I had always enjoyed the stories Tomie told about his Italian relatives. When I saw an article about an Italian-American bookstore opening in the North End of Boston, I thought, that place has to be a magnet for folks similar to Tomie’s Italian relatives. I contacted the store, I Am Books, and with barely more than a month to organize, publicize, and order books, the store pulled off a mammoth book signing in December, 2015. As to characters, I was not disappointed. I heard a woman further down the line speaking loudly, “I don’t know! I’ve always been loud!” By the time she got to the autographing table, we knew her name was “Joann! NO E!” It was a bit deja vu for Tomie: Italian aunts and his grandmother squeezing him and pinching him and kissing him. We never forgot “Joann! NO E!” https://iambooksboston.com/ (Bob) Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality
REMEMBERING TOMIE on June 25, 2020
Tomie didn’t buy ONE of anything… five refrigerators, six ovens, three dishwashers… Here he is in 1998 with some of his pink flamingoes (or flamingos)… back in New Hampshire after wintering in the south. (Bob) Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality
REMEMBERING TOMIE on June 24, 2020
The climbing hydrangea on the fence is in full bloom. Tomie loved climbing hydrangea. When we visited the famous White Flower Farm in Litchfield, Connecticut, ages ago, Tomie saw a climbing hydrangea on a stone wall and asked how its growth was controlled. They said they took a chain saw to it each year. And that’s what I’ll do this summer because the weight of the climbing hydrangea on the fence might soon cause the fence to topple. (Bob) Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality
REMEMBERING TOMIE on June 23, 2020
MARIANNA MAY AND NURSEY and THE COMIC ADVENTURES OF OLD MOTHER HUBBARD AND HER DOG are back in print TODAY in refreshed editions from Simon & Schuster. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Marianna-May-and-Nursey/Tomie-dePaola/9781534466463 https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Comic-Adventures-of-Old-Mother-Hubbard-and-Her-Dog/Tomie-dePaola/9781534466623 (Bob) Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality
REMEMBERING TOMIE on June 22, 2020
Tomie’s friend and frequent visitor to Tomie’s home, Australian Paul Molyneux, sent a copy of this “Letter” that appeared in the UK edition of “The Guardian,” May 2, 2020. Simon & Schuster had published a new edition of MICHAEL BIRD-BOY in 2015. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Michael-Bird-Boy/Tomie-dePaola/9781481443333 (Bob) Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality
