Tomie dePaola was a prolific children's author and illustrator whose career spanned five decades, producing more than 270 books. He gained widespread acclaim for beloved titles such as "Strega Nona," "26 Fairmount Avenue," and "Meet the Barkers." His contributions to children's literature earned him prestigious honors, including the Caldecott Honor Award, the Newbery Honor Award, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award. DePaola's works have been cherished by generations of young readers, with over five million copies sold worldwide and translations published in fifteen countries.
Born in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1934 to an Irish-Italian family, dePaola knew from an early age that he wanted to dedicate his life to creating books for children. He pursued formal training with a BFA from Pratt Institute and an MFA from the California College of Arts & Crafts. Before focusing exclusively on children's literature, he worked as a teacher, greeting card designer, and muralist. His distinctive artistic style, influenced by masters like Fra Angelico and Ben Shahn, became recognizable for its vibrant color, meticulous detail, and expressive linework. Beyond the Caldecott and Newbery honors, he received the Smithsonian Medal, the Kerlan Award, and the Regina Medal, among others, solidifying his legacy as a luminary in children's publishing.
DePaola continued to write and illustrate from his New Hampshire home, where he worked in a renovated 200-year-old barn. His enduring popularity was evident in the overwhelming response from fans, with over 100,000 letters arriving annually. Recognized as the U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1990, he remained a towering figure in children's literature until his passing, leaving behind a timeless body of work.
26 Fairmount Avenue Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
26 Fairmount Avenue
1999
2
Here We All Are
2000
3
On My Way
2001
4
What a Year!
2002
5
Things Will Never Be the Same
2003
6
I'm Still Scared
2006
7
Why?
2007
8
For the Duration
2009
Andy & Sandy Book Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
When Andy Met Sandy
2016
2
Andy & Sandy's Anything Adventure
2016
3
Andy & Sandy and the First Snow
2016
4
Andy & Sandy and the Big Talent Show
2017
5
Andy & Sandy and the First Day of Summer
2019
Bill and Pete Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Bill and Pete
1978
2
Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile
1987
3
Bill and Pete To The Rescue
1998
Fog Maiden Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
When Everyone Was Fast Asleep
1976
2
Songs of the Fog Maiden
1979
Four Friends Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Four Friends at Christmas
1977
2
Four Stories For Four Seasons
1977
3
Four Friends in Summer
2003
4
Four Friends in Autumn
2004
Jamie O'Rourke Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato
1992
2
Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka
2000
Kitten Kids Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Knight and the Dragon
1980
2
Katie & Kit at the Beach
1987
3
Katie, Kit & Cousin Tom
1987
4
Pajamas for Kit
1987
5
Katie's Good Idea
1987
6
Kitten Kids and the Haunted House
1988
7
Kitten Kids and the Big Camp-Out
1988
8
Kitten Kids and the Treasure Hunt
1988
9
Tomie dePaola's Kitten Kids and the Missing Dinosaur
1988
Legends Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Legend of Old Befana
1980
2
The Legend of the Bluebonnet
1983
3
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
1988
4
The Legend of the Poinsettia
1993
5
The Legend of the Persian Carpet
1993
Strega Nona Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Strega Nona
1975
2
Big Anthony and the Magic Ring
1979
3
Strega Nona's Magic Lessons
1982
4
Merry Christmas, Strega Nona
1986
5
Strega Nona Meets Her Match
1993
6
Strega Nona: Her Story
1996
7
Big Anthony: His Story
1998
8
Strega Nona Takes a Vacation
2000
9
Brava, Strega Nona!
2008
10
Strega Nona's Harvest
2009
11
Strega Nona's Gift
2011
12
Strega Nona Does It Again
2013
13
The Magical World of Strega Nona
2015
14
Strega Nona and Her Tomatoes
2017
15
Strega Nona and the Twins
2017
The Three Friends Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Three Friends Go To School
2000
2
The Three Friends and the Leaves
2000
3
The Three Friends And The Pumpkins
2021
4
The Three Friends and the Apples
2021
Children's Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Fight the Night
1968
2
The Wind and the Sun
1972
3
The Unicorn and the Moon
1973
4
Andy, That's My Name
1973
5
Charlie Needs a Cloak
1973
6
Tomie dePaola's Book of Bible Stories
1973
7
Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs
1973
8
Watch Out for the Chicken Feet in Your Soup
1974
9
Michael Bird-Boy
1975
10
The Cloud Book
1975
11
Helga's Dowry
1977
12
The Quicksand Book
1977
13
The Popcorn Book
1978
14
Pancakes for Breakfast
1978
15
The Kids' Cat Book
1979
16
Oliver Button Is a Sissy
1979
17
Ghost Poems
1979
18
Magic Pasta Pot
1979
19
Flicks
1979
20
The Prince Of The Dolomites: An Old Italian Tale
1980
21
The Wuggie Norple Story (With: Daniel Pinkwater)
1980
22
The Hunter and the Animals: A Wordless Picture Book
1981
23
Now One Foot, Now the Other
1981
24
The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and Her Dog
1981
25
Fin M'Coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill
1981
26
Edward, Benjamin, and Butter (With: Malcolm Hall)
1981
27
Giorgio's Village
1982
28
Sing, Pierrot, Sing: A Picture Book in Mime
1983
29
Marianna May and Nursey
1983
30
Country Farm
1984
31
The Mysterious Giant of Barletta: An Italian Folktale
1984
32
My First Mother Goose
1985
33
Once Upon a Time (With: Judy Plume)
1986
34
Hey Diddle Diddle & Other Mother Goose Rhymes
1988
35
Snip Snip Little Lambs
1989
36
Haircuts For The Woolseys
1989
37
Too Many Bunnies
1989
38
Grab That Dog!
1989
39
Little Grunt and the Big Egg
1990
40
Come One, Come All (With: Eve Bunting, John J. Pikulski, Betty Horvath)
1991
41
Bonjour, Mr. Satie
1991
42
Tom
1993
43
Big Anthony's Mixed-Up Magic
1993
44
The Tale of Rabbit and Coyote (With: Tony Johnston)
1994
45
The Baby Sister
1996
46
The Bubble Factory
1996
47
Days of the Blackbird
1997
48
A Visit with Tomie DePaola
1997
49
Tomie dePaola's Rhyme Time
2000
50
Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story
2002
51
Tomie's Baa Baa Black Sheep
2004
52
Stagestruck
2005
53
Mr. Satie and the Great Art Contest
2007
54
More Mother Goose Favorites
2007
55
Tomie dePaola's Big Book of Favorite Legends
2007
56
Tomie dePaola's Front Porch Tales and North Country Whoppers
2007
57
My Mother Is So Smart
2010
58
Jack
2014
59
Look and Be Grateful
2015
60
In a Small Kingdom
2016
61
Quiet
2018
62
Tomie dePaola's Cats and Kittens
2019
63
Haircuts for Little Lambs
2020
64
Where Are You, Brontë?
2025
Biographies & Memoirs
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Christmas Remembered
2006
Religious or Holiday Stories
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Clown of God
1978
2
The Cat on the Dovrefell: A Christmas Tale
1979
3
Tomie dePaola's Christmas Tree Book
1980
4
The Lady of Guadalupe
1980
5
The Friendly Beasts: An Old English Christmas Carol
1981
6
Brother Francis of Assisi
1982
7
The Story of the Three Wise Kings
1983
8
David and Goliath
1984
9
The First Christmas
1984
10
Noah and the Ark
1985
11
Queen Esther
1986
12
The Good Samaritan and Other Parables
1987
13
An Early American Christmas
1987
14
The Parables of Jesus
1987
15
The Miracles of Jesus
1987
16
My First Chanukah
1989
17
My First Easter
1990
18
My First Passover
1991
19
My First Halloween
1991
20
Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland
1992
21
My First Thanksgiving
1992
22
Jingle the Christmas Clown
1992
23
Christopher, the Holy Giant
1994
24
Tomie DePaola's Book of Old Testament Stories
1995
25
Mary, the Mother of Jesus
1995
26
Country Angel Christmas
1995
27
Get Dressed, Santa!
1996
28
The Night of Las Posadas
1999
29
Pascual and the Kitchen Angels
2004
30
Guess Who's Coming to Santa's for Dinner?
2004
31
Angels, Angels Everywhere
2005
32
The Song of Francis
2009
33
Joy to the World: Tomie's Christmas Stories
2010
34
My First Christmas Carols
2010
35
Let The Whole Earth Sing Praise
2011
36
The Birds of Bethlehem
2012
37
Hurry, Santa!
2020
38
Petook: The Rooster Who Met Jesus (With: Caryll Houselander)
2021
Tomie dePaola Boardbooks (with Karen Pandell)
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Tomie's Little Christmas Pageant
1978
2
I Love You, Sun, I Love You, Moon
1994
3
Tomie's Little Book of Poems
2004
4
Tomie's Three Bears and Other Tales
2004
5
Tomie's Mother Goose Flies Again
2005
6
Tomie's Little Book of Love
2007
7
My First Fairy Tales
2009
8
My First Songs
2010
9
My First Bible Stories
2010
10
My First Angels
2011
11
Saint Patrick
2019
Tomie dePaola’s Treasuries Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Tomie dePaola's Favorite Nursery Tales
1986
2
Tomie dePaola's Book of Christmas Carols
2022
Tomie dePaola as Illustrator
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Mary Had a Little Lamb
1830
2
Tricky Peik and Other Picture Tales
1967
3
Sound science, (With: Melvin Alexenberg)
1968
4
Hot as an Ice Cube (With: Philip Balestrino)
1971
5
John Fisher's Magic Book (With: John Fisher)
1971
6
Danny and His Thumb (With: Kathryn F. Ernst)
1973
7
Star-Spangled Banana: And Other Revolutionary Riddles (With: Charles Keller, Richard Baker)
1974
8
Look in the Mirror
1974
9
Old Man Whickutt's Donkey (With: Mary Calhoun)
1975
10
This Is The Ambulance Leaving The Zoo (With: Norma Farber)
1975
11
I Love You, Mouse (With: John Grahaam)
1976
12
The Mixed-Up Mystery Smell (With: Eleanor Coerr)
1976
13
Simple Pictures Are Best (With: Nancy Willard)
1976
14
Solomon Grundy, Born on Oneday: A Finite Arithmetic Puzzle (With: Malcolm E. Weiss)
1977
15
The Triumphs Of Fuzzy Fogtop (With: Anne Rose)
1979
16
My Daddy's Mustache (With: Naomi Panush Salus)
1979
17
Robin Goodfellow and the Giant Dwarf (With: Michael Jennings)
1981
18
Nicholas Bentley Stoningpot III (With: Ann McGovern)
1982
19
The Quilt Story (With: Tony Johnston)
1985
20
Maggie and the Monster (With: Elizabeth Winthrop)
1987
21
Who's a Friend of the Water-Spurting Whale
1987
22
Cookie's Week (With: Cindy Ward)
1988
23
How To Be A Puppeteer (With: Eleanor Boylan)
1994
24
Alice Nizzy Nazzy (With: Tony Johnston)
1995
25
Mice Squeak, We Speak (With: Arnold L. Shapiro)
1997
26
Erandi's Braids (With: Antonio Hernandez Madrigal)
1999
27
The Holy Twins: Benedict and Scholastica (With: Kathleen Norris)
2001
28
Frida Kahlo (With: Margaret Frith)
2003
29
Drawings from the Heart (With: Barbara Elleman)
2009
30
I Will Talk to You, Little One: Read to Your Baby
2020
31
Christina's Carol
2021
32
Scary Stories (With: Tony Johnston)
2022
Paperstar Book Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Art Lesson
1989
2
Tony's Bread
1989
Barker Twins Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Boss for a Day
2001
2
Hide-and-Seek All Week
2001
3
Morgan & Moffat Go to School
2001
4
T-Rex Is Missing!
2002
5
A New Barker in the House
2002
6
Trouble in the Barkers' Class
2003
7
Marcos Colors
2003
8
Barker Twins, The: Go Away, Girls! (With: Clinton S. Hackney, Richard Kolding)
2004
9
Morgie's Surprise (With: Emilie Kong)
2004
10
T-Ball Trouble (With: Richard Max Kolding)
2004
11
The Big Sleepover (With: Gail Herman, Emilie Kong)
2004
12
Barker Twins, The: The Mamas and the Papa (With: Richard Kolding, AnnMarie Harris)
2008
Penguin Young Readers: Level 2 Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Jason's Bus Ride (By: Harriet Ziefert, Simms Taback)
1987
2
Harry Takes a Bath (By: Harriet Ziefert)
1987
3
Harry Gets Ready for School (By: Harriet Ziefert)
1991
4
My Tooth Is Loose! (By: Martin Silverman)
1991
5
Nina, Nina Ballerina (By: Jane O'Connor)
1993
6
What a Hungry Puppy! (By: Gail Herman)
1993
7
Kit and Kat
1994
8
The Teeny-Tiny Woman (By: Harriet Ziefert)
1995
9
Snug Bug (By: Cathy East Dubowski)
1995
10
Spider's Lunch (By: Joanna Cole)
1995
11
Kate Skates (By: Jane O'Connor)
1995
12
Nina, Nina Star Ballerina (By: Jane O'Connor)
1997
13
The Cow in the House (By: Harriet Ziefert)
1997
14
Bad Hair Day (By: Susan Hood)
1999
15
Nina, Nina and the Copycat Ballerina (By: Jane O'Connor)
2000
16
Cowboy Roy (By: Mark Dubowski, Cathy East Dubowski)
2000
17
Meet Trouble (By: Susan Hood)
2001
18
Best Friends: The True Story of Owen and Mzee (By: Roberta Edwards)
2007
19
Dog on His Bus (By: Sebastien Braun, Eric Seltzer)
2012
20
Holiday Helper (By: Jane O'Connor)
2014
Eve Bunting Children's Books
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Pitcher to Center Field (By: Eve Bunting)
1974
2
Springboard to Summer (By: Eve Bunting)
1975
3
High Tide for Labrador (By: Eve Bunting)
1975
4
Josefina Finds the Prince (By: Eve Bunting)
1976
5
The Tongue of the Ocean (By: Eve Bunting)
1976
6
One More Flight (By: Eve Bunting)
1976
7
Demon (By: Eve Bunting)
1976
8
Skateboard Four (By: Eve Bunting)
1976
9
The Ghost (By: Eve Bunting, Scott Earle)
1976
10
The Creature of Cranberry Cove (By: Eve Bunting, Scott W. Earle)
1976
11
Cop Camp (By: Eve Bunting)
1977
12
Magic and the Night River (By: Eve Bunting)
1978
13
The Robot People (By: Eve Bunting)
1978
14
The Haunting of Kildoran Abbey (By: Eve Bunting)
1978
15
Oh, Rick (By: Eve Bunting)
1978
16
The Girl in the Painting (By: Eve Bunting)
1978
17
The Island of One (By: Eve Bunting)
1978
18
The Space People (By: Eve Bunting)
1978
19
The Mask (By: Eve Bunting)
1978
20
The Mirror Planet (By: Eve Bunting)
1978
21
Day of the Earthlings (By: Eve Bunting)
1978
22
The Cloverdale Switch (By: Eve Bunting)
1979
23
Strange Things Happen in the Woods (By: Eve Bunting)
1979
24
Yesterday's Island (By: Eve Bunting)
1979
25
The Big Red Barn (By: Eve Bunting)
1979
26
Blackbird Singing (By: Eve Bunting, Stephen Gammell)
1980
27
The Big Find (By: Eve Bunting, Richard Hutchings)
1980
28
Mr. Pride's Umbrella (By: Eve Bunting)
1980
29
Demetrius and the Golden Goblet (By: Eve Bunting, Michael Hague)
1980
30
The Robot Birthday (By: Eve Bunting, Marie De John)
1980
31
The Undersea People (By: Eve Bunting)
1980
32
The Giant Squid (By: Eve Bunting)
1981
33
The Spook Birds (By: Eve Bunting)
1981
34
The Ghosts of Departure Point (By: Eve Bunting)
1982
35
The Traveling Men of Ballycoo (By: Eve Bunting)
1983
36
Karen Kepplewhite is the World's Best Kisser (By: Eve Bunting)
1983
37
Maggie the Freak (By: Eve Bunting)
1984
38
Sixth-Grade Sleepover (By: Eve Bunting)
1986
39
Janet Hamm Needs a Date for the Dance (By: Eve Bunting)
1986
40
The Followers (By: Eve Bunting)
1987
41
Is Anybody There? (By: Eve Bunting)
1988
42
The Ghost Children (By: Eve Bunting, James Cross Giblin)
1989
43
Blacksmith at Blueridge (By: Eve Bunting)
1990
44
Our Sixth-Grade Sugar Babies (By: Eve Bunting)
1990
45
The Hideout (By: Eve Bunting)
1991
46
Come One, Come All (With: Eve Bunting, John J. Pikulski, Betty Horvath)
1991
47
Coffin on a Case (By: Eve Bunting)
1992
48
Nasty, Stinky Sneakers (By: Eve Bunting)
1994
49
Seriously Stinky Trainers (By: Eve Bunting)
1994
50
The In-Between Days (By: Eve Bunting)
1994
51
Spying on Miss Muller (By: Eve Bunting)
1995
52
On Call Back Mountain (By: Eve Bunting)
1997
53
Blackwater (By: Eve Bunting)
1999
54
Wanna Buy an Alien? (By: Eve Bunting)
2000
55
Dear Wish Fairy (By: Eve Bunting)
2000
56
The Summer of Riley (By: Eve Bunting)
2001
57
The Wedding (By: Eve Bunting)
2003
58
My Big Boy Bed (By: Eve Bunting)
2003
59
Snowboarding on Monster Mountain (By: Eve Bunting)
2003
60
The Lambkins (By: Eve Bunting)
2005
61
Reggie (By: Eve Bunting)
2006
62
The Man with the Red Bag (By: Eve Bunting)
2007
63
The Banshee (By: Eve Bunting)
2009
64
The Cart That Carried Martin (By: Eve Bunting)
2013
Tomie dePaola Anthologies
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Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Beat the Drum, Independence Day Has Come: Poems for the Fourth of July