Tomie DePaola

Tomie dePaola (www.tomie.com) is the acclaimed author and/or illustrator of more than 200 books for children. He received the 2012 Original Art Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Society of Illustrators, and he is the recipient of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, given for a substantial and lasting contribution to children's literature. He has also received the Newbery Honor Award for "26 Fairmount Avenue" and the Caldecott Honor Award for "Strega Nona." He was awarded the Smithson Medal (from the Smithsonian) and the Regina Medal (from the Catholic Library Association), and was designated a "living treasure" by the state of New Hampshire. His "Brava, Strega Nona," "Strega Nona's Harvest," and "Strega Nona's Gift" were all "New York Times" bestsellers. He is the first author known primarily for children's book writing to be awarded the Sarah Josepha Hale award, a prestigious distinction in writing by a New Englander. He lives in New London, New Hampshire.