Strega Nona

DePaola,T. (1975). Strega Nona. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Brief Annotation: This book tells the story of a witch who needs some help. She hires a man named Big Anthony to tend her garden and help with chores. She tells him to never touch the pasta! But one day when Strega Nona leaves for another town, Big Anthony decides he wants to show the towns people that he can make the pasta too. Disaster takes over and the pasta overtakes the whole house, making tons and tons- and Anthony can't stop it! Strega Nona finally returns and shows Big Anthony that he needs to blow three kisses to make the pasta stop. His punishment is that he needs to eat it all!

Genre: Picturebook

Grade Level: Grade 3-8

Readers who will like this: I think EVERYONE will love this book. Tomie DePaola adds a ton of humor to this book, and it's the classic example of not wanting to do what you are told. Students will enjoy it because it's a fairly easy read, and teachers will like it if they are wanting to discuss morals or doing the right thing. It's a creative book with beautiful illustrations.

Response/Rating (1-4): 4, One of my favorites! The pictures are beautiful and the story is so much fun. I think that the book is a great example of morals and how even with the best intentions things can go wrong.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: “If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your life what would it be? Would it be pasta?!” or “Have you ever done something that you wish you could take back?”