The Postal Service will release a stamp in honor of Tomie dePaola, an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator, on May 5.
DePaola (1934-2020) produced a body of work that encompasses folktales and legends, informational books, religious and holiday stories, and autobiographical tales.
He is probably best known for the “Strega Nona” picture book series. Published in 1975, the first book in the series received a Caldecott Honor.
Set in southern Italy, the stories focus on Strega Nona — Grandma Witch — who uses magic to help with matters of the heart and to cure her neighbors’ ills.
In 2011, dePaola received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (now the Children’s Literature Legacy Award) for his “substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.”
He died on March 30, 2020, in Lebanon, NH.
The Forever stamp, featuring a detail from the cover of “Strega Nona,” will be available in panes of 20 at Post Offices and on usps.com.
