the love of reading, especially through reading aloud.  The first day of school book was always The Art Lesson.  It is more than a book about school experiences.  It is a wonderful lesson that in life.  We can always be true to ourselves and hold to what is right, whatever the circumstance.

Tomie has written over 200 books.  Be sure to visit Tomie's two sites:  The Official Tomie de Paola Blog and Tomie's Official Website.   They are both as wonderful as his books.  In the meantime, here are just a few of my favorites that you may enjoy! 

• Pancakes for Breakfast – A wonderful wordless book!  Let the children tell the story or wite their own to go with Tomie’s pictures!
• The Baby Sister – Tomie is getting a baby sister!  If there is a new sibling in your family, this is a must!
• All of the Strega Nona books – Tomie’s wonderful character, Strega Nona, has many great books written about her.  A new one, Strega Nona’s Gift is due out October 18, 2011.
• 26 Fairmount Avenue – This is the first in Tomie’s series of 5 chapter books that are just right for reading aloud or for early chapter book readers.
• Country Angel Christmas – A lovely story for Tomie’s favorite holiday!
• Meet the Barkers: Morgan & Moffat Go to School – Meet the twin Airedales as they head to school!



Image of Strega Nona copyright © Tomie dePaola. All rights reserved