Strega Nona

Retold and Illustrated By: Tomie de Paola

          Strega Nona, meaning “Grandma Witch”, is known all throughout the town Calabria. She is known for having the magical touch! This elderly woman could cure headaches, make potions, get rid of wards and bring comfort to the town. Since Strega Nona was getting older, she hired Big Anthony to take care of her house and garden. The only rule was that he cannot touch the pasta pot. After Big Anthony, saw Strega Nona using and singing to the pot he was fascinated! Big Anthony let curiosity and pride get the best of him and eventually touched the pot without Strega Nona. After he proved himself to the townspeople he runs into a problem – how to make the pasta stop cooking! After Big Anthony nearly covered the entire town with pasta, Strega Nona arrives and blew the three kisses to the pasta and it come to a halt. 

Classroom Application: In Strega Nona the book talks about the setting  - a town in Calabria. The teacher should then further discuss this setting by talking about Calabria is in the southern part of Italy. Have the students then identify where it was and tell them to research things about Italy. ( Language, food, Italian , culture . ) The teacher should guide the students but allow them to research on their own.