26 Fairmount Avenue

26 Fairmount Avenue #1

by Tomie dePaola

Children's author-illustrator Tomie De Paola describes his experience at home and in school when he was a boy.

Genres: Childrens, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Picture Books, Chapter Books, Autobiography

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Tomie dePaola (pronounced Tommy da-POW-la) was best known for his books for children.

He had a five-decade writing and illustrating career during which he published more than 270 books, including 26 Fairmount Avenue, Strega Nona, and Meet the Barkers.

Tomie dePaola and his work have been recognized with the Caldecott Honor Award, the Newbery Honor Award, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Award of Living Treasure.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

PERFECT for my two five-year-olds.

Each chapter is a vignette. Each story is simple enough, real enough, silly or interesting enough with out every being facile.

Well balanced. Well written. Drawings on every page.

And it's autobiographical! Which is cool because I love Tomie dePaola and now I get to love him more.

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my current quests is to fill my library with all the books I relentlessly checked out of my local library as a child. I adored this series, but left behind the children's section before it was finished, and it's a joy to revisit.

dePaola captures the bubbly essence of his own childhood in such a memorable way, both through the text and his illustrations. It's clear why he became one of the world's great picture book author/illustrators: he never forgot what it's like to be a child.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has 9 chapters and 57 pages, not counting the 1 page author’s note. This is a perfect book for those just beginning to read chapter books and it also would work fine as a read aloud book, including and maybe especially for siblings of different ages.

This is DePaola’s first book in a series of illustrated autobiographical books, and he writes so engagingly. I got a kick out of so much, and particularly enjoyed a couple things about Tomie’s first day of school. Hilarious!

I’m sure I’d have loved these books when I was a child. Today’s children, especially if they love historical fiction and history, will hopefully appreciate them too.

The illustrations are in black & white and very appealing and, as with the book’s text, very accessible. Kids are going to be able to imagine themselves in Tomie’s place and even drawing Tomie’s drawings, though most not quite as skillfully.

I’m now curious about what happens next and might end up reading the other books in the series.

[Eileen W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with my girls, ages 11 and 8. We love Tomie dePaola's books (like Strega Nona), and this one is about his life as a boy around the year 1940. My girls were excited to see Shirley Temple was mentioned. :-) We liked the little stories of his life. A nice, wholesome read.

[Jordan Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This charming little chapter book, perfect for beginning readers, is a sort of children's classic of the late 1990's.
Growing up, I just loved Tomie dePaola's books and illustrations, and so many of them still to this day sweep me away in fond nostalgia.
This book is an autobiography of dePaola's childhood. It's full of wonder and curiosity and memorable little moments. There are plenty of little stories that are incredibly memorable and endearing - for example, Tomie's outrage at seeing the original Disney "Snow White" film has left out parts of the story. Another favorite was when Tomie goes to kindergarten and ends up having a discussion with the principal, namely, to ask when he will get to learn to read. When the principal informs him that kindergarteners don't learn reading yet, and that's for next year in 1st grade, Tomie says "Fine. I'll be back next year," and walks out!
Tomie is instantly likable with his runaway imagination, witty commentary on his life and family, and his comparisons of everyday things to literary or vintage movie characters.
I love that young readers who have potentially already been reading and loving his books for younger children would be able to make the step into more advanced chapter books getting an insight into the writer and illustrator's life. The book is the first in a series.
dePaola said that he was always intimidated at the idea of writing a chapter book, as compared to his other works that rely on his wonderful illustrations and sparse writing. It wasn't until his agent suggested that he write about his own childhood memories that he became inspired to branch out, resulting in "26 Fairmount Avenue."

[Will Singleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made a fun decision this week to read all of the Newbery books (Honors and Winners) from the year 2000 to current! I really enjoyed this one. I was interested to discover that this is the first in a series about the author’s childhood. I love that he illustrated the book as well. It adds a personal touch and makes the book feel very special to the reader.

[Susan Mortimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tomie dePaola’s first installment in his autobiographical series is a delightful remembrance of his early childhood. Growing up in depression-era Connecticut, Tomie and his family experience many adventures as the family builds and moves into their first house. Tomie has a colorful family, and their escapades are told in a quick-paced format, while also allowing for the reader to come away feeling like they’ve gotten to know the family. As always, dePaola uses expressive illustrations, here black and white, to add depth to his story and humanity to his characters. Serving well for young fans of dePaola's many picture books, this would be a good choice for those moving into their first chapter books. It would also be ideal for parents and children to enjoy together, as it's as much fun to listen to as it is to read aloud. (Gr. 1-4)

Personal Note: My mom also grew up in Meriden, CT at the same time as dePaola, though she is 3 years younger and went to the other Catholic church in town (he went to the Italian, she to the Irish). I read this one aloud to my kids and my mom together, and it brought forth many recollections from her own childhood, and most interestingly, her own remembrances of some of the exact experiences dePaola talks about. What a treat for our family!

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a glimpse into a family's life for about a year in the late 1930's. The author,Tomie DePaola, tells this story from a child's perspective, specifically as though he is peering back through his five year old eyes. It centers on his and his family's feelings of anticipation as they await their house on 26 Fairmont Ave. being built, and then finally their excitement of moving into this house they would have as a family for their remaining time of living together.
Though a simple story line in general, DePaola has little stories within each chapter that give you just enough bait at the end of each chapter to keep you wanting to read on. Also, the simple values of family and respect shine through as a message in between. Finally, his artwork brings out the characters where words don't.

[Luann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading this aloud to all of my library classes, so by the end of this week I will have read it eleven times - not including the times I had already read it to myself. Tomie de Paola does such a great job of telling his story in a sweet, simple manner with the perfect amount of interesting details. My favorite chapter tells all about the first time he saw the first full-length animated movie, Mr. Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I love young Tomie's reaction as he realizes that Mr. Walt Disney must not have read the story carefully enough because he left out some of the story and used the ending of Sleeping Beauty.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was dePaola's first chapter book. Our family has read a number of his picture books, both the fiction and the non-fiction, and we absolutely loved reading more about his magical childhood. Now and then he would mention certain happenings that were the focus of his shorter pictures books, which was fun to finally read them in context. He has such vivid memories and tells them in a very entertaining way. I would say that, to my children, he is almost family. This book in particular has made me want to tap into my past to find my own magic. I'm convinced that everyone could write their own "26 Fairmount Avenue." This book won a Newberry Honor.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy to read just not terribly exciting. Even if I was reading with a small kid I wouldn’t recommend this book. Not sure what makes it so special to win a Newberry Honor either.

[gillion · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was so cute not gonna lie. I also never realized that I never rated this book so oopsies. I never heard of this series until one of my classes that I had to take for my grad program and I also never realized how old this book was???? The author is saying that he remembers watching the Snow White movie in theaters which is crazy. The fact that this was also a fast paced book (which again, I love) is amazing, but also not a lot of people are talking about this series at ALL. I wish more people were and I'm very surprised that this series wasn't adapted into some TV series or something. Overall, super cute, this would be great for kids who are trying to transition into chapter books just because it still features some illustrations but mainly words.

[Elyse Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Utterly charming memoir. I heard Tomie dePaola interviewed last year during a Catholic Library Association conference, and he pointed to this series of autobiographical books about his childhood as his favorites among his own books. Written as short "chapter books" for young readers, adults can enjoy them, too. (This is just the first in a series.) He captures the viewpoint of a child, and we get to see what a"live wire" he was as a child - impatient, and full of life and love for most of his relatives (except his brother). And of course, he illustrated them in his inimitable style. Really fun.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a kid who will do you a favor if you agree to tie him in a chair. I know, it sounds like preparation for a future story of childhood trauma. Thankfully, he just loved this book and he wants to be like little Tomie who joined his frail Nana Upstairs in being tied into her chair to keep her safe.

I can hear my children laughing as we read about Tommy and Nana Upstairs mistakenly eating laxatives that they thought were chocolate.

The story is simple, but it reminds you that everything that happens in a child’s world is interesting and new.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much for the younger reader, short and sweet. A good read-aloud with a child you love, it brought back memories of the "city's" arbitrary dealings in terms of roadworks or the lack thereof in the little rural town where I was born, and early memories of my mother's house being "finished" after a fashion by my dad and his cronies. I also remember being hauled out of a couple of Disney movies in disgrace--Cruella deVille traumatised me for life.

[Lisa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! What an amazing biographical chapter book!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these with my kids years ago. Recently a Goodreads friend read through the series and I wanted to revisit. Just as enjoyable reading them on my own.

[Luci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a delightful story about a big event in a kids life: moving into a house of your own!

[Coffeecups · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.8 stars

[Jane Maple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on real events in the authors life, the book is a very cool time capsule.

Starts with the author and main character's move to 26 Fairmount Avenue. In the fall of 1938, before the move the family is living in an apartment building and building their new house and a hurricane hits. They pick up the author's big brother Buddy from school and Carol Crane, a friend who looks like Shirley Temple, the Adams twins and Fournier brothers. When they get back to the apartment, Mrs. Crane, Carol's mother is freaking out so the author's mom sprinkles her with holy water which seems to calm her down. Other people in the apartment building (Mr. and Mrs. Morin and their daughter Althea) join the group so they can all be together as they wait out the storm.

The author takes us through his family (half Irish - his mom's side and half Italian his dad's side). He called his Irish great-grandmother Nana Upstairs, because she spent all of her time upstairs. He called his Irish grandmother Nana Downstairs because if she wasn't helping her mom she was downstairs cooking or sitting in the parlor looking out the window. He called his Italian grandmother Nana Fall River since that is where she lived. He called his Irish grandfather Tom because that is what he asked to be called. When the author visited. Nana Upstairs would get tied into a chair so she wouldn't fall out and the author would have the same done to himself although with his knot was in the front so he could get down if he wanted to. He once got down looking for candy and found laxatives in the bathroom which he and upstairs Nana ate and Downstairs Nana never let them forget the mess they made.

The Author tells us about going to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs he was excited since his mother had read him the story. He mentions he really loved the movies and that since he wasn't in school yet his mother would take him with her when she went so he saw the Disney Silly Symphonies and other Disney cartoons and liked Shirley Temple and Miss Mae West. (He said he called her Miss because he was a kid and she was an adult and he was always taught to use Mr., Mrs. and Miss for adults.) When his mom, brother and he went to see snow white they got licorice candies (he says they didn't have popcorn in movie theaters yet). The movie starts after a newsreel, but his brother gets scared by the evil queen and the run through the forest. So the author’s mother takes the older brother out into the lobby and lets the author (as little boy) watch the rest of the movie since he was so excited to see it. But the author is bugged by the times the movie doesn’t match the original fairy tale, where is the comb? Where are the laces? And is mad at the end that there are no iron shoes for the evil queen.

Their new house had only the studs up which stay up in the hurricane. But right after Christmas of 1938 the author’s dad has fight with the man building the house and fires the builder. Father’s friends Johnny Papallo, Tony Nesci and others offer to help build the house but they run into a problem, since the city dug the unpaved street down, so now the house that was on a small hill is up on a high hill and they have to build a retaining wall and steps to get up to the house. Before they plaster the walls, they allow the author, who wanted to be an artist, to draw on the walls although they told him it was only this once and he couldn’t do it once the walls were plastered. He put his whole extended family on the walls except for Nana Upstairs who had died and gone to heaven. He could only do it on the ground floor since their weren’t stairs to go upstairs yet. He was angry when the plasters came and covered up his drawings but his Grandpa Tom makes him feel better saying that this way he can know that the drawing are always underneath.

In the fall of 1939 the author starts kindergarten. He is excited to go to school to learn to read. He asks his mom to let him walk by himself, she agrees but watches him. When he arrives he goes to the main doors but they have an odd rule where those can’t be used by the students and the principal directs him to the correct doors and his classroom. He meets his teacher who tells them they will read next year. So he tells her great, I’ll see you next year and he leaves and goes home but no one is there. The school calls his parents who go home and find him studying a book trying to learn to read. His mom says he has to pass kindergarten to go on to first grade so he can learn to read. The author says he did it, but never really liked kindergarten.

At the house they work on what the author’s father calls the backyard project. First they try to start a controlled fire (with lots of people around with brooms to control the flames and his mother with the hose) so they can burn all the stuff growing the backyard. The first time they start the fire, the control it a bit too much and it goes out. The next time not enough and mother has to come in with the hose, everyone got soaking wet from the blast. After they finally got all weeds burned off they hired a man to level the yard and remove the rocks (which were used for the front retaining wall). But the next day it starts to really rain turning the back yard into a muddy river. A little gets into the house but it is not too bad. However the author is worried it will delay the move. He has heard of guardian angels from his Aunt Nell so he asks his angel to watch over the house and it seems to work since there are no more delays and they are ready to move in right after new years day.

For Christmas in the apartment they put up a “Santa Claus fireplace” for the last time it is made of cardboard but next year they will have a real fireplace. Mrs. Crane and her daughter come by. Mrs. Crane is sad to loose her friends as neighbors. As gifts the author gets an Uncle Wiggly game and books, a harmonica and a Jeep doll (an animal from the Popeye comics). Buddy gets a catcher’s mitt and a softball. Carol Crane gets a Shirley Temple Doll. They then go over to Tom and Nan’s for Christmas dinner.

On New Year’s Eve, his mom and dad dress up like movie stars and go to the Wallingford Elks Club New Year’s Eve Dance with Uncle Charles and his girlfriend Viva and Mr. and Mrs. Crane. Althea Morin came downstairs from the apartment above and watched Carol, Buddy and the author. They are listening to the radio have snacks like Coke and popcorn. Althea’s parents come down to join them. On the radio the author hears it announced that the next singer will be Irish tenor Morton Downey who was his mom’s first cousin. Then the listen to the crowd at Time Square count down to 1940.

Now they were packing and getting ready for the move. The boys are taken to Wallingford (to keep them from being underfoot while the parents pack.) The spend the day with a succession of relatives such as Uncle Charles and Mickey Lynch, Cousin Mabel and her husband Cousin Bill Powers, and Aunt Nell. They help Tom and Downstairs Nana at their grocery store putting cans of food on shelves. The author keeps asking when they can see the new house. The adults just keep saying “soon, soon”. They have dinner and play Chinese checkers. Finally when it is dark the phone rings and it is time. They go to the new house. The author is told to push the doorbell. Welecome home says mom and dad showing them around the new place. They run up to their room. There are new dressers and new beds made with the covers turned down and the author can identify his because his pjs are sitting waiting for him.

The author ends with epilogue saying that he was inspired to write this series of books when an long-time assistant suggested it. The author says that his memories were reinforced by hours of home movies that his mother and father took since he was one year old.

Next there is a preview for Here We All Are.
The author talks about how excited he was running up and down the stairs in the new house. Trying out the new easy chair in the living room. Looking at the new painting in the living room done by their cousin Anna (and deciding they had a very artistic family with Morton Downey the tenor and the McLauglin twins going to the Pratt Institute a famous Brooklyn art school. They had a dining room they only used for special occasions. A new gas stove that sometimes had to be started by a match and that the author stayed away from having heard stories of people having their eyebrows burnt off. An old fashion refrigerator that father thought was better than the modern ones, that had a motor in a drum at the top. A vanity for his mother where the author once put on lipstick and pretended to be Mae West. His furniture in his room is new and he is told it is maple and he licks it to see if it tastes like maple syrup. A laundry chute which he is excited about because he has seen movies with people sliding down a curved chute, but this is straight down so no luck. A real shower which he can’t use because he gets too much water on the floor. Mom was planning to put up decals in the bathroom and after they went to Woolworth and looked at all the options. (The author liked some funny dancing fruit) mother picked a white and black swan and some lily pads. But then she surprises the author by saying they need a decal for the baby’s room and breaking the news about a new baby. The author is excited about the idea of a sister (he already has a brother) but mother says they don’t know what the baby is so when he goes home he goes to the nursery and prays that the baby will be a sister.

On My Way "From starring in the dance recital, praying for his brand new baby sister to get over pneumonia, placing his hands in the wet cement to make his mark in the sidewalk, and finally learning to read."

What a Year "It's a big year for Tomie-he's starting first grade, and it's his first birthday in the new house at 26 Fairmount Avenue. It's also the first year that Tomie gets to go trick-or-treating with his older brother Buddy. When Tomie gets the chicken pox. Will he be cured in time for the Christmas pageant?"

Things Will Never be the same "All Through the year, exciting things happen and Tomie writes about them and locks them up in his diary. Sledding down the steep hill on his new Junior Flexible Flyer, being a pirate in the dance recital, and starting real art lessons at last! Then one Sunday morning the news on the radio changes everything. Tomie dePaola takes us back to 1941 and lets us experience what life was like growing up."

I'm Still Scared "Young Tomie experiences uncertainty in the weeks following the attack on Pearl Harbor. What are the grown-ups talking quietly about at home and even at school? Why does his class have to go to the spooky furnace room for an air raid drill? Why does the family hang thick black curtains over the windows? As always, Tomie's family is there to comfort and explain the confusion."
Boys

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, easy read. The kids immediately asked for more “Tomie stories” so we’re hoping to get hold of the other books in the series!

[Leighanna Wright]

Summary: 26 Fairmont Avenue is written from the perspective of Tomie DePaola. Tomie is a five-year-old boy who can not wait to start school and move into his new home. However, disaster strikes when a hurricane hits the town Tomie lives in. This delays his new house being built. However, with many great friends and family members, Tomie's family builds the new house and they are able to move it.

Evaluation: 26 Fairmont Avenue is a great realistic fiction book that is also an autobiography. The main character, Tomie is well developed in this book and you learn about him and his family through his thoughts. The events take place in Meriden, Connecticut. The events such as a hurricane can happen in the real world. The author uses great style when writing this book. He uses illustrations and dialogue, which helps the characters sound natural.

Teaching Ideas: I would use this book to introduce autobiographies and biographies. I would explain to them that this book is an autobiography when means the author wrote the story about himself. after reading the book I would have my students write an autobiography about them and then we could write a biography about a favorite actor/singer.

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes an author's life provides perfect fodder for a book, better than anything that could be made up. Tomie dePaola has one of those lives.

26 Fairmount Avenue chronicles the year it took to build the dePaolo's new house. It also features snippets from Tomie's world of extended family, neighborhood kids, and school. Tomie's first day of kindergarten was by far the best thing I have read in years. The kid had GUTS.

I love the mood created in this short chapter book. I love that it's memoir; the author has sublime restraint when doling out his recollections. I am looking forward to reading the whole series.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

We listened to the audio of all the 26 Fairmount Ave books read by the author. We really enjoyed them over the summer 2014. We like to read everything by Tomie DePaola.

Read this book because we have an author access with Tomie DePaola on RAR next week. The kids loved listening to this book again. Jacob picked up another chapter book from Tomie right afterwards and read at naptime...krb 4/14/18

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps we've been spoiled with the children's fantasy we've been reading together lately, but my 6 year old and I found this book to be very dull.
I understand that it's autobiographical, and targeted at a young audience, but it just felt incredibly tired and flat.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this to Sarah, felt like a waste of time. Kept waiting for something really good to happen or for a good moral. Soooo many other books to choose from, just skip this one.

[Chance Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A chapter book memoir with a stunning economy of language and charming illustrations to punctuate the succinct text.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished reading 25 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE, written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola, published in 1999, and a Newbery Honor book.

I only really know Tomie dePaola from his famous children's picture book, STREGA NONA, which back in the day I had the book and cassette tape with Dom Deluise reading it aloud. I remember listening and following along with that book many times during my childhood, so this was a pleasant surprise coming across dePaola's first chapter book.

It's the first in a series of chapter books dePaola wrote in response to his fans asking him to write a chapter book. Not knowing what to write about dePaola finally set on writing a series of autobiographical books based on his own childhood.

It's about a young Tomie dePaola and his family while they wait for their new house at 26 Fairmount Avenue to be built. There's the hurricane of 1938, the first day of kindergarten, seeing the movie Snow White for the first time, and being disappointed it didn't match the original fairy tale.

The best chapter though had to do with one of Tomie's grandmothers who was tied to a chair so she wouldn't fall off and how Tomie searched for candy, coming across some in the bathroom. I won't give it away, but it did give me a chuckle.

It's just a collection of short chapters of the life and time of little Tomie dePaola. Nothing extravagant. Just simple fun. I do wish it had been longer. But it's geared towards maybe early elementary. Coming in at only fifty-seven pages, it's a very slim read. But still enjoyable. 26 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE, by Tomie dePaola. My rating - 3/5 stars.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of dePaola's series of early chapter books chronicling his life on 26 Fairmont Ave. As the very first in the series, it starts with the actual construction of the new house and ends with the family moving in. Each chapter is its own little story. It's sweet and simple (Tomie is about 4-5 years old in most of this volume's stories) and an interesting historic perspective, while still being relatable for kids today.

I shared the chapter about seeing Snow White in theaters with my YA book club. While well older than the target age group, my teens got a kick out of it, as our own topic that month was Books To Movies. We all had read and watched a story, and compared the two, so we all also understood little Tomie's frustration that 'Mr. Walt Disney obviously hadn't read the real story.' Fans. Some things don't change with time :)

I've also used this with a grade school book club. It's a good prompt for kids to start journaling or documenting their own lives. Tomie's adventures weren't all Dramatic, but they were real. So after reading, we talked about looking at our own lives in that sort of lens - what sort of stories from our own daily life would we want to share?

[Linda Spear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tomie (pronounced Tommy-I don't think I ever knew that) DePaola has been a favorite illustrator and storyteller in my years as a children's librarian. When he died this year, I decided to read the series "26 Fairmount Ave" in his memory. These are not his usual picture books even though there are many drawings. A charming series about his early life with family, friends, school, WWII. One sees where his ideas for his picture books and tales came from, especially "Tom", "Oliver Button is a Sissy", "The Art Lesson", "The Baby Sister", and "Watch Out For the Chicken Feet in Your Soup". What a treasure to the illustrating world he was! And so proud of his ancestry; Italian, Irish, Catholic, all of which are related in his work. This series would be so engaging if read by an adult to a child, especially an older adult who might have similar memories and reactions to Tomie's. Can you all tell I loved these books? And I was reminded again of why I am so attracted to books by Patricia Polacco, Allen Say, Patricia McKissack, Barbara Cooney, Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard, and going way back, Riki Levinson for "Watch the Stars Come Out" and "I Go With my Family to Grandma's". I must get off my soap box now. Tomie, see what you caused?