A Book Nook is long past due here at Lemon Drop Pie! I’ve written about Tomie dePaola before, as he is one of my favorite authors and illustrators. When I was teaching second grade, his book The Art Lesson was in our reading series. After reading The Art Lesson, my second graders would each write a letter to Mr. dePaola, and I would mail them to his publisher. A couple of weeks later, we would receive a class set of bookmarks and a personalized letter from Mr. dePaola. My students loved hearing back from a real, live author!
Tomie dePaola is still writing and still drawing, and he’s still connecting with children in the classroom. All you have to do is read Tomie’s blog, and you will see pictures drawn by children who love his books. (I was even mentioned once in Tomie’s blog — I have gushing book nerd potential.)
Through Tomie’s blog, I found a wonderful resource for parents: Barnes and Noble Storytime. During January, you can hear Tomie dePaola read his book, Strega Nona. Other months have featured authors such as Jan Brett (The Mitten) and Judy Viorst (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.) Just click “See More Storytime Videos” under the video of Strega Nona, and you can view other books read by the authors or a celebrity reader.
The girls have watched Strega Nona a couple of times now, and if you visit us, you just may hear someone saying “We must protect our town from the pasta!” in a dramatic voice. I would also be remiss if I did not mention the lastest honor Mr. dePaola has received: the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award! Congratulations, Mr. dePaola, from this gushing book nerd!
My daughter is a big Olivia fan! My first job ever was working in the Children's room at the Mead Public Library. Tommy DiPaola's books were always a hit!BTW, I'm sending the "Stylish Blogger Award" your way!
I love when authors do that kind of thing! I enjoyed his books with my kids very much!
We are huge Tomie fans! Strega Nona, Old Befana. Since we're Catholic, I love that he writes such excellent books about the lives of Saints – the one about The Lady of Guadalupe and the one on St. Patrick are particularly wonderful. I'm so jealous that Tomie WROTE ABOUT YOU!
Hi Ginny, Well, well, I used to teach second grade also! I found my students always enjoyed Tomie dePaola's books. I'll have to check out his blog sometime. (by the way, pretty impressive you were once mentioned in it!)
Love Tomie dePaola! When I taught second grade we always did an author study featuring his books. They are truly special. {saw your link on SITS and had to pop over to give a shout-out to dePaola!}
This is great! I am going to have to check that out. Thanks for letting everyone know.
Oh yes! I remember your first post about him. You introduced us to him and my kids LOVE his books! We recently read a sweet book with amazing art called Mad At Mommy by Komako Sakai. We all recommend it!
Catching up on neglected links after my family's sickest month on record! Thanks for linking up at Feed Me Books Friday!I love those Barnes and Noble videos – awesome for a quick attention holder!