The Magical World of Strega Nona: A Treasury

Strega Nona

by Tomie dePaola

Enter the marvelous, magical world of Strega Nona!
 
This wonderful treasury features six favorite stories about Strega Nona and her sidekick, the bumbling Big Anthony—including the original Strega Nona, as well as Strega Nona Meets Her Match, Strega Nona: Her Story, Strega Nona Takes a Vacation, Strega Nona’s Harvest, and Strega Nona’s Gift. Tomie’s brand-new introductions to each story take readers behind the scenes to see how Strega Nona’s world has developed through the years. Also including an original lullaby—with sheet music and a CD—a map of Strega Nona’s town, and some fun recipes, this collection will give readers and music lovers much to savor.
 
Strega Nona, Tomie dePaola’s beloved “grandmother witch,” has been enchanting readers since the publication of the Caldecott Honor Award–winning Strega Nona in 1975. Strega Nona’s gentle humor, irrepressible spirit, and matter-of-fact approach to life have won her legions of fans young and old, and the American Library Association called her “an enduring character who has charmed generations of children.”

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Italy, Fantasy, Fiction, Classics, Collections

214 pages, Hardcover

First published October 27, 2015

About the author

Tomie dePaola (pronounced Tommy da-POW-la) was best known for his books for children.

He had a five-decade writing and illustrating career during which he published more than 270 books, including 26 Fairmount Avenue, Strega Nona, and Meet the Barkers.

Tomie dePaola and his work have been recognized with the Caldecott Honor Award, the Newbery Honor Award, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Award of Living Treasure.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six of author/illustrator Tomie dePaola's eleven picture-books about Strega Nona - that grandmother witch from a small Italian town in Calabria - are gathered in this marvelous anthology. From the classic Strega Nona itself, which won a Caldecott Honor in 1976, and which served to introduce the character to the world, to the 2011 Strega Nona's Gift , which explored the many feasts of the Christmas season celebrated in Strega Nona's village, the stories included here cover the range of their witchy heroine's experiences. Other titles included are: Strega Nona Meets Her Match , Strega Nona, Her Story , Strega Nona Takes a Vacation , and Strega Nona's Harvest . The book concludes with a selection of Strega Nona-inspired recipes from Tomie dePaola, and Strega Nona's night lullaby, which can be listened to on the accompanying CD...

Although I have read all eleven of the Strega Nona picture-books, as well as the two Strega Nona early readers, and the Strega Nona pop-up book, I was still eager to track down The Magical World of Strega Nona: A Treasury. The majority of the contents was obviously already familiar to me, but I was anxious to read the brief general introduction from dePaola about the creation of the Strega Nona character, as well as the brief introductory notes before each individual picture-book included in the collection. I found this additional content quite interesting, and was particularly fascinated to learn that after the publication of the first book, and the subsequent rise in popularity of its eponymous main character, many readers began to imagine that the figure of Strega Nona was taken from traditional Italian folklore, and that dePaola had simply revived her story. In point of fact, he invented her. The grandmother witch first appeared to him while he was playing around with the classic figure of Punchinello - a character from the Italian commedia dell'arte theater tradition - and her appearance evolved from there. Unlike her own self, Strega Nona's first story was taken from folklore, and is a reworking of the traditional tale of The Porridge Pot, one in which porridge has been replaced by pasta, and the bumbling servant girl by a serving boy who doesn't listen.

I enjoyed learning a little bit more about the creation of this wonderful character and her story - apparently the depiction of the overflowing pasta in Strega Nona owes something to Hokusai's paintings featuring waves - and I also enjoyed revisiting the included picture-books themselves. The recipes and song included at the rear are also a nice touch, and sure to please fans of the grandmother witch and her many adventures. It is to such fans that I would recommend this one, and to anyone seeking a lovely gift for a young friend or relative.

[K.J. Mecklenfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute :-)

[Emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful collection of stories! I haven't read Strega Nona since I was a kid, and this book has definitely inspired me to track down the remaining stories it did not include!

[Sheherazahde · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book! Physically the book is very sturdy with thick high quality paper that will last for generations!

The author talks about how he invented Strega Nona but people keep saying they remember her from their childhood. There must have been a Strega Nona shaped hole in our lives waiting for her to fill. She fits as if she has always been with us.

These lovely tales are timeless. They take place in southern Italy and I can’t wait to show this book to my Italian mother.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strega Nona has always been a favorite character. Two of my children got excited when they saw this book, including my 13 yr old. She made me promise to let her read it when I was done. If that isn't success, I don't know what is.

[Bill]

Five books too many.
Quite mediocre production quality for this volume.
Why, oh, why, wasn't nonna ever spelled correctly?

[JP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, these stories are absolutely delightful.

In a town in Calabria, a long time ago, there lived an old lady everyone called Strega Nona, which meant "Grandma Witch".

Take one dash Italy, a few pinches of rural life, and a whole heaping helping of the kind old grandmother witch stereotype. Mix it all up and serve out a half dozen wonderful stories. They have the feel of traditional fairy tales / fables, up to and including the everfull cooking pot (but this time with pasta!) with a fun voice, colorful characters, and a few lessons learned along the way.

I absolutely love reading these books to my children and they love listening to them.

For that is the ingrediente segreto, love ... It is the same with all your magic. Always love!

Well worth the read. Now I just need to find the ones not in this collection!

[Maylah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Strega Nona as much as I love the way Tomie dePaola writes and illustrates! He shows every twinkle and speck of kindness in her eyes, and makes sure she looks sweet but also a little mysterious. While I love this childrens treasury, I rated it three stars. I feel like the storyline can get a little confusing if you don't read them in order. I haven't read this series in order, to that is how I felt. However, the writing and the juciness of the story pulls me in, and I definitely reccomend it.

[R. C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean, it's Tomie DePaola, so, automatically superb. But the extra story included in this compilation, about Strega Nona's birth and childhood... why is she named STREGA at birth? It was especially jarring after the introduction explaining that strega means grandma and DePaola knew some stregas in his day.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this because my sister and one of my best friends both had babies last year. I was trying to think of books for their first holiday gifts. I bought a copy of Strega Nona because I remembered loving it as a child and ultimately decided to save it until they were like 2 or 3, but re-reading these stories made me remember how much I loved the first one when I was little!

[Jvermeersch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and joyful.
Had very high expectations, and perhaps the stories were a bit too simple to fulfill those or too educationally. But I did love the illustrations.
Liked best: the one about the harvest.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of six Strega Nona tales with information on how Strega Nona came to be and introductions for each story from the author on what inspired it. A lovely collection for any Strega Nona fan.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My youngest has loved the original "Strega Nona" from watching it on a Scholastic video collection for a long time. He enjoyed reading more about Strega Nona (and Big Anthony) from the stories in this collection.

[Tiffany Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

We enjoy Strega Nona and her stories! It was fun for me to read aloud and attempt Italian accents for each of the characters. The last story wasn’t quite as good as the other 5, which is why it wasn’t 5 stars for me. But overall we enjoyed this collection!

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice treasury collection of the "Strega Nona" stories with some nice bonuses (recipes, a CD of music, etc.). Very cool!

[Capn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It even has simple (but surprisingly adept!) recipes at the end which even Marcella Hazan would approve of.

[Francine Apollo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read these separately over the years. The collection is too lovely to pass over now that we have another toddler grandchild. More fun ahead!

[Stephanie Vigano · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great treasury! I remember reading the original strega Nona

[Dina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Strega Nona - have for a long time. This collection is particularly delightful because of the personal touches by DePaola: a town map showing Strega Nona's house and the village she serves, DePaola's story of how these characters came to be, special insights into each story, and some Italian cooking hints (sort-of recipes). A wonderful book!

[San Frazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was introduced to strega nona by a friend a few years ago. The stories are so fun and beautiful.. I look forward to reading about all the mischief her and her helpers are getting into. This is a story I share with my daughter. This is a story we share.

[Lorraine Der]

Library Catalog

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

2022 Popsugar Reading Challenge: book about witches

Sometimes I feel nostalgic for a time where things were simpler for me. This book reminds me of elementary school story hour.