Christmas Remembered($33.40Value)

Description

In this unique collection, Tomie dePaola shares his love of Christmas and all the delightful twists his life has taken. Christmas Remembered is a delightful window into the life of one of the great American children?s book author/ artists. ?Tomie dePaola is one of my favorite illustrators....He is also a writer of considerable charm, who can evoke a remembered world of his childhood with great vividness.??Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials Trilogy ?This book is like Christmas itself?full of surprises and sensory delights . . . for young and old alike.??Kathleen Norris, author of The Cloister Walk Grade 3 Up–The beloved children's author/illustrator shares Christmas reminiscences, beginning in 1937, when he was three, and continuing through his adult years. Youngsters familiar with dePaola's autobiographical books, such as 26 Fairmount Avenue (Putnam, 1999), will recognize some of the family members and settings in the childhood anecdotes. However, the most compelling narratives are the memories of the author's adult years as a monk in a Vermont priory, a Brooklyn art student, a young man in San Francisco, and a visitor in Santa Fe. Their child appeal is limited, but adults will enjoy these glimpses into the personal life of a creative member of the children's literature community. The border decorations and occasional paintings capture the color and nostalgia of Christmas past and present. –Virginia Walter, University of California, Los Angeles Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. With many Christmas picture books to his credit, dePaola now regales readers with 15 personal tales of Christmases past. The first chapters vividly recall family and community celebrations of the holidays, followed by memories of Christmas as a high-school and college student and as a novice at a Vermont priory. The last three selections describe Christmases as an adult celebrated in San Francisco, New York City, and New Hampshire. Brightening the pages are illustrations in varied styles and media, from an intriguing portrait of dePaola's Italian grandmother to decorative paper collages to iconic paintings of great stillness and beauty. The jacket flap calls this dePaola's "first book for all ages," and, in truth, it probably will appeal to adults as much as children. Written with dialogue and humor as well as reflection, the episodic stories may interest children who enjoyed dePaola's 26 Fairmont Avenue series. Teachers and librarians on the lookout for books of memoirs will want to make a note of this one. Carolyn Phelan Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved The winner of both a Caldecott and Newbery Honor, Tomie dePaola is the author/artist of more than two hundred books for young readers. He lives in New London, New Hampshire.