Tomie dePaola (b. 1934) is an author and illustrator of over 200 children's books. Among the honors bestowed on the author are the Newbery Honor for 26 Fairmount Avenue and the Caldecott Honor for the book Strega Nona. dePaola was the host of the short lived series Telling Stories with Tomie dePaola, which ran for a few months in the fall of 2001 on the Hallmark Channel. Characters from one of his most popular children's books, Strega Nona, were adapted into Muppets and were featured in segments during each episode.