I bought a few books by Tomie dePaola sometime ago for Marissa and Evan. The books are a series featuring Strega Nona. Marissa loves listening to the stories of Strega Nona. On the other hand, Evan wasn't that keen. Oh well, he is very content with his Manga Metamorphosis & Manga Mutiny books.
As for me, I am sooooo into the cute illustrations and stories! I love all the illustrations by Tomie dePaola in all his books! Feel like collecting all of them!
In case you are wondering....Strega is the Italian word for witch. Strega Nona is actually a 'grandma witch' beloved by the townsfolk of Calabria (a region in southern Italy). Strega Nona provides relief for headaches, cures warts on noses and restores hair to bald heads. She also helps in matchmaking young girls and boys of marriageable age.
Strega Nona owns a magic pasta pot inherited from her Grandma Concetta who was also a strega. Big Anthony is her helper who tends to the goats and feeds the peacock. He is a very forgetful and silly person - and he gets into trouble whenever he doesn't pay attention. The illustration below shows Big Anthony serving pasta from the magic pasta pot.
All the stories contain common Italian words and most importantly there's a lesson to be learnt.
The books in our collection :
Strega Nona (Caldecott Medal Book 1979) Paperback Edition
Strega Nona Takes a Vacation - Hardcover edition
Strega Nona Meets Her Match - Hardcover Edition
Big Anthony His Story - Hardcover Edition
Strega Nona Her Story - Paperback Edition
Strega Nona's Magic Lessons
These other titles are on our wishlist :
Strega Nona's Harvest
Big Anthony and the Magic Ring
Brava Strega Nona! A Pop-up Book
Merry Christmas Strega Nona
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