
Hello, Great Readers of our series! Just in case you haven’t visited before, let me tell you a little about A Great Nephew and A Great Aunt. My great nephew, Landon (a fifth-grader) and I (his great aunt) collaborate. I write a poem which he illustrates. We started this collaboration last fall and have had so much fun with it that we decided to invite others along. Landon and I will continue to have a new episode on the second Friday of each month. The other Fridays are filling up quickly with guests. I have created a page on my website to view all the episodes of A Great Nephew and a Great Aunt. Click HERE to visit the page and enjoy past episodes.
Today it is my pleasure to share a creative collaboration from . . .
Elaine Kiely Kearns and Tomie dePaola
I know anyone involved with Kidlit must be as excited as I am about this collaboration. Elaine tirelessly brings us all things kidlit through Kidlit411. And Tomie dePaola is a kidlit treasure.
When Elaine sent me the art and the poem, I emailed back and said, “I wondered . . . did Tomie’s art inspire your poem or vice versa?”
Elaine answered, “He inspired me!! (As he always does!!!)”
I was inspired by both the art and the poem.
Tomie’s Art

Elaine’s Poem
What a sweet collaboration! Thanks so much to Elaine and Tomie for being a part of this series.
Meet Elaine: ELAINE KIELY KEARNS is an author of picture book and middle grade stories. She scours the internet for golden nuggets of information about children’s writing for the website she founded, KidLit411.com.
She lives in New York with her husband, two beautiful daughters and three furry babies. When she isn’t writing, she can be found doing yoga, eating chocolate and…eating chocolate.
Meet Tomie: TOMIE DEPAOLA has illustrated nearly 250 books and written the stories for over 100 of those books. He works in a studio attached to a renovated 200-year-old barn in New London, New Hampshire. You can find out more about Tomie, visit his website, WWW.TOMIE.COM, or his blog where he posts a daily doodle: WWW.TOMIESBLOG.BLOGSPOT.COM
Margaret at Reflections on the Teche has the Poetry Friday Roundup today. If you’d like to know more about Poetry Friday, click HERE for an explanation by Renee LaTulippe.
Yay! Great! 😀
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Love this fabulous pairing!! (Mmm, I feel a chocolate craving coming on…)
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Go have some cake, Diana 😀
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Sweet, indeed! Those 7 layer cakes are quite wondrous aren’t the?! I usually go for the fast, easy sheetcake. 🙂
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Me too, Irene. But oh it’s glorious to have icing between layers. 🙂
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LOVE this, love chocolate, love Elaine, love Tommie! Love this collaboration, Penny!
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Thanks for coming by, Yvonne. These collaborations make me soooo happy 😀
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What a rockstar pair!!!
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I agree, Mary Lee!
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I had no idea that there was National Chocolate Cake Day. I have immediately put it on the calendar. Thanks to Elaine and Tomie for helping us celebrate today. A granddaughter’s birthday is very soon, think I might share that cake picture with her gift! And love ‘finger in the batter”-don’t we all dip in? Thank you Penny!
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What a great idea to add National Chocolate Cake Day to your personal calendar. I must do the same! Thanks for coming by, Linda.
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What a yummy poem and painting. Lucky you! Great collaboration!
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Thanks for coming by, Pat 😀
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January 27 just happens to be my BIRTHDAY! So this poem is my new birthday anthem! Yay!
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So cool that Jan. 27th is your birthday! And what a perfect anthem.
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I want cake NOW! Thanks for the double-decker treat!
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Thanks for coming by, Julie!
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What fantabulous art and such a YUM poem, Elaine. LOVE this collaboration. Your poem rolls off the tongue. Such fun. Great job, you two. (So is Tommy your nephew?) *wink* *wink* *waves to Penny*
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Hi, Robyn! *winking* and *waving* back!
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Wow This is a great collaboration. So much fun. Thanks!
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Thanks for stopping in, Rosi 😀
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Exciting collaboration and a yummy concept! Yum!
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So exciting and so yummy 😀 Thanks for coming by, Carrie!
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Thanks to Susanna Hill, I know it is perfectly OK to eat chocolate cake for breakfast. That’s exactly what I want to do after savoring this sweet treat this morning! Thanks for the crafty confection Elaine and Tomie!
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Susanna has taught us all so well, Cathy! Ha! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
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Susanna should be a nutritionist…don’t you think? Thanks for coming by, Cathy 😀
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I love this series, Penny. I struggle to keep up with my blog reading, and I’m even worse about commenting, so I wanted to make a point of letting you know I have my eye on it 😉 Fun poem, Elaine! Great inspiration, Tomie! I love seeing your art pop up on Facebook.
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Thank you, Alayne! XO
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Alayne…I completely relate! I have an Inbox full of blog posts I need to get to. Thanks for letting me know you’re visiting. That means a lot. BTW, I mention your name in my Kidlit411 post 😀
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Love the poem Elaine and the DEPAOLA cake – fun collaboration! 🙂
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Thanks, Doreen!
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Thanks for coming by, Doreen.
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I love Elaine and everything she does! And everybody loves Tomie…soooo, what a winning combination! Elaine’s poem made me giggle out loud! I think I might have to bake today….mmmm!
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And if you baked it- it will be delicious! xo
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❤ *mwah*!
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Thank you for the LOVE! Love you!! xo
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Love you, too, hon!! xoxox
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I’m feeling the love! And I’m onboard with the love! We all love you too, Teresa! 😀
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Awww, hugs and love all around, Penny! x
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Awesome poem, Elaine!! I especially loved, “finger in the batter”! I think all PB writers dream of having Tomie dePaola illustrate their work, no matter in what order it happens!!
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Indeed, Lori! And Tomie was ever so gracious to allow me to write it! He is not only an incredible artist, but an incredible person, too. Thanks for the love, Lori!
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I loved that line, too, Lori! It captures my childhood memories…oh who am I kidding?? I had my finger in the batter just this week when I made my pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting 😀
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Thank you so much for inviting us, Penny! It was a lot of fun! xo
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I’m thrilled to have you! This collaboration takes the cake in the sweetest way! Thanks for being a part of the series 😀
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Terrific collaboration. Elaine, you know your poem hits the spot for a chocolate fanatic like me! Brava!
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Thank you, Renee! I couldn’t have done it without you! xo
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Thanks for coming by, Renee 😀
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Wow! Talk about a dynamic duo! What a sweet treat for a Friday morning. Love the illustration and poem.
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Thank you, Robin!
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Thanks for stopping by, Robin! I was catching up on some email this morning and saw the cover for your upcoming book! Love!!!!
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Thanks, Penny! I love the cover of yours. Can’t wait till it comes in the mail. 🙂
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Oh that is so fun, Elaine! I could just eat the screen what a great ooey gooey drawing.
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Thanks, Catherine!
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Ah! So that’s what happened to my computer this morning! It was Catherine eating her way to my blog and then into my monitor! But it’s fixed now, Catherine…just don’t do it again ;D
Just kidding! Thanks for coming by, Catherine!
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Hee hee! Nom nom
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