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Tomie dePaola, the author and/or illustrator of more than 270 children’s books who taught his young readers about loss, mindfulness, fear and imagination, died this week at the age of 85.

He was best known for his children’s story Strega Nona, which won the Caldecott Honor Award in 1976 and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2015. If you were to ask him, however, which of his own works he liked the best, he would tell you Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs — a deeply touching story about struggling to say goodbye to someone you love.

A “legendary storyteller and brilliant artist,” dePaola enjoyed reading, of course, but also liked to cook, garden and travel. He was born in Meriden, CT, in 1934, but his education and professional career would take him across the country.

He received a BFA from Pratt Institute and MFA from the California College of Arts before receiving a doctoral equivalency from Lone Mountain College, going on to teach at colleges in California, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, home to the 200-year-old renovated in which he worked.

With his first illustrated work, Sound, published in 1965, his folk-style artwork has been cherished for over five decades.

He was known to illustrate his stories and sign his name with hearts. When asked why he did this, dePaola said, “The heart has become a sort of symbol for me … shorthand, or an abbreviation, for love.’” The author filled hundreds of stories with love throughout his career, reaching millions worldwide.

Genre: Children’s Books
Chelsea Ciccone

Chelsea Ciccone graduated from the University of North Georgia with a degree in English and now writes and edits for BookTrib.com. She has lived all over the U.S. in her twenty-something years, but, for now, she calls Connecticut home. As a writer, she believes that words are the most accessible form of magic. When she’s not dabbling in the dark arts, she can be found rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, participating in heated debates about literature, or proclaiming her undying love to every dog she meets.

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