26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie dePaola centers on the author's memory of his childhood in Meriden, Connecticut during the late 1930s. When the story begins, the town of Meriden is about to experience its first hurricane ever and the air is which with anticipation and uncertainty. At the same time, the dePaola family has just begun construction of a brand new house across town. Young Tomie is just four years old in 1938 and he lives in an apartment with his parents and older brother, Buddy. The dePaolas live in a close-knit neighborhood where everyone knows everyone else. Tomie comes from a very large extended Irish-Italian family and during the course of the story Tomie introduces the reader to his colorful, interesting relatives.

After the hurricane hits, Tomie measures the time leading up to moving into the new house in terms of holidays and landmark episodes in his life. One such episode is Tomie's experience at the Capitol Theater in Meriden where he, his mother and Buddy go to see Mr. Walt Disney's animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Seeing the movie is one of the high points in Tomie's life at the time and he learns an important lesson in acceptance when he realizes that Mr. Disney's movie is not what Tomie expects it to be. Tomie loves going to the movies and he is a big fan of Shirley Temple and Miss Mae West — two of the biggest names in entertainment. Tomie is interested in his world of words and pictures and expresses an interest in becoming an artist when he grows up. With the passage of Christmas, New Year's Eve and Easter, Tomie and his family live and love right up to the day when the new home is really theirs.

Tomie enjoys lively relationships with his great-grandmother, Nana Upstairs, and his Irish grandfather, who Tomie simply refers to as Tom. Each member of the dePaola family is special in his or her own right and Tomie comes to understand the value of belonging to a warm and supportive community of people who genuinely care for one another and help when help is needed.

In this humorous look back, Tomie dePaola can barely contain his excitement about his family's new home. Before moving in, however, there are muddy roads to deal with, a hilarious episode on Tomie's first day of kindergarten and a backyard blaze that almost burns the family's dream to the ground. Through it all, the reader witnesses the dePaola family's ups and downs as well as their love for one another. From being tied to a chair to mysterious chocolates wrapped in silvery paper to the dubious "backyard project," readers will truly enjoy the heartwarming journey that ends at 26 Fairmount Avenue.