Strega
Nona
Author
& Illustrator: Tomie de Paola
Caldecott
Honor Award
Publisher:
Scholastic Inc/ New York 1975
Genre:
Picture Book, Traditional Literature
Themes:
magic, elders, food
Primary
Characters: Big Anthony, Strega Nona
Secondary
Characters: town’s people
Summary:
Big Anthony went to work for Strega
Nona. She was the town’s “grandmother
witch”. Everyone went to her for
ailments which only she could cure. They
went for headaches, warts, and help finding a husband. Big Anthony saw her magic pot cook pasta on
its own one day. Soon after, Strega Nona
left town to visit a friend and reminded Big Anthony not to tough her magic
pot. However, as soon as Strega Nona was
out of site he repeated the song to start the pasta. When everyone in town had their fill Big
Anthony could not get the pot to stop making pasta. The pasta kept cooking and overfilled the
pot, then the house, and began to spill over into town. Just when all was thought to be lost Strega
Nona returns. Can she save the town from
Big Anthony’s mistake? Why didn’t the
pot stop boiling when Big Anthony sang the magic words?
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