TRADITIONAL LITERATURE - Strega Nona

BIBLIOGRAPHY
de Paola, Tomie. 1975. STREGA NONA. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. ISBN 0138516006

PLOT SUMMARY
In this simple yet charming story, Tomie dePaola recounts an old Italian folktale set in the town of Calabria. Strega Nona is the “Grandma Witch”, known for helping the villagers with her magical gifts. Alas, the little witch is getting older and needs help around the house. Enter Big Anthony, the gangly and inattentive lad Strega Nona hires to help with the chores. One day, Anthony becomes intrigued when he sees Strega Nona’s magic pasta pot, so he tells some villagers. They laugh at Anthony, making him determined to reveal the truth. When Strega Nona leaves town, Anthony decides to show everyone the true magic of the pasta pot (despite being instructed to never touch the pot!). Singing Strega Nona’s song, Anthony watches the pot fill with hot pasta to the delight of the townsfolk. Everyone lines up to partake of the feast. Anthony is a hero. . . . .at least for awhile! The secret for stopping the magic pot is not known (thanks given with three kisses), so the town soon fills with a sea of pasta. Strega Nona returns to save the day, even rescuing Anthony from the angry villagers. The story ends happily, but not before Big Anthony learns his lesson in a very unique way.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The text of this book is straightforward, as it subtly conveys lessons on listening, pride, and thankfulness without being didactic. Foreshadowing alerts the reader to one of these embedded morals when Big Anthony is introduced as someone “who didn’t pay attention.” In addition, dePaola sends an unpretentious message with his declaration, “Big Anthony was angry and that wasn’t a very good thing to be.” The sprinkling of Italian words such as “grazia” and “si” help transport the reader to the Italy of long ago, enhancing the folkloric experience of the tale.

The true beauty of the book, however, lies in the illustrations. The book is filled with delightful watercolor, tempera, and acrylic panels. The palette of sun-washed colors chosen by de Paola lends a sense of authenticity to the book, giving it a genuine old world feel. The illustrations are clever in their telling. For example, there is a two page spread where Big Anthony is serving up steaming plates of pasta to the people of the town. Many of the villagers are posed in an almost pious stance with mouths held in unison, paying homage, one supposes, to the sudden bountiful harvest. The use of lines to create movement is very effectively utilized in the four panels showing the overflowing pasta pot. In fact, as these four panels progress into the following spread, it’s as if Big Anthony is riding a wave of pasta out of the kitchen and through the village. The last two pages of the book depicting Big Anthony’s just punishment prove that a picture is worth a thousand words.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
* Winner of the 1976 Caldecott Honor Medal
* ALA Notable Children’s Book - 1975
* SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW: “In a retelling of the old story about a magical cooking pot, Strega Nona becomes nearly as well-loved as her creator, whose extensive body of work includes folktales, religious stories, anthologies, and autobiographical picture books.”
* NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW: “dePaola's illustrations aptly capture the whimsy of this ancient tale.”

CONNECTIONS
*Read the various books featuring Strega Nona and Big Anthony in random order. Have students put the stories in chronological order and then create a timeline of the events in the books.
* Discuss what morals are and what purpose they serve. Identify the moral in each of the Strega Nona and Big Anthony tales. Can a story have more than one moral? Think of an example.
*Other children’s books featuring Strega Nona & Big Anthony:
1) de Paola, Tomie. STREGA NONA: HER STORY. ISBN 0698118146
2) de Paola, Tomie. BIG ANTHONY: HIS STORY. ISBN 0698118936
3) de Paola, Tomie. STREGA NONA’S MAGIC LESSONS. ISBN 0152817867
4) de Paola, Tomie. STREGA NONA MEETS HER MATCH. ISBN 0698114116
5) de Paola, Tomie. BIG ANTHONY AND THE MAGIC RING. ISBN 0156119072