Strega Nona (1975 original; edició 1979)

A beloved classic about accountability, kindness, and sharing paired with unique and fun illustrations that all children will love. ( )

This is such a clever Italian version of the magicians apprentice. The artwork reminds me of Venice and what I might see in a museum from Italy. Charming, but I am a little uncomfortable with the witch aspect. ( )

De Paola retells the classic Italian myth of Strega Nona - a witch who's overly curious and reckless apprentice gets up to no good while she is away - to very humourous effect. His storytelling style is simplistic, but still packs a comedic punch when paired with the careful page layout at the finale. ( )

My favorite book of the year! Great for young children.

It's just a short story but it made me laugh!
Strega Nona (Witch Grandmother) helps the residents her village when they have problems, otherwise she lives in her little cottage and takes care of her garden. She has hired Big Anthony to help her with the heavy chores and one day he sees Strega Nona use her magic pasta pot. Thinking that he can use the magic too, when Nona goes to visit another villager, Big Anthony takes the magic pot and starts the spell. But Big Anthony doesn't understand the workings of the magic pot and gets into a great deal of trouble.

I loved this story not just for the laughter but the reminders it brought to me about my own Nona. ( )

This picture book is about a witch named Strega Nona who lives in a village. She enlists. a man named Big Anthony to help her with some chores, and he ends up discovering one of her spells that produces large amounts of pasta. He ends up trying to use the spell himself and almost drowns the village in pasta until Strega Nona shows up and stops it. I remember reading this when I was younger and I think it's a great book for elementary students to read in ELAR class. It also teaches a valuable lesson about authority and trust. ( )