Thomas Anthony "Tomie" dePaola (/ˈtɒmi dəˈpaʊlə/; September 15, 1934 – March 30, 2020) was an American writer and illustrator who created more than 260 children's books, such as Strega Nona.

[7] DePaola was attracted to art at the age of four,[6] and credited his family with encouraging his development as an artist and influencing the themes of his works.

[12] The first published book that dePaola illustrated was a 1965 volume in the Coward-McCann series "Science is what and why": Sound, written by Lisa Miller.

The first, called "Then" showed his early work during his formative years at the Pratt Institute and the influence Fra Angelico, George Roualt and others had on him.

[17] He came out later in his life, telling The New York Times Magazine in 2019 that, for much of his career, "If it became known you were gay, you’d have a big red ‘G’ on your chest... and schools wouldn’t buy your books anymore.

[19] DePaola died at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center on March 30, 2020, in Lebanon, New Hampshire, according to his literary agent, Doug Whiteman.

It called Strega Nona, the wise Grandma Witch, "an enduring character who has charmed generations of children.

[24] He won the 1994 Aesop Prize from the American Folklore Society for Christopher, the Holy Giant[24] and the 2000 Southwest Book Award from the Border Regional Library Association for Night of Las Posadas.

[8][26] In 2023, the United States Postal Service honored DePaola with a U.S. Postage Stamp featuring Strega Nona.