Tomie dePaola's Favorite Nursery Tales

By Tomie dePaola

Discover Tomie dePaola’s versions of well-known poems, fables, and stories featuring his beloved style and wit, sure to delight young readers and older fans alike.

With Tomie’s signature wry humor and winking charm, this collection of retellings is a beautifully illustrated ode to favorite childhood stories like The Three Bears, The Billy Goats Gruff, Rumpelstiltskin, and classic fairytales from Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm. Tomie’s rich, vibrant art is given a modern redesign with bright pops of color and a fresh new look for this re-release of the classic storybook.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Release date: Mar 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781534494848

Tomie dePaola

Tomie dePaola (1934–2020) was the beloved author and/or illustrator of more than 270 books for young readers, including the children’s classic Strega Nona. He was the recipient of the Newbery Honor, Caldecott Honor, and the 2011 Children’s Literature Legacy Award for “significant and lasting contribution to children’s literature.” A native of Connecticut, Mr. dePaola studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and spent much of his life in New London, New Hampshire. Visit his work online at Tomie.com.

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Cover: Tomie dePaola's Favorite Nursery Tales, by Tomie dePaola, illustrated by Tomie dePaola

Tomie dePaola’s

Favorite Nursery Tales

Tomie dePaola's Favorite Nursery Tales, by Tomie dePaola, illustrated by Tomie dePaola, S&S Books for Young Readers

For my mother, Flossie Downey dePaola, whose lap I sat on a long time ago and listened to her tell me many of these stories.

—T. deP.

How am I to sing your praise,

Happy chimney-corner days,

Sitting safe in nursery nooks,

Reading picture storybooks?

—From A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Children’s Hour

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Between the dark and the daylight,

When the night is beginning to lower,

Comes a pause in the day’s occupations,

That is known as the Children’s Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me

The patter of little feet,

The sound of a door that is opened,

And voices soft and sweet.

From my study I see in the lamplight,

Descending the broad hall stair,

Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,

And Edith with golden hair.

A whisper, and then a silence:

Yet I know by their merry eyes

They are plotting and planning together

To take me by surprise.

A sudden rush from the stairway.

A sudden raid from the hall!

By three doors left unguarded

They enter my castle wall!

They climb up into my turret

O’er the arms and back of my chair;

If I try to escape, they surround me;

They seem to be everywhere.

They almost devour me with kisses,

Their arms about me entwine,

Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen

In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti,

Because you have scaled the wall,

Such an old moustache as I am

Is not a match for you at all!

I have you fast in my fortress,

And will not let you depart,

But put you down into the dungeon

In the round-tower of my heart.

And there will I keep you forever,

Yes, forever and a day,

Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,

And moulder in dust away!

Johnny Cake

by Joseph Jacobs

Once upon a time there was an old man and an old woman and a little boy. One morning the old woman made a Johnny Cake and put it into the oven to bake. You watch the Johnny Cake while your father and I go out to work in the garden, she told the little boy. And the old man and the old woman went to hoe the potatoes.

But the little boy didn’t watch the Johnny Cake all the time. All of a sudden he heard a noise and just as he turned around to see what it was, the oven door popped open and out jumped Johnny Cake and rolled toward the kitchen door.

The little boy ran to shut the door, but Johnny Cake was too quick for him and he was out the door, down the steps, and onto the road before the little boy could catch him. The little boy cried out to his father and mother, who heard the uproar and threw down their hoes and joined the chase. But Johnny Cake outran all three and was out of sight as they sat down, all out of breath, to take a rest.

On went Johnny Cake, and by and by he came to two well diggers who looked up from their work and called out, Where are you going, Johnny Cake?

I’ve outrun an old man and an old woman and a little boy, and I can outrun you too-o-o!

You can, can you? We’ll see about that! they said, and they threw down their picks and ran after him. But they couldn’t catch up with him and soon they had to sit down exhausted on the side of the road to rest.

On ran Johnny Cake, and by and by he came to two ditch diggers who were digging a ditch. Where are you going, Johnny Cake? they called out.

I’ve outrun an old man and an old woman and a little boy, and two well diggers, and I can outrun you too-o-o!

You can, can you? We’ll see about that! they said, and they threw down their spades and ran after him. But Johnny Cake soon outran them too, and seeing that they could never catch up, they gave up and sat down panting, to rest.

On went Johnny Cake, and by and by he came to a bear. Where are you going, Johnny Cake? the bear asked, licking his lips.

I’ve outrun an old man and an old woman and a little boy, and two well diggers, and two ditch diggers, and I can outrun you too-o-o!

You can, can you? growled the bear. "We’ll see

Reviews for Tomie dePaola's Favorite Nursery Tales

[scrane4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely loved this book. I loved this book for two reasons. I loved that illustrations were detailed and went along with each the tale. The illustrators really took time to have consistent pictures throughout each of the tales. For example, the people in the tale , "The Emperor's New Clothes" are drawn in the same way in "The Straw Ox." I think by keeping the picture consistent it gives the book a nice clean look. The second thing that I liked about this book is the organization of the writing. The author used a lot of space in each of the pages. Instead of clumping the tales into one page, the author spread the story along a few pages with illustrations. For example, some of the text is interrupted with a picture in the middle to break a part the long paragraph. I think that is encourages the reader because it doesn't make the text or story seem to overwhelming. Overall, this book had a collection of 15 short old tales for children to read. All the tales are very different from one another and center around a variety of themes. I think that this book would be enjoyable for any grade level!

[stoppe3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book for many reasons. First, it is a great collection of traditional fantasy literature. The book has a collection of 30 favorite folktales and poems. Next, I enjoyed that every story taught a different message. The "big idea" is different for each story. Some of the messages were about honesty, sharing, persistence, loyalty, etc. Finally, I like that each story had pictures to go along with it. Some stories were as short as one page and as long as seven pages, but regardless of the length each story had pictures to go along with it.

[kbarge1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked this book for many reasons. I really liked the way that the author organized this book. I like that he provides the reader with a collection of these stories all in one book! Each story is relatively short and every "chapter" is a different nursery tale. I also like that this book provides a variety of characters. Each character is well-developed and can be read in different voices using a lot of expression! For example, the reader is tempted to use a small, squeaky voice as the mouse from The Lion and the Mouse, says, "Please, if you let me go, I shall be forever grateful." The reader is also able to do this with The Three Little Pigs story by using a mean, stern voice for the big bad wolf. I also like that many of these stories include repetition that would allow the reader and those being read to, to predict what will be said next. For example, when the big bad wolf tells the little pigs to let him in, each of them say, "No, not by the hair of my chinny, chin chin, I'll not let you in." I felt that the illustrations in this book also enhanced the story. The illustrator has a unique style and it is clear that each of the illustrations were done by the same person. While the illustrations for each story are very similar, the illustrator also does a good job of developing each of these characters individually. For example, the big bad wolf's angry expression portrayed in his illustrations clearly show his mean character. The first two little pig's emotions are also portrayed through their illustrations with frightening looks on their faces as the wolf blows down their houses. I also liked the way that the author/illustrator organized these illustrations. The first illustration is of the mother pig with her three little pigs as she is sending them out to, "seek their fortunes." The next illustrations are organized in a similar way. The top right corner of the page shows the pig building his house with either straw, sticks or bricks. The bottom of the page is an illustration of the wolf as he threatens, and in two cases is able to blow their houses down. The story ends with an illustration of the last little pig and his mother. I like that these illustrations portrayed each of the events that took place on the page and are well organized so that the reader is not confused. I believe that the big idea of this book is to provide children with a variety of nursery tales that provide valuable morals; such as in the story of The Three Little Pigs which shows that time and effort always pays off, which was shown through the third pig who took the time to build a safe and secure home that was able to protect him from the wolf.

[dtato1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In my opinion this is a fantastic book. I never thought I would like a book this much. One reason why I love this book is definitely the writing. Each chapter of the book has a different folktale, some are old while others are fairly new. I love how the author's writing is engaging and the stories are shorten but still have the meaning. I also love how at the end of each folktale there is "moral of the story" section and the author writes a little phrase about the moral. For example in the folktale The fox and the stork the moral is if you have been rude don't be surprised if you get paid back. Another moral that I love was the lion and the mouse. The author wrote," sometimes the most powerful owe everything to the smallest and weakest." I think that the moral to the story after each story makes this book great. I also like the illustrations in this book. I like how the pictures tell the story without even needing to read it and I also like how the pictures are not very advanced. Instead they look like a little child drew the pictures which makes this book very kid friendly. I think that the illustrations really enhance the book and make it fun to read. The message of this book is to learn about each folktale and the moral of each story. It is a great book to read to the class because it has over fifteen folktales in one book and the illustrations are really great.

[xubibliobug · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tomie dePaola’s Favorite Nursery Tales, selected and illustrated by Tomie dePaola, is a collection of classic folklore which has nourished children from generation to the next.There are 30 works in this book containing different type of folklore: fairy tales, folktales, fables and poem as well. Most of the works were written by the best known authors such as The Brothers Grimm, Aesop, Hans Christian Andersen, etc. The book is right for a variety of age groups. The little ones will enjoy “The Lion and the Mouse” by Aesop; the 3-5 year-old will love “The Three Little Pigs” by Joseph Jacobs; and for the older ones will figure out “The Owl and the Pussycat” by Edward Lear. Many Aesop’s works in this book such as “The Fox and the Grape,” “The Tortoise and Hare,” and “The Shepherd Who Cried Wolf” were adapted into Chinese text book for elementary children and the Anderson’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes” was included in senior high school text book for English class. Illustrates are drawn from children’s point of view. They are funny and witty. The animal characters are interpreted vividly.