Tomie dePaolo

Date of Birth: 09/15/1934 | Date of Passing: 03/30/2020

Thomas Anthony “Tomie” dePaola was an American writer and illustrator who created more than 260 children’s books such as Strega Nona. He received the Children’s Literature Legacy Award for his lifetime contribution to American children’s literature in 2011.

DePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut to a family of Irish and Italian heritage, the son of Joseph and Florence DePaola. He had one brother, Joseph (nicknamed Buddy), and two sisters, Judie and Maureen. His book The Baby Sister is about Maureen being born. DePaola was attracted to art at an early age and credited his family with encouraging his development as an artist and influencing the themes of his works.

After high school, dePaola studied art at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and graduated in 1956 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

DePaola taught art at Newton College of the Sacred Heart outside Boston from 1962 to 1966, then moved to California, where he taught at San Francisco College for Women from 1967 to 1970. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from California College of Arts and Crafts in 1969 and a doctoral equivalency from Lone Mountain College in San Francisco. DePaola relocated to New England in the 1970s, teaching art at Chamberlayne Junior College in Boston from 1972 to 1973. From 1973 to 1976 he worked at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, New Hampshire, as an associate professor, designer, and technical director in the speech and theater department and as writer and set and costume designer for the Children’s Theatre Project. He taught art at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, from 1976 to 1978. DePaola retired from full-time teaching in 1978 to devote his time to writing and illustrating books. He provided illustrations for Maggie and the Monster Baby (Holiday House, 1987) by Elizabeth Winthrop.