America's Most Prolific Writers Is Essay

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The character Strega Nona was included in an number of dePaola's other books as well.

Although he has been well-published and received honorary degrees and other honors he has never been able to reach the upper echelons of the literary community. The biggest book awards in children's literature, the Randolph Caldecott Medal for Illustration, the John Newberry Medal for writing, or the National Book Award have never been awarded to him. Additionally, although he has sold millions of books and enjoys popularity with children, he is not without his critics. The primary focus of his critics is that his work is not that creative. These individuals feel that his stories do not address new issues or handle old issues in a new manner. On the other hand there are a great number of persons who see his work as doing a good job of making complicated human issues easier for young children to understand (Mehegan). Similarly, he takes the same approach in his illustrations where he creates characters that are easily recognized by children. Proponents of his books point out that he does a remarkable job of avoiding sexual stereotyping in his stories which may not be understood by his young readers but is appreciated by their parents.

DePaola was raised as a strict Catholic and his religion has remained an important part of his life. Although he abandoned his goal of being a Benedictine monk, he continued to use the symbolism of his Catholic religion in his writings.

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Additionally, he remained true to his Italian heritage by naming his characters using Italian phrases and makes frequent references to grandparents as his own grandparents were extremely important to him and influenced his life greatly. In addition to religion, ethnicity, and his family life, dePaola also places significant emphasis in his writings and illustrations on Christmas and other holidays (both religious and secular), old folktales, Bible stories, and Mother Goose rhymes. DePaola's writing style relies heavily upon humor and light hearted illustrations which may explain why his books are so popular with children.

At 77 he remains active and continues to both write and illustrate new books. He was married briefly when he was much younger but has chosen to live alone on his property in New Hampshire where he maintains his writing and artist studio in a large barn. Even in his later years he has remained active traveling around the country promoting his books and speaking at schools and universities about his work in the literary field.

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