Strega Nona: An Old Tale Retold

Love this story and so do my grandkids!! We couldn't find the book the other night at bedtime so I downloaded it. The only reason that I didn't give it 5 stars was the format. I don't care for this type of Kindle book. I like it in regular book format, a page at a time. This format is too small for me to read. Luckily, my grandkids can read it out loud!

The Strega Nona books are great in the way they talk about magic but aren't overbearing or pushy with the religious side (the priests and nuns also come to her for her help). Shows very well how two worlds can co-exist, a lesson a lot of adults could learn from.

Great book! Totally didn't realize my copy came with a disc of the audio of it so that was a pleasant surprise!

My son is reading these books in school so I downloaded this for a bedtime story.
The kindle version is exactly like the hardcover book and that is ok but it is an ebook.
Shouldn't a children's ebook book have a little more....pizzazz?
Other than that no complaints. I'd buy more in the series.

The book is a classic. The illustrations are very attractive and memorable. I don't think the format of the Kindle really does it justice. It's almost too small to see. My kids don't really get into it as of yet.

I was so excited to get this book to read to my baby, as it was one of my favorites as a child. I open it up to read and the first page is ripped out. I am beyond upset and disappointed with the quality of this. I knew I was buying used but it said "very good condition" a page missing from the story is poor condition! I will be returning this item.

This is a fun story with beautiful artwork that I loved to read and look at over and over as a child. I now really enjoy reading this to my daughter who is too young to talk but gets excited and loves to look at the pictures with me while I read it aloud.

I just would like to talk to Tomie dePaola and let him know that the spelling of Strega Nona is totally wrong. Nona means ninth, but he meant "the grandma witch". So grandmother is written -Nonna (with 2 N)-. The story is nice, in fact I bought other books from the series, but I am italian and the misspelled words bother me. Said that my daughter loves the Strega Nona (The ninth witch :-D )

Buyer Beware! What a nasty surprise when I read the last page in this book to my grandsons! The last pages of the story were not included in this book, so the story ended in confusion and disappointment for us all. (I know the ending of this story as I have read it many times to my own young children, and also my elementary school students.) If I could rate it no stars I would!

What audio and music? The website said " In this e-book edition, Tomie dePaola retells his classic story against a charming musical score."
I have no musical score, no audio reading of the book, and the type is so small it is unreadable on a tablet.

No audio (although it says with audio recording) on the kindle version. The pictures are tiny on my iPad mini and zooming in is not an option. It's also not possible to change the layout to show 1 pg instead of 2 pages next to each other. The text magnifier on some pages cover the entire picture so your child cannot look at the picture while you read aloud. I recommend purchasing the paperback. Story=5 stars.

It's kind of a silly book and doesn't seem to really take itself seriously. A witch named Strega Nona lives in Calabria (an actual place-- a region in southern Italy). "Even the priests and the sisters of the convent went [to see her], because Strega Nona did have a magic touch." She is getting older, so she advertises for someone to help her around the house. Her ad is answered by "Big Anthony, who didn't pay attention." Well, he pays attention to begin with. She gives him a list of chores to do, and compensates him with room, board, and payment. But she tells him never to touch the pasta pot. One night, he sees her singing a magic spell to the pot, it fills up with pasta, and then she sings another song to stop it. (He doesn't see her blow three kisses into it afterwards.) The next day, he goes into town and tells the other townsfolk about it, but they don't believe him and make fun of him (despite knowing that Strega Nona has legitimate magical powers). So he waits two days for Strega Nona to leave town, when he has a chance to prove it to them.

He starts the pot up, invites the villagers over for food, and they're impressed and declare him a hero. Until he can't actually stop the pot and pasta threatens to overwhelm the whole town. Strega Nona arrives home in the nick of time and stops the pasta, at which point they turn on Big Anthony and threaten to "string him up" (for those not in the know, this means they want to hang him). Strega Nona stops them, saying that "the punishment must fit the crime", and hands Anthony a fork. "All right, Anthony, you wanted pasta from a magic pasta pot, and I want to sleep in my little bed tonight. So start eating." So he eats all the pasta, and the last scene is him sitting outside the house looking very unhappy with a full stomach, and her sleeping in her bed inside.

So he disobeys her, but she doesn't punish him cruelly for it. His "crime" doesn't deserve death. The only person he really wronged in this case is Strega Nona, because it was her pot. The pasta didn't actually hurt anything. He didn't try to attack the town or anything. He's not a malicious person; he just doesn't think of the consequences, and was pushed too far by the bizarrely skeptical townspeople.

Message: Don't be vindictive. Or, don't take things without permission.

For more children's book reviews, see the drttmk website.

This charming book and story came into my life when I was in grade 2. I ordered it through Scholastic Canada and I loved it. I loved the illustrations and the charming, humorous tale of Big Anthony and his troubles caused by a big, magic, pasta cooking pot. I re-purchased this as an adult and still find the book to be a delight.

Set in Calabria, the story involves the wise, old Strega Nona, or "Grandma Witch", a beloved lady who is renown in her town for her many home-made remedies. She also has a secret - a magic pasta, cooking pot that when used properly, offers an endless supply of delicious noodles. The nosy and selfish Big Anthony, who is hired by Strega Nona to help around the house, witnesses the pot in action and during her absence decides to use it for his own, selfish pleasure and let's just say, things don't go his in his favor.

Beautifully told and illustrated, "Strega Nona" should delight both the young and older reader who are just wanting a good, old-fashioned book to read. The version comes with a CD which is an added bonus. Get it.

A sort of "Sorcerer's Apprentice" tale. Strega Nona is known as being a friendly witch. She hires Big Anthony to care for her house, but her biggest rule is he can't touch her pasta pot! One day, Big Anthony catches her speaking a spell to the pot, which creates instant, unlimited pasta! He HAS to show this to the village!

Unfortunately, he didn't learn how to turn it off.

This book features soft, simple illustrations, which have the extra little interest of recurring animals, particularly the peacock. Little ones will probably be interested in finding these animals over and over.

It has a medium-ish amount of text on each page, so your youngest listeners probably won't have the attention span for a reading, but by about three years old, they should be good to go.

A must for libraries, but for individuals, check it out first to see if your household warrants a purchase.

As we all mostly do, we love our grandmothers. They are very full of love and care, have great wisdom and even have a little magic in their hearts. For example, i visited my grandmother in Mexico a few years back and she was wonderful. She made all kinds of Mexican food, had lots of beautiful flowers and gave me lots of love. Grandmothers even have a touch of magic in their lives. For this elderly woman, she's full of magic and wisdom and will show her assistant a good lesson.

The story is in a small Italian village and there lives a old woman named Strega Nona. Her name also means "Grandma Witch". All of the townspeople ask for her assistance when needed and she helps them with her unique magic abilities. For example, she can rid people of warts and headaches in a jiffy with a hairpin and a spell. When she's starting to grow more old, he hires a boy named Big Anthony whose big in size but small in mind. One night while doing chores, Anthony sees Strega Nona using her special magic pot to make their supper with a poetic spell. Envious, he tells the village about the pot, but end up getting laughs. So when Strega Nona is out, Anthony gets his chance to prove everyone, but his clueless-ness could put the town into sinking trouble.

Without a doubt, "Strega Nona" ranks among Tomie DePaola's best work. The story plays along traditionally and classic as a fairy tale. The art of the illustrations are truly fantastic and original. The book teaches readers not to take on foolish chances and not to be tempted. If you are a grandmother or have one, this is a perfect book to read together that has magic, thrills and heart (A).

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. Strega Nona was one of her picks.

This is an engaging tale of an elderly woman everyone called Grandma Witch, or Strega Nona. She helped everyone with their troubles, even the priest and the sisters in the convent. She could cure headaches, help girls get husbands, and get rid of warts.

Because she was old, she hired Big Anthony to help her with the indoor and outdoor chores. Big Anthony was told not to touch the pasta pot, and he agreed. But one day he saw that she could turn it into a magic pasta pot by singing to it. Unfortunately, Big Anthony did not see all of the magic spell she used.

One day when Strega Nona went to visit her friend Strega Amelia, Big Anthony saw his chance!

Using the magic pasta pot by invoking the magic words, soon Big Anthony has enough pasta for everyone in town. People are very impressed and eat with him. Then he says the magic words to make it stop, and it continues (because he hadn't seen Strega Nona blow three kisses as part of the spell). Soon the pasta is coming out the door and threatens the town!

Fortunately, Strega Nona returns and saves the day. But she wants to sleep in her bed that night. So she tells Big Anthony to start eating pasta to make room for her!

The illustrations are very colorful and beautiful to behold. They are in a simple style that is appealing to young children. I would have enjoyed the book personally, just for the illustrations.

The story is told in a friendly, humorous way rather than a frightening way. You can compare this story to Walt Disney's The Sorcerer's Apprentice and this one is definitely lighter and more appealing for young children.

My daughter loved to read this story to me, as well as having me read it to her. She loved to laugh at the sight of all that pasta!

The story has won a Caldecott award for outstanding illustrations, which is well deserved.

Overcome your stalled thinking that children don't enjoy stories about witches! In fact, love of this book may be behind the interest in Harry Potter!

It's like "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" but without that annoying mouse. For many youngsters like myself, "Strega Nona", marks my earliest introduction to the delightful Tomie de Paola. To me, this story is pitch perfect. It has everything a classic folktale should have and it tells its story with a coy courteous eloquence. Few picture books are half as classy as "Strega Nona". It is perhaps the world's best.
Strega Nona lives by her lonesome in a small cottage in Calabria, Italy. A witch by trade, she cures the townspeople of their ailments, warts, and headaches. When Big Anthony is hired on as Strega Nona's servant she gives him very strict instructions on what he is required to do, and what he is forbidden to do. Quoth Strega Nona, "The one thing you must never do is touch the pasta pot". You can probably guess where this is headed. After seeing the witch conjur delicious cooked pasta fully formed from the pot, Anthony is eager to prove this miracle to the people of the town. When Strega Nona leaves on a trip, Anthony speaks her spell and feeds everyone in the vicinity delicious piping hot pasta. Unfortunately, Anthony didn't quite catch the way to make the pasta stop flowing. As the villagers attempt to prevent the growing pasta from destroying their town, Strega Nona arrives just in time to put everything right again. Anthony receives a just comeuppance and all is well in the world.
I can't pinpoint what exactly it is about this book that touches me so deeply. Maybe it's the imagery in the illustrations. Strega Nona has a prominent recognizable nose and a babuska's kerchief about her head. She is constantly surrounded by large rabbits and peacocks, setting the tone of the life she leads. Tomie de Paola's illustrations always contain an element of spirituality in them, and in this case it comes in the form of the priest and nuns living in the town. I also am greatly attached to the book's choice of words. There's not a syllable out of place in this tale. Not a wasted consonant or a superfluous adjective. It is a perfectly told tale with illustrations that verge on the sublime. All in all, a great book for kids and adults alike.

I can clearly recall reading/listening to this book when I was in preschool. It was one of the first books I'd ever had that also came with a cassette tape. (I'm happy to see you can still get the cassette version.) I listened to that tape until it nearly burned up in the player. To say the story left a lasting impression on me is an understatement. To this day, I can still recite the entire spell for the pasta pot by memory. I credit this book for getting me interested in stories and cooking both. I'm glad to be buying it again now so that I can show it to the next generation of my family. It's a wonderful story and it's beautifully illustrated.

A perfect picture book.
Here's part of a poetic summary by educator, Susan Kilpatrick:

"Strega Nona’s Magic pot
Cooked her pasta nice and hot.
Special words and kisses three,
Stopped the pot so magically."

Ah...the memories. I remember reading this at story time when I was in grade school (kindergarten or first grade...not sure which) and I just had to share it with my own kids. Strega Nona (Grandmother Witch) is a classic and with good reason. It's got the old grandma witch who helps people with her magic (potions, cures, and sometimes just plain ol' good advice)...but she's getting on and she advertises in town for someone to help her out. Big Anthony (who apparently doesn't listen so well) fits the bill nicely and moves into Strega Nona's place (room and board included for all his work).

I grew up with Strega Nona's tale and love the simplicity and straightforwardness of the tale, I think what keeps it relevant and still readable after all this time is that it's got an old world feel to it (the artwork, while somewhat flat, the muted colors give it a feel of age and old world charm). The story itself while a moral tale about what happens when you don't do as you're told, is told with humor and pasta...who doesn't love pasta (well, maybe not Big Anthony after Strega Nona is done with him...he, he)!

This is a classic that keeps on going with good reason! I give it an A+, even after all these years!

Strega Nona is a great family favorite. I used it at school a lot, too. She is a wonderful Italian witch of the best sort. Tomie de Paola has created some super good books for young and old people, too. He is a master at what he does. We like all of the Strega Nona books but I think this one is our favorite. The illustrations are cleverly done as is the story. Every kid needs a dose of Tomi de Paola to enjoy. Just a great book and Strega Nona is an even greater character.

My daughter loves to read books with "medals" on the front because she knows they are great stories.
This one does not let you down! I never remember reading this when I was child, but it is one of our regular bedtime stories.
She loves the illustrations because they are simple and tell the story wonderfully - they don't distract or confuse her.
Big Anthony's belly at the end is her favorite picture!
The story is simple and she understands the message being told from Strega Nona and her pasta pot.
Great for all kids!

It's like "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" but without that annoying mouse. For many youngsters like myself, "Strega Nona", marks my earliest introduction to the delightful Tomie de Paola. To me, this story is pitch perfect. It has everything a classic folktale should have and it tells its story with a coy courteous eloquence. Few picture books are half as classy as "Strega Nona". It is perhaps the world's best.
Strega Nona lives by her lonesome in a small cottage in Calabria, Italy. A witch by trade, she cures the townspeople of their ailments, warts, and headaches. When Big Anthony is hired on as Strega Nona's servant she gives him very strict instructions on what he is required to do, and what he is forbidden to do. Quoth Strega Nona, "The one thing you must never do is touch the pasta pot". You can probably guess where this is headed. After seeing the witch conjure delicious cooked pasta fully formed from the pot, Anthony is eager to prove this miracle to the people of the town. When Strega Nona leaves on a trip, Anthony speaks her spell and feeds everyone in the vicinity delicious piping hot pasta. Unfortunately, Anthony didn't quite catch the way to make the pasta stop flowing. As the villagers attempt to prevent the growing pasta from destroying their town, Strega Nona arrives just in time to put everything right again. Anthony receives a just comeuppance and all is well in the world.
I can't pinpoint what exactly it is about this book that touches me so deeply. Maybe it's the imagery in the illustrations. Strega Nona has a prominent recognizable nose and a babuska's kerchief on her head. She is constantly surrounded by large rabbits and peacocks, setting the tone of the life she leads. Tomie de Paola's illustrations always contain an element of spirituality in them, and in this case it comes in the form of the priest and nuns living in the town. I also am greatly attached to the book's choice of words. There's not a syllable out of place in this tale. Not a wasted consonant or a superfluous adjective. It is a perfectly told tale with illustrations that verge on the sublime. All in all, a great book for kids and adults alike.

Strega Nona,is a nice book with a funny story and at the same time it teaches you a lesson."It all stared when the witch of town needed a helper. She met a boy that wanted to be her helper.Every day, Strega Nona told him to never touch the pasta pot.The boy notice Strega Nona used a magic spell on a magic pot to make pasta for dinner. He heard the spell and memorised it, but he didn't saw her blowing three kisses to make the magic pot stop making pasta.When Strega Nona had to go away for a couple of days, the boy decided to make pasta in the magic pot for every body in town. Everybody went with plates and forks to eat the pasta. when everybody had pasta , the boy told the spell to make the magic pot stop making pasta. But, he didint blew the three kisses.The magic pot didnt stop making pasta. More and more pasta was made, it was so big that it was about to crush the whole town.Luckily Nona gets to town say the spell and blew three kisses and made the magic pot stop making pasta.since the boy caused the trouble, he had to eat all the pasta." The boy didn't listen when Nona told him not touch the magic pot, but he did and there was trouble and consiquence.I learned that you should always listen.

For my second book review, I chose Strega Nona both written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola. It immediately stood out to me that the entire book was done by one person. As we discussed in class, things often get misunderstood or mistranslated when an author passes his or her picture book off to an illustration to create the illustrations for the book. Therefore, I think it is really neat that the author and illustrator are the same person for Strega Nona. This means that the illustrations 100% are expressing what the author intended to go along with the text. In 1976 Strega Nona received the Caledcott Honor Award for best picture book.
This “original tale” which has many aspects of a folktale, with the main character, Strega Nona, being a witch, dePaola offers up many potential lessons for children to learn. Folktales, of course, have fictional aspects to them, which is definitely the case in Strega Nona. A witch is also a popular character found in a folk tale and therefore, this story contains magic, also popular in folktales. Lastly, folktales tend to teach some type of lesson to the reader. There are many lessons sprinkled throughout this story that children can take away with then.
The other main character, Big Anthony, has a bad case of curiosity, which ends up hurting him in the end of the story. This teaches children that they need to handle their curiosity in a responsible way, and think about their choices and the consequences that may present with these choices before they act upon them. In the story, Big Anthony is very curious about Strega Nona’s magical pot of pasta. When Strega Nona goes away for a couple days, leaving Big Anthony in charge, she reminds him that whatever he does, “do not touch the pot.” However, Big Anthony, being curious and thinking that he knows how to work the magical pot, touches it anyway. He is pleased when the pot begins to produce enough pasta for the whole town. However, he quickly realizes that he does not know how to get the pot to stop producing pasta, and it begins to take over the town. This once again, teaches children that there are consequences that come with being dishonest or not following directions. However, the consequences continue. Strega Nona finally returns and is able to stop the pot from making anymore pasta. When the townspeople find out what is going on, they are very angry with Big Anthony and think that he they should “string him up.’ I do not want to ruin the ending, but Strega Nona shows forgiveness, another important quality for children tor recognize. She gives him a proper punishment, but not one that is quite as harsh – instead, one that quite literally “fits the crime.” Therefore, forgiveness is also important.
I will now discuss the illustrations of Strega Nona, as that is what won the book a Caldecott Honor Award. One of the first things that stood out to me in this book was the choice of color. There is no use of bright colors in the illustrations, and all colors chosen by dePaola have a very dull tone to them. It is difficult to tell what type of medium he used to create the illustrations, as they have an interesting texture to them. Whatever it is that he used, his drawings are very simple. There is not much detail to the background or characters in the illustrations. He used many bold lines to outline all parts of the illustrations. I also found it interesting that dePaola uses a variety of different sized illustrations. Some pages have nearly full page illustrations (although they never bleed off the page – each illustration is confined to a bolded box), while other pages have a series of up to 4 small illustrations showing many different events happening right after one another.
I look forward to reading more of Tomie dePaola’s work, as he has created many other children’s books about Strega Nona as well as Big Anthony. As a child, I know I always enjoyed when characters reappeared in multiple stories, and I especially remember loving young chapter book series with reoccurring characters.

Strega Nona is on my "best of" list of picture books and has obviously won many awards. It deserves the accolades because it is just such a delightful and memorable story. The artwork is so classically Tomie dePaola which is half the charm.

I was surprised there were only 100 great reviews and not 1,000 great reviews on the store so I felt I should add my vote to the ranks. This floats to the top of the list and if you haven't read it yet, DO get your hands on a copy. It's a book worth owning because the story is worth reading again and again and again to your children and then to your grandchildren.

There's some good descriptions of the story so I won't go into it; however no one so far touches on what the age appropriate level is. It says 4-8, however, when I bought this book, I my kids were just 5 & 2-1/2 yrs old. We are avid(sp?) bedtime book readers, so I am not sure if it is unusual that my younger one listened to the long story as well as my older one. I just happened upon this book at a school book sale & was very happy I'd found it. I think it's a great gift book because it's different -- the town is covered in spaghetti & that's a bit funny -- there's the lesson in it--- and the kids get to imagin how bad of a stomach ache Big Anthony must have had after eating all the spaghetti. I am going to guess that this isn't in everyone's bookshelf, but it should be, so purchase away!

My siblings and I always loved the stories about Strega Nona, the kindly old witch and her hapless assistant, Big Anthony. Strega Nona always reminded us of our Nonnie because she's always cooking and always kind and loving. This charming tale features beautiful illustrations of medieval Italy. I like Tomie DePaola's illustrations because they always depict scenes from ordinary life and because he has such an eye for detail. They don't resemble great masterpiece painting but they tell the story and appeal to young children. I can still hear the audio book in my head after 25 years. I can't wait to give this one to my nieces when they're a bit older.

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.
To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. Strega Nona was one of her picks.
This is an engaging tale of an elderly woman everyone called Grandma Witch, or Strega Nona. She helped everyone with their troubles, even the priest and the sisters in the convent. She could cure headaches, help girls get husbands, and get rid of warts.
Because she was old, she hired Big Anthony to help her with the indoor and outdoor chores. Big Anthony was told not to touch the pasta pot, and he agreed. But one day he saw that she could turn it into a magic pasta pot by singing to it. Unfortunately, Big Anthony did not see all of the magic spell she used.
One day when Strega Nona went to visit her friend Strega Amelia, Big Anthony saw his chance!
Using the magic pasta pot by invoking the magic words, soon Big Anthony has enough pasta for everyone in town. People are very impressed and eat with him. Then he says the magic words to make it stop, and it continues (because he hadn't seen Strega Nona blow three kisses as part of the spell). Soon the pasta is coming out the door and threatens the town!
Fortunately, Strega Nona returns and saves the day. But she wants to sleep in her bed that night. So she tells Big Anthony to start eating pasta to make room for her!
The illustrations are very colorful and beautiful to behold. They are in a simple style that is appealing to young children. I would have enjoyed the book personally, just for the illustrations.
The story is told in a friendly, humorous way rather than a frightening way. You can compare this story to Walt Disney's The Sorcerer's Apprentice and this one is definitely lighter and more appealing for young children.
My daughter loved to read this story to me, as well as having me read it to her. She loved to laugh at the sight of all that pasta!
The story has won a Caldecott award, which is well deserved.
Overcome your stalled thinking that children don't enjoy stories about witches! In fact, love of this book may be behind the interest in Harry Potter!

A lesson learned, is what it should be. Strega Nona is a good story that teaches a lesson. You must listen to your elders. When they tell you not to do something then you should not do it. You never know what might happen if you make a bad decision. It also points out how people judge each other behind their backs, but face to face is a different story. They see Strega Nona as a witch and feel that is bad, but she helps them continuously with their problems.
The illustrations in this book take you back to a time when people believed in magic and witchcraft. You get the feeling that this is an old world tale by looking at the pictures. The townspeople look pure and innocent while Strega Nona looks like a witch. She has the big nose and the protruding chin that makes her different from the others. Big Anthony is not really big at all, but he looks like an overgrown child. He is a hardworker that lets his curiosity get the better of him.

Tomie dePaola does a wonderful job at writing a story that is funny and full of excitement at the same time. Strega Nona is the "Grandma Witch" of a village in Italy who can cure people and make potions with her "magic touch." She hires Big Anthony to help her keep the house and gives him a place to stay in return for working. He sees Strega Nona making pasta from her magic pot and learns her chant, but does not see the important part of blowing three kisses to the pot when you are finished. Strega Nona leaves for a few days and Big Anthony tries to make pasta to feed the entire village on his own to "show off." Big Anthony humorously plays the role of a tragic hero as he at first was able to feed the townspeople all the pasta they wanted, but then ends up nearly destroying the town when he did not heed Strega Nona’s warnings about the pasta pot. I could totally identify with Big Anthony not listening to her because, as most children, I didn't listen to my elders sometimes when I was growing up! Strega Nona also acted as a savior to the people when she saved the town from the pasta and therefore saving their lives. Tomie dePaola’s illustrations are simply delightful as he illustrates Strega Nona as a helpful and very wise old woman with an old-fashioned apron around her and Big Anthony as a big and klutzy man who seems to have wild blond hair.

“Strega Nona” is a fascinating story about the consequences of not listening to certain warnings that could put people’s lives in danger. Also, this book shows the importance of respecting those that are one's elders as the villagers respect Strega Nona’s wisdom on cures and life. “Strega Nona” is surely an excellent book for learning about folktales around the world, since the story is set in Italy and will enchant adults and children five years or older for many generations. It has italian words, which reflect the societal culture of the book, such as In the Italian language, the word "strega" means "witch" and the word "nonna" means "grandmother." Just as "grandma" is a colloquial variation of "grandmother," "nona" is a colloquial variation of "nonna." Hence "Strega Nona" means "Grandma Witch." Also, the illustrations of the village and the mention of going to the priest to confess would reflect what people in that culture and era would have done. What a wonderful book!

Bibliographic entry:
DePaola, Tomie. Strega Nona: An Original Tale. New York: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers, 1997. Print

As a child, I loved when my mom would read me the story of Strega Nona. I still love this story today.
This tale, retold and illustrated by Tomie de Paola, is fun and witty. Strega Nona is an old woman who lives in a town in Calabria. She is known as "Grandma Witch" among the people in the town because she is known to have magical powers that can cure everything from headaches to warts, and even help girls find husbands. Because Strega Nona is old, she needs help around the house and garden. She posts a sign for help in the town square. Big Anthony replies and Strega Nona hires him for help.
While helping Strega Nona one day, Big Anthony sees Strega Nona singing over a pasta pot. While she sings, pasta is appearing and being cooked by the pot. Strega Nona tells Big Anthony not to go near the pot. But one day when Strega Nona leaves to visit her friend Strega Amelia, Big Anthony decides to sing the song he heard to the pot and make some pasta of his own. But Big Anthony didn't hear the end of the song and disastrous results occur until Strega Nona returns!
The illustrations in this book help tell the story as you read.
This story is fun for all ages. It is a tale you will remember into adulthood.

Another favorite of mine. I remember this book being read to us to warn us about doing things we should not do. Strega Nona also known as a witch doctor helps out villagers with their troubles, they could be headaches, warts, or husband issues it doesn't matter Strega Nona will cure your trouble. She getting old and needs some help so she hires a young male. He then becomes curious as to what the pot does and one day while Strega Nona was out he chanted out what he had heard Strega Nona say over the pot. He wanted to feed the whole town so he said plenty but the pot kept making more and more pasta until it had filled the town. You should pick this book up and read it to your students and ask them what happens next. The book has good message and awesome pictures. A lot of bold outlining and a lot of colors which kept the reader interested.

My mom absolutely loved this story! I give it to all my grand nieces and nephews in her memory--Tomie dePaola is a wonderful story teller and I purchase to give as gifts as many of his books as I can--This is one of my favorites to give, and I have been told, to receive

I grew up listening to Dom Deluise reading Strega Nona aloud on the companion cassette tape with this book. I was sorely disappointed when, after confirming that the primary image in this product listing describes Dom Deluise as the narrator, the Audible recording "purchase format" I purchased was not narrated by Dom Deluise, but by the author. I have nothing against the author--I enjoy his book--but I felt misled by this the store listing. I haven't been able to find an electronic recording of Dom Deluise's recording, and this falsely raised my hopes.

Strega Nona is one of my all time favorite books that I remember reading as a kid. It is a story about a lady who the town believes to be a witch, creates a soup. One day Big Antony hears her make her soup and tries to make it himself when Strega Nona has to leave. Although she warns him several times to stay away from her pot, he does not listen. The minute she is gone he attempts to make the soup. Filled with contentment as he is successful in creating the soup, that soon fades when the soup begins to overflow from the pot and won't stop! When Strega Nona Returns she is disappointed in Big Anthony and so to punish him she has him eat all of the soup! I enjoy reading this book because it reminds me of how much I enjoyed it as a child. I remember how it used to make me want noodles after reading it. After reading it recently I still get that craving for noodles! I think kids will enjoy reading and seeing all the wonderful illustrations.

STREGA NONA

RETOLD BY TOMIE DE PAOLA

Reviewed by ETHAN

The book Strega Nona is a funny, nice, and is a story with a moral. When I was little, I loved it for its humorous plot and it's well drawn pictures. In fact, a lot of parents love it for there children.

Strega Nona takes place in a small village. In the village lives Strega Nona a nice old healer. She has a magic pasta pot. But, when Big Anthony comes along looking for a job, bites off more than he can chew.

The author TOMIE DE PAOLO has retold this children's story or book into a story for everyone no matter what the age. TOMIE has also given it pictures even though they do not give descriptions. They still are good understandable pictures.

Even though the book has a fantastic plot, pictures, and characters it has some faults. First, it did not captivate me and it did not give a good description of characters.

I would like to add something although it has its faults it is a wonderful book and it got the Caldecott Honor book Award.

This book is great for teachers because it has a moral and it is a perfect book for kids because they can understand it. Parents, I would say that this is the book to give to your children! That's why Strega Nona is perfect.

I cannot believe I went through preschool and 6 years of grade school and no teacher ever read this aloud to me! It is a great children's book, complete with classic storytelling techniques, humor, and a simple, but important moral (For children: listen and follow instructions; and perhaps for adults: Don't disobey your boss!). I can't wait to read the others in dePaola's Strega Nona series. The story is great, and the illustrations are fantastic (clearly, as it is a Caldecott Honor book!). I can't wait to add this to my classroom library when I am a teacher someday soon!

Have you ever wanted to learn an important lesson about following directions? Do you like stories that make you laugh? If you do, then Strega Nona might be the perfect book for you. In Strega Nona, an old woman who has magical powers has a pasta pot that can make pasta when she tells it to. A young man named big Anthony is asked to watch over Strega Nona's house and he tries to get the pasta pot to work to feed the people in his town. There is one important thing though, Strega Nona told big Anthony not to touch the pasta pot. Now, big Anthony is in real trouble because he didn't follow directions and he doesn't know how to make the pasta pot stop making pasta. Want to know more about what happens in this story? You can go to the library and check out this book or buy it at a store near you. We know you will love it!

I remember this book from my childhood. It was an alltime favorite. I used to have the tape of it. Grandma Witch, Strega Nona was a magic woman and a miracle worker. She hired a man named Big Anthony to help her. Big Anthony never paid attention. Strega Nona specifically told him not to touch her magic pasta pot, (which Big Anthony knew how to turn on, but not off) So while Strega Nona had to go away, Big Anthony invited the town over for pasta and flooded the town with Pasta. As punishment, Strega Nona made him eat all the pasta that was covering the town, and Big Anthony ended up with an Upset Stomach, and a Pink Slip.

This book is a very good read for little kids! I read it to the kids I babysit for, and they adorded it! The book talks about a old lady everyone calls Strega Nona. Everyone in the village loves her and goes to her with their needs. But Strega Nona is becomming too old to keep up with housekeeping, so she hires Big Anthony. He sees her magic pasta pot one night and decides to try it himself while she is away. But when Anthony uses the pasta pot, he doesn't blow kisses to it and it bubbles pasta all over town! The ending is really nice and teaches kids a lesson as well.

Tomie dePaola author and illustrator of this book, tells a wonderful story about Strega Nona "grandma witch" who helps everyone with their troubles. As she grows too old, she needs assistance and hires Big Anthony to help her with chores. She tells him not to touch the pasta pot but he disobeys after seeing that she could turn it into a magic pasta pot by singing to it. The story gives a lesson in the end and would be a great read for any age. There are a whole series of books about Strega Nona. This particular story won an award and was very deserving of it. I really enjoyed reading it and look forward to reading more of dePaola's books.

Strega Nona is very interesting kids book about an old witch who needed help. One day a guy named Anthony came along and needed money so he asked Nona if she had any choirs to do around the house. Nona gave many choirs for Anthony to do but she always warned him to never go anywhere near the magical pot.Do you think that Anthony listened to Nona? I really liked this book and I really recomend this book to everybody because Anthony learns a very important lesson that maybe some people haven't learned.

My child brought this home from the school library, and I can't imagine for the life of me why it's rated as high as it is on the store! The grammar in the book is absolutely atrocious! I was very happy to see this one go back to the library, never to be seen again. I'd highly recommend you borrow it from your own library before you commit any money to a purchase of this book.

I love that my 2 year old tells me, "Mommy, Big Anthony DOESN'T pay attention" and knows why that's not a good thing! :) Strega Nona is truly one of those modern classics that just naturally appeals to kids without the need for sparkly junked up pictures or flashy pop ups. Tomie DePaola's drawings, of course, are lovely and this folky story about the consequences of not listening is appealing to little kids and their folks because it's magical and silly, yet meaningful and interesting. A bonus: I can ALWAYS get my two year old to eat pasta as long as I remind her how much Big Anthony LOVES pasta....This original story reads like an old fashioned, timeless folk tale and is not to be missed!

THE BOOK OF STREGA NONA WAS REALLY GOOD, BECAUSE IT TALKEED ABOUT AN OLD WITCH THAT NEEDED HELP, SO A GUY NAMED ANTHONY WAS HER NEW HELPER.BUT ONE OF THE THINGS SHE TOLD HIM WAS NOT TO TOUCH THE PASTA POT, BUT DO YOU THINK HE DID AS WHAT HE WAS TOLD? I REALLY LIKED THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT TEACHES YOU THAT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS LISTEN TO PEOPLE BECAUSE YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT CAN HAPPEN.

ALSO THE WAY IT WAS WRITEEN WAS REALLY EASY FOR A CHILD TO UNDERSTAND.

Doing what you're told is the moral of the story, making "Strega Nona" a must read in my home. Tomie dePaola does a fantastic job of telling the tale of obedience in true Italian fashion. Set in a small Calabrian village, he calls upon the reader's sense of belonging to a community, as well as their appetite, to teach young and old the lesson of listening. With delightful illustrations and memorable characters, every child will learn what could happen if they don't pay attention to details. I highly recommend this book, as well as a big bowl of pasta, to aid in teaching your children the values of being a good listener.

I think this book is really good because it is used with a lot of imaginary.I like how that book has scenes in boxes because it has order in how you are going to read it. I recomend this book because it is imaginary and makes you think on it. It has a lot of scenes and drawings that it can make you think about it. It will be good if you read it and think before you switch the page, what will happen? It is good for the kids that are just starting to read is just like when you start to walk. It is short too. For the ones that are lazy whit reading, and don't want to read a lot.

This is a lovely and warm book about Grandma Concetta, an Italian "strega" (someone with "lotions and potions" and "good advice"), and her devoted granddaughter, Nona. Nona and her friend Amelia go to a modern school for magic, but Nona misses her grandmother and the village and leaves the "Accademia." (Italian words are sprinkled throughout for atmosphere and authenticity.) She envies Amelia's diploma from the Academy for Stregas. But Grandma Concetta consoles her: "you don't need a diploma to be a true strega. You already have everything you need... And when I pass my practice over to you, I will tell you the ingrediente segreto-the secret ingredient. Then you will not only be a true strega, but a great one." Concetta eventually reveals that the secret ingredient to all the potions made in her pasta pot is love.

This is a quiet magic story, with no great adventures or battles. There's a bit of humor(Amelia curls Nona's hair until it becomes a beehive of a perm; Nona uses olive oil -instead of magic-to get a goat off the roof), but it's not really a funny book. Mostly it is a calm, sweet tale of tradition and of people helping each other. The illustrations are beautiful: The long flowing lines, religious icons, rich colors, and patterned borders recall a tapestry, but lighter and simpler, like the book itself.

When I was five, my Kindergarten teacher read this to us. I had such terrifying nightmares, that this story is now ingrained into my mind. As an adult, I can appreciate the lore, but wonder cautiously about my younger part's mental health.

This classic story by dePaola is wonderful. The way he illustrates books is my favorite part and his writing and humorous stories makes his re-tellings better than any other authors or illustrators. I am sure if you read this book you would feel like you were in the story. The funniest part is when Big Anthony uses Strega Nona's pasta pot it floods the whole town with pasta. I am not going to tell you anymore...I won't give anything else away.

This book was about a witch named Strega Nona who needed help to do work around the house, so a boy named Big Anthony came to help her. But he learend how to work Strega Nona's pot and made spaghetti for the whole town. When he told the pot to stop it just made more. Strega Nona blew three kisses the pot stopped, and big Anthony had to eat all the spaghetti. The funny pictures were colorful and made me feel happy.This strange tale teaches a lesson for all ages.

This children's book is based on an Italian folktale about a friendly Grandma Witch ("Strega Nona") who has a magic pot that makes pasta. A young man named Big Anthony gets into trouble when he tries to use it. This small volume serves as a prequel to a whole series of books about Strega Nona and children who enjoy Italian folktales will want to have this volume. This book was a 1976 Caldecott Honor book (i.e., a runner-up to the Medal winner) for best illustrations in a children's book.

Strega Nona (Grandma Witch) is about the beloved character with the same name. She lives in a small town in Italy, where she cures sickness and warts. When she hires Big Anthony to help her, trouble starts. When Anthony sees her through the window making pasta by chanting a few words, he tries while she is on a trip to see a friend. Kids will enjoy the humorous ending and classic illustrations. (...)

I remember mom reading this one to me as a child. It was a bedtime ritual. The story is a fun blend of fantasy, magic, and adolescent mischief that ends with an interesting lesson. Tomie De Paola is a great children's writer. I recently took this book to read to some children in a local elementary school and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Seems age appropriate for kids Kindergarten and older (adults too ;).

Tomie De Paola is an excellent illustrator as well as a great writer. My daughter who is two, has 6 of his books, and loves them! This one in particular tells a tale of a strega nonna(nice, Grandma witch) who takes in a boy, who gets in all sorts of trouble doing what strega nonna asked him not to! This is a cute lesson/consequence book, we love it!

I am 7 years old and I like these books because they are fiction with a lot of imagination. The author makes us see what the people do and hear magic spells. My favorite part of the first book he wrote was when Big Anthony exploded the whole world with pasta. I am waiting for the author's new book because my father and I already read last year's and every one. If I could give the book six stars, that's what I would do.

The kids loved this book. They loved the part where Anthony said the spell on the pot but couldn't figure out how to stop it. Pasta flowed to the point that pasta was about to smother the town. They got into a lively discussion about whether it would be possible to make a pot that would produce so much pasta, the idea being that if you could the you could feed the world. They also liked the part where Anthony had to eat the pasta to make space for Strega Nona to go to bed and were quessing whether or not his tummy would explode, one predicted that he would "yak pasta out his nose". Lots of fun and laughter with this one.

Imaginative old world story that teaches the lesson in a dramatic way that if you don't listen to what you are told to do, there can be consequences.

As reviewed on my children's book recommendation site Books for Children ([...]

Strega Nona (Grandma Witch) is about the beloved character with the same name. She lives in a small town in Italy, where she cures sickness and warts. When she hires Big Anthony to help her, trouble starts. When Anthony sees her through the window making pasta by chanting a few words, he tries while she is on a trip to see a friend. Kids will enjoy the humorous ending and classic illustrations. (...)

Big Anthony used magic, but he wasn't a witch; the townspeople wanted to hang him by the neck until he was dead, but he wasn't a crook. First he doesn't pay attention to what he is told, and now he's got everyone's attention because of it. Well, Strega Nona, the local witch, is going to make sure Anthony regrets what he's done. But don't be alarmed. It's really a funny story.

The Creative Teacher: Activities for Language Arts (Grades 4 through 8 and Up)

With illustrations reminiscent of the "Fractured Fairy Tales" and a simple magical plot, your kids will ask for this one again and again. A Caldecott Honor Book. And no wonder! The pictures, in muted colors, fill the pages and tell the story beautifully. Fun to read out loud. And a must for your child's library.

I liked Strega Nona the book becuse it is very funny and I really like Big Anthony. I have read a lot of Strega Nona bookS. I was surprised the first time I really liked Strega Nona's magic spell's. Oh, and I think that Bambalona is funny!

This modern fable - where Big Anthony gets his just desserts - is perfect in every way. The way the clever story and the Italian-styled art compliment each other make this one of De Paola's best. You'll want to keep this one on your bookshelf and look for any excuse to take it out and read it to someone.

This book brings smiles as it is reminds me of the days when children's books were simple and guided the imagination through unique illustrations and a flowing (no pun intended) story-line. I read this book repeatedly when I was really young that when I recently tried searching for it I kept looking for a title with Spaghetti in it. Now, I am thrilled to have found it and hope to read it to me kids someday. TIP: If you want a book that really brings out a young child's imagination (for the book has no words, the story is in pictures) try picking up De Paolo's Pancakes for Breakfast too. I am happy to say I recently purchased my copy.

Strega Nona, an old tale retold and illustrated by Tomie de Paola, is about an old lady and her magic pasta pot. In this award winning picture book, Paola uses several different frames to show the action of the story. Some pictures are divided into fourths, some into halves, and some take up two full pages. The quartered pages are used to show some form of a continuing action or behavior. The first time this occurs, Big Anthony, the hired help, is weeding the garden. In the next three quarters he is picking the vegetables, getting ready to milk the goat, and peeking inside the window when he hears Strega Nona's voice. In the second set of pictures, Strega Nona calls Big Anthony in for supper, and blows three kisses in succession to her magic pasta pot. That action is shown in quarters two, three, and four. Once again, the quartered frames tell a portion of the story in succession. In frame one, Strega Nona comes into town and sees the pasta overflowing. In frame two, she sings her magic song. In frame three, she blows three kisses at the magic pot, and in frame four the pasta finally stops boiling. Paola also uses just half of a page for the illustration in order to show that there is not much going on at this point. The first picture of the story is just a half of a page. It shows the townspeople whispering about Strega Nona, and it also shows them lined up at her doorstep in need of some help. Another picture shows Strega Nona hiring Big Anthony and explaining to him his chores. In the last half paged picture, Big Anthony goes into town and tells everyone about Strega Nona's magic pasta pot, but he gets laughed at. Paola also uses large pictures that cover two whole pages. These images cross the gutter, and show arising conflict, confusion, and disaster in the story. The first time this happens, pasta is flowing out of Strega Nona's house and is creeping towards the town. The pasta is split across the gutter to show that it is really a large amount of pasta. Big Anthony has sung the magic song and is confused as to why the pasta will not stop cooking. In the next scene, the town is emphasized as being the largest area and is in fact split across the gutter. There is pasta extending down from the top right corner of the page. Now there is a real conflict because the pasta is coming into the town and no one knows how to make it stop. The big disaster lies in the next scene where the pasta has gotten all the way into town and is starting to take over. The people are scared of it and are running away. The pasta has filled the whole left page and is crossing the gutter onto the next page. But down in the bottom right corner of the next page, Strega Nona appears. In the next scene, she stops the pasta and makes Big Anthony eat it all for disobeying her. Big Anthony still has one more corner of pasta to go. He has already eaten the whole left page because there are only small strands and remnants of the pasta left in the corner. Paola does a great job manipulating the pictures to show different amounts of action. In each different framing technique, there is a different approach. He uses the pages divided into fourths to show more continuous action. He uses pictures in halves to show one single action. And he also uses the large illustrations two at a time, to show more destructive actions.

This book was about a lady lived in a villige.her name was Strega Nona, nona had a magic pot and she made spegatti out of that pot.Nona was gettin old and she needed someone to do her works at home, she said she's going to feed that person and give that person place to sleep.She haired a guy.One day she was going to visit her friend's she told the guy to clean the house but do not touch my magic spot, when she left he touched it n made alot of sppagatti's he couldn't stop it, he messed up the village,when she came she stoped it and she gave the boy punish to eat all sppagatti's.This book was intresting and helpful for people, because it teaches you not to touch thing's that people tells you not to.

I loved Strega Nona as a child, the illustrations were awesome as expected. Learning a few Italian words was exciting and I liked the idea of a sweet old Grandma witch rather than a witch being a scary thing. I think if I ever have grandkids I want to be their "Strega Nona"! lol

The Strega Nona books were my favorite in second grade. My mom bought them for me for my birthday and I read the all the time. Throughout the years they were misplaced or given away...when I had my oldest daughter I bought them again. She didn't seem as interested as I was in them, but she would sit with me anyways because she knew how much I love them.

Big Anthony is in BIG trouble. After using the magic pot which he was told specifically not to, the whole town is covered in spaghetti. The wise Strega Nona wants to sleep in her bed.

She hands him a fork.

This book was about an elderly lady named Strega Nona. One day Strega Nona said that she was getting old and that she needed someone to clean her house.So, she hired a guy named Anthony.Strega Nona told that she would feed him and let him sleep in her house,but he could not touch her magic pot.When Strega Nona went to visit her friend,Anthony touched her pot and made spaggetti.I like this book because it teaches everyone a lesson that you should do what people tell you to do.

Strega Nona went to the mountain to see her friend and left Anthony taking care of everything. She also told him to never touch the pot! Did he listen?

I thought this was a real good book. The book has a porpose and teaches that you should listen to the people who know best. This book deserved the caldecott award.

When my daughter's (ages 5 and 6) heard this book was their principal's favorite they asked me to buy the book. They both enjoyed the book and my oldest daughter wrote her summer book report on this book. They are looking forward to having the rest of the series read to them and hopefully to me someday.