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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Nov 1998, 255 pages
Paperback:
Mar 2001, 255 pages
Funny, dramatic and memorable moments combined with lively illustrations throughout will make everyone wish they had grown up in the dePaola family.
In a striking debut, Tomie dePaola finds just the right voice for his first chapter book about his adventures during the year the family built their house at 26 Fairmount Avenue.
It all began when the "Big Hurricane of 1938" roared into town...then his first day of school took an unexpected turn...so did Mr. Disney's Snow White, the movie everyone had been waiting to see. These are only a few of the stories that will have readers racing from one episode to the next. Tomie fans, young and old, will be delighted to find favorite characters from his picture books, such as Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs, Tom and others.
Funny, dramatic and memorable moments combined with lively illustrations throughout will make everyone wish they had grown up in the dePaola family.
CHAPTER THREE:
As exciting as beginning the new house and the big hurricane were, something I had been waiting for for a long time had happened the spring of 1938. Mr. Walt Disney's movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs had come to Meriden.
My mother had read the true story of Snow White to my brother and me. I couldn't wait to see it in the movies. I thought Mr. Walt Disney was the best artist I had ever seen (I already knew that I wanted to be an artist, too). I loved his cartoons—especially "Silly Symphonies," Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and the Three Little Pigs. But now Mr. Walt Disney had done the first ever full-length animated movie—one and a half hours long.
I had been to a lot of movies—more than Buddy, even though he was eight. Because I didn't go to school yet, my mother took me with her to the movies in the afternoons. We both loved ...
Patricia MacLachlan
26 Fairmount Avenue is a charming, gentle, funny beginning of what we hope will be more stories of Tomie's Life, told in the voice of the child Tomie. His respect and reverence for both the old and the young is clear - in his life and in his stories. Patricia Reilly Giff
Tomie dePaola's readers are going to love this longer look into his world. He has given us a rollicking glimpse into life in the thirties and his own childhood. The writing is vivid and clear to the emerging reader; the story warmly and beautifully told. Paula Danziger
By reading this book, I know even more about my pal Tomie. Everyone should read 26 Fairmount Avenue-and feel like Tomie's his or her friend too. Fine writing-fine art-fine friend!
If you liked 26 Fairmount Avenue, try these:
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Published 2007
Deliciously nostalgic and quaintly witty, this is a story as breezy and carefree as a summer day. 2005 National Book Award Winner. Ages 8-12.
by Polly Horvath
Published 2005
"At once poignant, funny, and wise, this book gives new meaning to the phrase, 'The best journeys never end.'"
The Flower Sisters
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The House on Biscayne Bay
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The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
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