![]() ![]() Granted, there is a line in the book that states, “Even the priest and the sisters of the convent went, because Strega Nona did have a magic touch.” This one line and the images that accompany it could very well offend the Catholic Church. Yet, her good magic and grandmotherly ways have been challenged. At the end of the story, she is the hero and teaches Big Anthony, and the children who are reading the book, a valuable lesson. ![]() The story is a timeless lesson in following the rules or risk punishment, and the illustrations are beautifully graphic and delightfully charming.ĭePaola depicts Strega Nona as a good witch who is more concerned with helping people than devouring children and doing harm. It is not hard to see why this book is so beloved. In 1976, it was awarded the Caldecott Honor and it was voted one of the “ Top 100 Picture Books” of all time in a 2012 poll sponsored by the School Library Journal. Strega Nona is the first in a series of pictures books featuring Nona and Big Anthony however, none reached the acclaim of the original. In 1975, Tomie dePaola published the wonderful Strega Nona, a story of a kindly strega, or witch, from Calabria who helps the townspeople with their troubles after all, as dePaola says, “Strega Nona did have a magic touch.” The story centers around her magic pasta pot and her young helper, Big Anthony, who gets into some trouble when he tries to do magic, himself. DePaola, Tomie, Strega Nona: An Original Version of an Old Tale. ![]()
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