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Summary
Summary
This is the beloved Strega Nona's own story, every detail just as she remembers it, from her childhood with Grandma Concetta, who trained young Nona and her best friend Amelia, to her early days in the little house on the hill and the happy moments when she met Big Anthony and Bambolona. It is the story of a most fascinating life that has influenced and delighted countless children and adults all over the world, and it all starts with the night Strega Nona was born, when the wind was blowing dark storm clouds across the hills . . .
It's no surprise that award-winning author and artist Tomie dePaola was Strega Nona's choice as her biographer and portraitist, for he has put into books many stories that she has shared with him over the years, including Strega Nona (a Caldecott Honor Book), Strega Nona Meets Her Match , Strega Nona Takes a Vacation , Strega Nona's Harvest , Strega Nona's Gift , and Strega Nona Does It Again . Strega Nona's reaction when shown this book was, "Bravissimo, mio caro Tomie!"
Author Notes
Tomie dePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut on September 15, 1934. He received a B.F.A. from Pratt Institute in 1956, a M.F.A. from California College of Arts and Crafts in 1969, and a doctoral equivalency from Lone Mountain College in 1970.
He has written and/or illustrated more than 270 books including 26 Fairmount Avenue, Strega Nona, Meet the Barkers, Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs, and Oliver Button Is a Sissy. He has received numerous awards for his work including the Caldecott Honor Award, the Newbery Honor Award and the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Award of Living Treasure. His murals and paintings can be seen in many churches and monasteries throughout New England. He has designed greeting cards, magazine and record album covers, and theater sets. His work is shown in galleries and museums.
Tomie dePaola died on March 30, 2020 because of complications he had from surgery after a fall.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3In this prequel to the five other "Strega Nona" books, dePaola takes readers once again to the quaint hills of old Italy. The story begins with Nona's delivery at the hands of Grandma Concetta and closes as the aging Strega Nona answers her door to a knock-kneed apprentice-hopeful, Big Anthony. Along the way, readers learn how Concetta teaches Nona the mysteries of herbs and potions and, more importantly, her "secret ingredient." They see young Nona befriended by Amelia at convent school; later, they set off together for the modern Academy of Stregas. Proving herself clever and kind as well as skilled in magic, Nona eventually inherits Grandma Concetta's house and practice. All the familiar dePaola elements are here: the homey Italian phrases; appreciation of the old ways; and the characteristically charming, square-bordered scenes with their pink-tiled roofs, noble doves, and goofy goats. Tangerine is added to the usual pastel palette, giving the book a brighter look that stands out at story hour. Children will find many of the paintings hilarious. Though this book is a mere teaser on its own, it serves as the perfect final installment in any Strega Nona story fest, leaving children wanting still more of that "ingrediente segreto."Karen MacDonald, East Falmouth Branch Library, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
DePaola executes a clever concept with his trademark charm and humor, offering a prequel to the series that began in 1976 with the Caldecott Honor book Strega Nona. Here the author/artist tells how his charismatic character came to become a strega (witch) with a "magic touch." The "biography" begins on a dark and stormy night in the hills of Calabria, where Grandma Concetta authoritatively oversees Nona's birth. Convinced that Nona will be a strega like her, the big-hearted woman teaches her granddaughter how to use herbs and spells to remedy villagers' aches and troubles. Nona, along with her overconfident friend Amelia (who sets herself up as Nona's rival in some of the other books), attends the Academy for Stregas, but soon concludes that its newfangled approach to magic is not for her, and returns home to practice her craft the old-fashioned way. Eventually she discovers Grandma Concetta's all-important secret ingredient: love. With their expressive faces and pertly exaggerated profiles (Strega Nona's signature hooked nose punctuates her face even as a newborn), the classic characters happily cavort in sunnily colored, droll illustrations. And dePaola does a splendid job of working this sparkling tale into the Strega Nona canon: on the final page, for example, the aging strega opens her door to the first respondent to her ad for a helper, whom fans will immediately recognize as the gangly and beloved Big Anthony. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved