26 Fairmount Avenue

In reading this book to my first grade class, Tomie always left them wanting to know more about his life. This first book in the 26 Fairmount Avenue series takes Tomie from the summer before kindergarten through his first year at his brothers "big" school. The story focuses on experiences dealing with moving in to a new house and neighborhood, having his teacher mispronounce his name, starting tap dancing lessons and many other events that shape his beginnings at his new life at 26 Fairmount Avenue. My students enjoyed every page of this new series, cover to cover and ended up checking out the book at the library all year! We continued to read the next four books throughout the year and continue to discuss them when we see each other around school. This new beginning biography series is a must have for every primary grade classroom.

"26 Fairmount Avenue" is the first of this author's chapter books. It tells about dePaola and his family as a child, moving into a new house and a tragic hurricane. Tomie tells the story with grade level words for early chapter book readers. And there are illustrations too. But they are in black and white, like alot of chapter books would be in. This book is great. It even won the Newberry Medal.

In 1938, Tomie dePaola is five years old and things are really beginning to happen. His family is building a new house with two floors and will be moving out of the apartment he's lived in his whole life. He'll be starting kindergarten, hopefully learning to read, and he just can't wait. Walt Disney's Snow White is at the movies and everybody's excited about going to see it and that was the year the big hurricane struck Connecticut..... Told in the first person, Mr dePaola has written a wonderfully heartwarming, autobiographical story, full of humor, drama, suspense and just the day to day ups and downs of a little boy's life. His easy to read text is written in a gentle conversational tone and fans of dePaola will recognize characters from his picture books, (Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs). This continuity adds intimacy to the story and makes youngsters feel like a part of the family. Perfect for readers 7-11, 26 Fairmount Avenue is also a terrific read aloud family book and the first of a new series that shouldn't be missed.

Excellent chapter book for read aloud and for young readers. This first chapter book by Tomie DePaola is the start of many to come. The book is a narrative of his childhood experience moving to a new home. Like his picture books, this one should not be missed!