Tomie De Paola - 26 Fairmount Avenue: Books 1-4
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Tomie DePaola stretches his wings: 26 Fairmount Avenue
Pros
cute story, fills niche for beginning readers
Cons
none
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
A great chapter book from an excellent author/illustrator
Since childhood, I have loved the work of Tomie DePaola. My personal favorite was the Strega Nona stories, with their quirky illustrations and fascinating story lines. I was delighted when I became the owner of a signed copy of DePaola's first dive into the wild and wonderful world of chapter books, 26 Fairmount Avenue. I guess I can't say that Borders never gave me anything. Thanks, Corporate America. Haha.
Back to the book. It tells the story of young Tomie's family as they make the move from an apartment into a new house that their family is having built. Weather permitting, of course. The story begins with the big hurricane of 1938, which wreaks havoc on the DePaola's neighborhood. We get an intimate and endearing look at all of the family members, which include extended family as well. Tomie makes an excellent tour guide of his family, introducing us to "Nana Upstairs" and "Nana Downstairs", which is how he differentiates his grandmothers. He calls his Grandfather Tom, at his grandpa'a insistance.
The book is a great intermediary step for beginnning readers. After picture books are no longer a challenge, and before the reader is ready for the bigger books, this serves as an excellent pit stop. For a long time, this reading level has been neglected by the publishing industry. In the past 2 or 3 years, we have seen a number of delightful contributions in the world of chapter books. Hopefully, DePaola will continue with this variety of book, as his unique style is always welcome!
The illustrations are classic DePaola. There are many illustrations of the family and house and neighborhood. The illustrations are rather simple, in black and white. They work well with the story to supplement the reading.
Since the story is set in 1938, there are a number of interesting historical references. For example, Tomie goes to see the opening of Snow White in the theatre. He trys to set Mr. Walt Disney straight, as his version is drastically different from the original Grimm story. This little bits of history really shape the story into a very precious and enjoyable little nugget.
Back to the book. It tells the story of young Tomie's family as they make the move from an apartment into a new house that their family is having built. Weather permitting, of course. The story begins with the big hurricane of 1938, which wreaks havoc on the DePaola's neighborhood. We get an intimate and endearing look at all of the family members, which include extended family as well. Tomie makes an excellent tour guide of his family, introducing us to "Nana Upstairs" and "Nana Downstairs", which is how he differentiates his grandmothers. He calls his Grandfather Tom, at his grandpa'a insistance.
The book is a great intermediary step for beginnning readers. After picture books are no longer a challenge, and before the reader is ready for the bigger books, this serves as an excellent pit stop. For a long time, this reading level has been neglected by the publishing industry. In the past 2 or 3 years, we have seen a number of delightful contributions in the world of chapter books. Hopefully, DePaola will continue with this variety of book, as his unique style is always welcome!
The illustrations are classic DePaola. There are many illustrations of the family and house and neighborhood. The illustrations are rather simple, in black and white. They work well with the story to supplement the reading.
Since the story is set in 1938, there are a number of interesting historical references. For example, Tomie goes to see the opening of Snow White in the theatre. He trys to set Mr. Walt Disney straight, as his version is drastically different from the original Grimm story. This little bits of history really shape the story into a very precious and enjoyable little nugget.
