Thomas Anthony "Tomie" dePaola (born September 15, 1934) is an American writer and illustrator who has created more than 200 children's books, and is known best for the PBS Kids TV series Barney & Friends and picture books such as Strega Nona. He received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his lifetime contribution to American children's literature in 2011. Though not as well known as for illustrations of children's books, DePaola has also produced significant works of fine art, several of which in locations that are accessible for viewing. These works include the simple, yet very elegant, series of fourteen Stations of the Cross and a depiction of St. Benedict holding the "Rule for Monasteries" with a monastery in the background that reside in the Abbey Church of Our Lady of Glastonbury in Hingham, Massachusetts. He also painted a set of frescoes in the refectory (monks' dining room) of the same abbey, normally open only to the congregation after the abbey's conventual Sunday masses during cool or inclement weather.

A fuzzy-brained but lovable man loses himself, attempts to travel from Pinsk to Minsk, and mistakes the identity of his old friend Harry.

BSLW RECAT 2023