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Patricia NewmanPatricia Newman
Sibert Honor Children's Book Author & Environmentalist
  • Home
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    • Beatrice and the Nightingale
    • Sharks Unhooked: The Adventures of Cristina Zenato, Underwater Ranger
    • Giant Rays of Hope: Protecting Manta Rays to Safeguard the Sea
    • A River’s Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn
    • Planet Ocean
    • Eavesdropping on Elephants
    • Neema’s Reason To Smile
    • Zoo Scientists to the Rescue
    • Sea Otter Heroes: The Predators That Saved an Ecosystem
    • Plastic, Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
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Meet Tomie dePaola

Meet Tomie dePaola

June 3, 2010 Book Talks No Comments
 Even Tomie dePaola was once new at writing and illustrating for children!

At the age of four, Tomie dePaola announced, “I am going to be an artist when I grow up and I am going to write stories and draw pictures for books and sing and dance on stage.” After celebrating his 75th birthday, dePaola declares that not only has he achieved each of these goals, “I got paid for them, too!”

There was a time in dePaola’s life, however, when he was not so confident about his future. After graduating from Pratt Institute in 1956 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, he thought he wanted to become a Benedictine monk and joined a small monastery in Weston, Vermont. “It wasn’t meant to be,” dePaola says. Instead, he moved to New York City and commuted to a college teaching position in Boston. Although he liked teaching and his students liked him, he says, “I never saw teaching as a career. I thought of it as getting money for rent.” Creating art was his passion and he struggled to make the dream a reality. More…

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  • Home
  • Books
    • Beatrice and the Nightingale
    • Sharks Unhooked: The Adventures of Cristina Zenato, Underwater Ranger
    • Giant Rays of Hope: Protecting Manta Rays to Safeguard the Sea
    • A River’s Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn
    • Planet Ocean
    • Eavesdropping on Elephants
    • Neema’s Reason To Smile
    • Zoo Scientists to the Rescue
    • Sea Otter Heroes: The Predators That Saved an Ecosystem
    • Plastic, Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
    • Ebola: Fears and Facts
    • Jingle the Brass
    • Nugget on the Flight Deck
    • Surviving Animal Attacks
    • Elite Operations series
    • Energy Lab series
    • QuickReads Fluency Library
    • Books for English language-learners
    • Writers write all kinds of things
  • Author Visit Programs
    • FAQs
    • Calendar
  • Blog
  • Educator Resources
    • Teach the Hope
    • Earth Day Every Day newsletter archive
    • Teacher Guides
    • STEM + Literacy Activities
    • LitLinks
    • KidLit creators who make kids want to read
  • Writer Resources
    • Writing Classes
    • Manuscript or Proposal Critiques
    • How I got my start
  • Who is Patricia Newman?
  • Contact
    • Stay In Touch
    • Earth Day Every Day newsletter archive
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