Notes on THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME by Tomie...

THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME is the fifth book in the "26 Fairmount Avenue" series. These five books are all autobiographical covering events from age 4 (1938) until age 7 (1941).

It's been a lot of fun remembering all of the things that happened in my childhood. In THINGS, I start out each chapter with a diary entry. The diary entries cover an entire year, January, 1941 through December, 1941. (Nana, my Irish grandmother, had given me a diary for a Christmas, 1940 present.)

When I came up with the idea of beginning each chapter with a diary entry, I wasn't sure my editor would like the idea. So, I was anxious when I sent her the first draft of the story… with diary entries. However, she liked the diary concept.

I asked several people from the Wallingford area who might have remembered the accident and got different street names. Finally, it was Ed Downey, my mother's cousin who lives in Florida, who remembered the event and the street name as if the accident had happened yesterday. He said the street name was Franklin Street.

It's important to get the facts correct. Otherwise, I'll get letters correcting me.

But, I did remember clearly the March of Dimes fund-raising drive held every January. I remembered movies ("Fantasia" specifically), my second dancing recital in which I got to be a pirate, going to Savin Rock amusement park and going on rides with my grandfather and the fateful day of December 7, 1941. People ask me how I can remember all of these things so well. I find that the more I remember, the more I remember.It's like looking into a big closet full of clothes. Each item of clothing sparks a memory.

I'm taking a few years off before I do another "26 Fairmount Avenue" book. But, I'm already making lists of events that I want to cover and share in future books.

If you haven't already read all five books, I hope you will.

Here are the names of the first four "26 Fairmount Avenue" books.