A boy named Tommy loves to draw with his Binney & Smith Crayola crayons, and these pictures hang on his side of the room, in his mother's kitchen, at the barber shop where his father works, in the store of his Irish grandparents and in the home of his Italian grandmother Nana. Tommy? Nana? This work of picture-book fiction is really a gem of an autobiography, and readers familiar with dePaola's work will find wonderful, well-placed clues to his lifetime of artistry among these pages. Tommy starts school, and can't wait for the day when the art teacher comes. But there are a couple of hitches: the paints at school are cracked and powdery (and blow "right off the paper"), and the art teacher only lets the children have one piece of paper, on which to "copy" her drawings. Tommy, who has been told that real artists never copy, has a crisis. But his teachers (including Tommy's regular classroom teacher) show themselves to be far more understanding than readers could have predicted, and all ends well. Inventive and revealing, dePaola provides a lyrical blend of text and art. This is an inspired and childlike offering, perhaps one of dePaola's best.

LL809HC • Hard cover book • $22.00

NOW $10.50

The Nutcracker

136 pages. 10.25" x 11.75"
Creative Editions

Readers of all ages are enchanted by the stories-within-stories that are as intricate as the toys constructed by Godfather Drosselmeir for Fritz and Marie.

Award-winning Roberto Innocenti's detailed illustrations are equally rich and complex, from the attack of the mouse army to Maries's journey through Candy Meadow, Christmas Forest, and Bonbonville.

This beautifully presented book will add to the richness of the holiday season.

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