Free Strega Nona Ebooks Online
When Strega Nona leaves him alone with her magic pasta pot, Big Anthony is determined to show the townspeople how it works.
Age Range: 4 and up
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (August 31, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1442416661
ISBN-13: 978-1442416666
Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.7 x 0.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (287 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,375,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #106 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > European #390 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Other #5700 in Books > Children's Books > Classics
It's like "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" but without that annoying mouse. For many youngsters like myself, "Strega Nona", marks my earliest introduction to the delightful Tomie de Paola. To me, this story is pitch perfect. It has everything a classic folktale should have and it tells its story with a coy courteous eloquence. Few picture books are half as classy as "Strega Nona". It is perhaps the world's best.Strega Nona lives by her lonesome in a small cottage in Calabria, Italy. A witch by trade, she cures the townspeople of their ailments, warts, and headaches. When Big Anthony is hired on as Strega Nona's servant she gives him very strict instructions on what he is required to do, and what he is forbidden to do. Quoth Strega Nona, "The one thing you must never do is touch the pasta pot". You can probably guess where this is headed. After seeing the witch conjur delicious cooked pasta fully formed from the pot, Anthony is eager to prove this miracle to the people of the town. When Strega Nona leaves on a trip, Anthony speaks her spell and feeds everyone in the vicinity delicious piping hot pasta. Unfortunately, Anthony didn't quite catch the way to make the pasta stop flowing. As the villagers attempt to prevent the growing pasta from destroying their town, Strega Nona arrives just in time to put everything right again. Anthony receives a just comeuppance and all is well in the world.I can't pinpoint what exactly it is about this book that touches me so deeply. Maybe it's the imagery in the illustrations. Strega Nona has a prominent recognizable nose and a babuska's kerchief about her head. She is constantly surrounded by large rabbits and peacocks, setting the tone of the life she leads.
Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. Strega Nona was one of her picks.This is an engaging tale of an elderly woman everyone called Grandma Witch, or Strega Nona. She helped everyone with their troubles, even the priest and the sisters in the convent. She could cure headaches, help girls get husbands, and get rid of warts.Because she was old, she hired Big Anthony to help her with the indoor and outdoor chores. Big Anthony was told not to touch the pasta pot, and he agreed. But one day he saw that she could turn it into a magic pasta pot by singing to it. Unfortunately, Big Anthony did not see all of the magic spell she used.One day when Strega Nona went to visit her friend Strega Amelia, Big Anthony saw his chance!Using the magic pasta pot by invoking the magic words, soon Big Anthony has enough pasta for everyone in town. People are very impressed and eat with him. Then he says the magic words to make it stop, and it continues (because he hadn't seen Strega Nona blow three kisses as part of the spell). Soon the pasta is coming out the door and threatens the town!Fortunately, Strega Nona returns and saves the day. But she wants to sleep in her bed that night.
Strega Nona's Harvest Strega Nona Meets Her Match Strega Nona Ways of the Strega: Italian Witchcraft: Its Legends, Lore, & Spells (Llewellyn's World Religion & Magick Series)
