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I miss my friend Tomie dePaola. In celebration of the US Postal Service issuing a Strega Nona stamp in his honor, I wanted to share this interview that I conducted with Tomie in the early 20-teens. Tomie's friendship is actually intertwined with the love story between me and Gina. When we started dating in 2006, she had her childhood copy of STREGA NONA with her in her Boston apartment. That book meant the world to her. About a month after dating Gina, I met Tomie at a conference. We were both out at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators annual out in Los Angeles. Tomie and I became fast friends, and I bought the big Art of Tomie book and had it signed to both Gina and me. That was a big step -- a hardcover book signed to the both of us? But by then, I knew. And when Gina saw that i had the book signed to the both of us, well...she knew I knew.

Over the years, Gina and I cherished our time with Tomie. He even dedicated a Strega Nona book to us! And it was a Christmas book as well, a holiday that both Tomie and Gina went over the top for.

I hope that you enjoy this trip down memory lane. How I wish I could see his sparkle once again, but man do I feel so lucky to have this recording featuring his infectious laugh.

So on this special on-between episode of Origin Stories, let's get to know Tomie DePaloa's origin story!

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