Strega Nona

Title: Strega Nona

Author: Tomie de Paola 
Traditional Literature #2

In the story, Strega Nona is presented as being a medicine woman for the town. As she ages, she decides she needs help and enlists Big Anthony to be this person. In return, Strega Nona offers to feed him and give him a place to sleep. Quite a good deal if you ask me! There is only one condition to their little arrangement; Big Anthony must never touch her pasta pot! One day while working, however, he overhears Strega Nona magically using the pot to produce pasta. When she leaves town for awhile he steals the pot despite her warning and attempts to feed the entire village. The only problem is he doesn’t know how to stop it! Can Strega Nona get back in time to save the day? 

I had never heard of this book or story until being introduced to it in my children’s literature class and apparently it is as well-known as Hansel and Gretel! One thing I liked about this rendition of the story right off the bat was the illustrations. I had a hard time pulling myself away from them and actually focusing on the text. In fact, they tell the story so well that I think struggling readers would benefit greatly from independently reading this text. As I was reading, I also wondered where this story originated from? It seems to have Italian roots. I know that “nonna” in Italian means grandmother and I also noticed that “grazie” was used which means thank you. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the story very much simply because it encompassed the all-important “you should listen to your elders when they tell you not to do something” aspect.