On My Way (26 Fairmount Avenue Series #3)

by Tomie dePaola, Tomie dePaola (Illustrator)

Overview

Tomie is overjoyed because his baby'sister, Maureen, is finally strong enough to come home from the hospital. Over the next months, he is in a dance recital and he gets to go to the World's Fair. Soon, the school year is at an end. Summer is full of fun things to do, like going to the beach and celebrating the Fourth of July-but Tomie can't wait for school to start again. He hopes he'll get Miss Kiniry, the first-grade teacher he likes the best. In first grade he will finally-finally-learn to read. And maybe even get a library card of his own!

"DePaola's writing and recollective skills are so fresh that kids will feel like he's sitting right next to them, telling his tales in and out of school with disarming charisma and not a hint of nostalgia." (The Horn Book)

"More please." (Kirkus Reviews, pointer review)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698119482
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/10/2002
Series:	26 Fairmount Avenue Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Tomie dePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1934, to a family of Irish and Italian background. His determination to create books for children led to a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and an MFA from the California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland, California. His particular way with color, line, detail, and design have earned him many of the most prestigious awards in his field, among them a Caldecott Honor Award for Strega Nona, the Smithsonian Medal, the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota for his "singular attainment in children's literature," the Catholic Library Association's Regina Medal for his "continued distinguished contribution," and the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion. He was also the 1990 United States nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustration, and received the Children's Literature Legacy Award for lifetime contribution to children's literature in 2011.
DePaola has published almost 200 children's books in 15 different countries over the past 30 years. Among his most well-known titles are the Strega Nona series, 26 Fairmount Avenue, and The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush.
DePaola lives in an interesting house in New Hampshire with his four dogs. His studio is in a large renovated 200-year-old barn.

Hometown:

Connecticut and New Hampshire

Date of Birth:

September 15, 1935

Place of Birth:

Meriden, CT

Website:

http://www.tomie.com/main.html

Editorial Reviews

Author/illustrator Tomie dePaola has given readers a glorious glimpse into his life with such autobiographical picture books as Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs, Tom, and The Art Lesson. Now, following his Newbery Honor-winning 26 Fairmount Avenue and Here We All Are, Tomie dePaola uses an engaging chapter-book format to take readers back to his childhood, and recount more memorable moments from his funny, fabulous life. Whether he's starring in a dance recital, praying for his baby sister's recovery from pneumonia, making his mark in a new sidewalk's wet cement, or at last learning to read, Tomie's warmth and charm will delight readers -- and welcome them into his home.

barnesandnoble.com

DePaola's drawings lend his characteristic warmth and humor to this third installment in the 26 Fairmount Avenue chapter-book series, based on the author/artist's childhood. Ages 7-10. (June) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 4-Tally another winner for dePaola with this new installment in the "26 Fairmount Avenue" series. He graces the chapters with black-and-white spot sketches for homey details of baby sister's pneumonia, the 1939 World's Fair, and beginning first grade, to name a few. A conversational tone offers great read-aloud possibilities for the younger set. Plenty of humor and lighthearted details, like a chewing-gum beard and eating popcorn to avoid carsickness, will appeal to a wide audience. Add in the pleasure of mentioning familiar characters like grandfather Tom and the Nanas, and readers will be delighted with the final line, "There's more coming!"-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

A Child Magazine Best Book of 2001 Pick

As he did so skillfully in such autobiographical picture books as Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs, bestselling children's book author and illustrator dePaola continues the story of his life. In this third installment of the 26 Fairmount Avenue chapter-book series, dePaola evokes all the warmth of his close-knit family in episodes brimming with humorous detail.

Child Magazine

DePaola is irresistible. In this simply told memoir, aimed directly at the hearts of his young readers, he follows 26 Fairmount Avenue (1999) and Here We All Are (p. 630) with more stories of his childhood. In this volume, his baby sister Maureen contracts pneumonia and has to be hospitalized, he gets a new outfit for the family's trip to the 1939 World's Fair in New York, and he's in a tap dance recital. He longs to get Miss Kiniry to be his first-grade teacher, even though she, like the principal, insists on spelling his first name"Tommy." Other remembrances include a family outing to the beach, a"Tiny Tot" wedding, and getting his first library card. DePaola spins out these recollections with pitch-perfect intensity, warmth, energy, and a precise sense of how it felt to be a kid. Almost a primer on how to write with emotional directness for young people, this will also teach its readers a little on how to tell their own stories. Best of all it gives value to the comings and goings that make up a life, even one as unique as dePaola's. Abundantly illustrated with wonderful vignettes and spot drawings of the cast of characters that includes all his friends and relations, it begs to be continued. More please. (Biography. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews