What a Year! (A 26 Fairmount Avenue Book)
Tomie dePaola's charming, funny-because-it's-true childhood memoir  continues with its third installment in the series that began with his Newbery  Honor Book26 Fairmount  Avenue. And what a year 1940 has been--and continues to be! After  surviving the arrival of his baby sister, Maureen, inHere We All Are, Tomie  celebrates his sixth birthday, starts first grade (although Miss Kiniry still  insists that his name be spelled "Tommy," even on his birthday cake), and  eagerly awaits the kid-holiday Triple Crown of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and  Christmas.Author and illustrator dePaola just might be perfecting the form here, crafting  a series that's worth reading for so very many reasons. His matter-of-fact  period details follow kid sensibilities to the letter, with many references to  radio shows and movies ("I sure liked Mr. Walt Disney's movies") but scant  attention paid to more grownup topics (the most noteworthy thing that Roosevelt  did in late 1940, apparently, was move Thanksgiving back a week so people would  have more time to buy Christmas presents).DePaola's most commendable quality, though, is his unerring ear and untainted  memory, which (while always funny) isn't always flattering to this willful  little guy. Yes, what a year indeed. And with the closing line--"I wonder what  1941 will be like?"--we can be sure that Tomie has many more eventful years to  come. (Ages 7 to 10)--Paul Hughes--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.