A FRIEND TO CHILDREN AND NUNS HAS DIED

Our friend, TOMIE  de PAOLA, children’s author, died today at age 85.

He was badly injured in a fall last week and died of complications following surgery.

He worked on over 270 books in more than half a century of publishing. Nearly 25 million copies have been sold worldwide and his books have been translated into more than 20 languages.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu issued a statement, praising Tomie as “a man who brought a smile to thousands of Granite State children who read his books, cherishing them for their brilliant illustrations.”

At age 4, Tomie knew he was going to be an artist and author and  told people so. He received a lot of encouragement from his family. “They gave me half of the attic for my ‘studio.’ Now, how neat is that?” he said.

His family, in turn, became central characters in a number of his autobiographical books, such as “26 Fairmont Avenue,” about growing up in Connecticut during the Great Depression, and “The Art Lesson,” about reaching a compromise with his art teacher on drawing in class. Tomie wrote about doodling on his bedsheets and on his math work in second grade, telling his teacher he wasn’t going to be an “arithmetic-er.”

Tomie worked in his 200-year-old barn in New London (NH), which houses his studio and library. It includes wall niches displaying folk art and a corner with a chair facing a small altar, where he meditated. Native American, Mexican and early American folk art decorated his nearby home.

He loved receiving letters from children with questions about his life and books, often taking the time to chat with them at book signings and other events. It was always important to him to keep that voice active.

“I just keep the inner critic,” he said in an interview. “Don’t let the little 4-year-old get jaded. I listen to him. He stands beside me and says, ‘No, I don’t like that.

In 2000 he received a Newberry Honor Award  and in 2011 a lifetime achievement award from the American Library Association. The Pratt Institute  (from which he graduated) honored him with an honorary doctorate in 2009 and the New Hampshire Institute of Art honored him with an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts in 2018.

Holy Twins

While “Strega Nona” is perhaps his most famous book, my favorite is “Holy Twins”  about St. Benedict and his sister St. Scholastica.

At the time of his death he was working on a mural for a new building at our Abbey in CT. He will be sorely missed by children and nuns!