Continuing the memoir begun in dePaola's Newbery Honor Book 26 Fairmount Avenue (1999), this short chapter book shows young Tomie as he takes tap dancing lessons, finds his way in kindergarten, and waits a seemingly interminable 10 days for his mother and new baby sister to come home from the hospital. The innocence and good humor of the story will please young readers, even those who don't connect five-year-old Tomie with the many picture books he has written and illustrated as an adult. Those who do will savor his early experiences painting with muddied colors at the classroom easel or making a valentine mail box decorated with hearts and cupids. Teachers looking for examples of writing from experience will find the vividness of the memories and the simplicity of the telling good qualities for their students to emulate. Another satisfying book in a warm episodic family story that makes writing autobiography look easy. (Reviewed May 1, 2000)

Young Tomie begins the second half of kindergarten, which witnesses his early success in art, tap-dancing, and theatrics, as well as the birth of his sister. This sequel hasn't the strong focus of the first book, but the details of Tomie's life are recalled (or re-imagined) with vivid precision. It's nice to see an author autobiography revel in the natural egocentricity of childhood; nice, too, to see a boy triumph in "unmasculine" pursuits.

Picking up his memoir where 26 Fairmount Avenue (1999), left off, dePaola presents a kindergartner's-eye view of his new house, growing family, and increasingly busy life. He remembers what a child would remember: a new stove with niches for salt and pepper shakers at the back; losing the chance to play Peter Rabbit in a class play by talking out of turn (but stealing the show anyway with onstage clowning); anxiously hoping that his mother brings a girl home from the hospital—"I already had a brother, and who needs two of those!" Between a detailed floor plan and the closing full family portrait, he brings classmates, lovely parents, a hilariously forbidding grandmother who comes for an extended visit, and other relatives to life, both in his seemingly artless narrative and with relentlessly charming portraits and tableaux. Seldom either shy or down for long, he is or becomes a friend to everyone here, and like the unsympathetic teacher who relents after being presented with a magnificent homemade valentine, readers will find his buoyancy irresistible. (Autobiography. 7-10)

In a starred review <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">PW wrote, "DePaola continues to share engaging childhood memories in this breezy follow-up to <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">26 Fairmount Avenue, his inaugural chapter book and a Newbery Honor title." Ages 7-10. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Oct.)

Gr 1-3-Like an old friend sharing childhood experiences, dePaola recalls events that occurred soon after his family moved to their house on Fairmount Avenue in Connecticut circa 1940. He describes his main obsessions in kindergarten-the anticipated birth of his baby sister, art, and learning to tap dance. His parents, grandparents, his friend Jeannie, and even his art teacher, first introduced in 26 Fairmount Avenue (Putnam, 1999), all make return appearances here, with their personalities and stories expanded and placed more firmly in time. Children will be tickled to read about the time Tomie borrowed his mother's lipstick to make himself up like his favorite movie star, Mae West; or how he licked his bedpost when he learned that it was genuine maple. A black-and-white illustration or small decorative silhouette graces almost every page. Through descriptions and drawings, the author helps readers to understand such historical tidbits as a monitor-top refrigerator and Joe Palooka. This is a perfect step-up for children ready to move from beginning readers to chapter books. A wonderful choice for group or independent reading.-Darcy Schild, Schwegler Elementary School, Lawrence, KS Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.