Family in Feast and Feria

On Monday I read about Kristina's great experience Meeting Tomie at a booksigning. She encouraged checking Tomie's Calendar to see if he'll be coming to store nearby.

I was so tired, that at first when I read October 25 in Middleburg, I thought "Darn, I missed it." Then I looked at the calendar and realized that was THIS Wednesday and I could make it. And he was coming to my favorite historic, quaint town of Middleburg which wasn't exactly next door, but it would be a beautiful scenic drive through rolling hills of horse country with the mountains in the background and the beautiful fall colors...Oh, I thought, I definitely have to do this!

My son is three, but a huge fan of Tomie dePaola. We've read many of his books, including of course, Strega Nona, many of his Christmas themed books, his saint books, his books about Mary, his humorous books...the list is long. One of the highlights of course is to search for the heart signature in the pictures. We've only met one book that he doesn't enjoy, and that's Pancakes for Breakfast. The reason: he dislikes the disaster page...it's upsetting to him.

The books he loves the most are the stories that get me all choked up when I read, like Now One Foot, Now the Other, and the autobiographical picture books Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs (the perfect book we read when my grandmother died last year) and The Art Lesson (which has inspired him to color and paint all the time).

But when I asked which is his favorite Tomie book and The Baby Sister came his most definite reply, every time I asked. I know he enjoys it because of the relationship between Tomie and his mother, but he also wants a baby sister...and prays just like Tomie in this book. Shall I say from his mouth to God's ear, please?

But to share this moment with other Tomie fans would make the day even more perfect, so one of my sisters and two friends, Rachel and Mary Chris, whom I've met from 4RealLearning Forums all joined up to meet Tomie. There were 14 children and 5 adults.

Most of us arrived early, and entered the vine covered, tiny but adorable book shop, bought our books and walked over to an adorable cafe for a snack while we waited for the arrival of our author. When we sent a few of the boys on a scouting mission to see if there was a line forming, the answer came back negative. We were puzzled, because we were sure this was going to be a jam-packed, overflowing crowd. So we walked back around the corner to sit in front of the bookshop until the time came, but Tomie was already there and he was starting early!

Mr. dePaola is so great to meet in person. He's just so gracious and unassuming and he just fills the room. He's warm and welcoming, and offered to pose for pictures...nothing was too much to ask. He even stood and posed for a 4Real group picture.

He was surprised at how young my son was for his enthusiasm for his books. (Caught my son at a bad blink in the picture.) My son was being shy, so I told him his favorite book, and what else we enjoyed, and thanked him for sharing his gift. I told him the story of my mother reading The Clown of God while babysitting my niece and nephew. My sister came home and found my mother was just sobbing with the kids on her lap. He loved the story and said that's the effect he's going for. BTW, his publicist said that The Clown of God was her favorite book.

The time with him wasn't long enough (is it ever)? I spent last night thinking of things I wanted to tell him. I think I need to write to him...I have some suggestions for saint picture books. ;-) But I digress.

After walking past the historic Red Fox Inn, to show an actual place where "George Washington slept here", we went to the local school playground for some play time. The children had a blast climbing on the equipment, and all got along really well.

It was a lovely memory-making day. I'm so grateful to have seen one of our favorite authors and to share the joy with my son, family and friends.


Our 4Real Group Picture, Rachel, Mary Chris and Jenn, our children and Tomie! It's not completely focused, my apologies! But you can still see those happy faces!