Strega Nona

by Tomie de Paola, and published by Prentice-Hall

The book cover of "Strega Nona" by Tomie de Paola features the big-nosed grandma witch, Strega Nona outside her cottage door, holding the magic pasta cauldron. She is flanked by a rabbit, and is looking at a peacock in a small tree. The Randolph Caldecott Medal Honor Book Award Seal has been centered below the title.

About

There's an aura of medieval theatre in Tomie de Paola's adaptation of the humorous Italian folktale Strega Nona. The robust peasant humor of the tale about a greedy apprentice to Strega Nona, "Grandmother Witch," is echoed in the pictures that show the dismay of the hapless youth doomed to eat a river of pasta flowing down the street. Sturdy, often comic, figures in framed drawings are softly colored and nicely integrated with the textual references.

Awards Won

Title Year
Randolph Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott and is intended to create more abundant and joyful life in pictures for children. It is awarded to the most distinguished American picture book for children published in the United States during the year, and shall be awarded to the artist whether or not he be author of the text.
 1976 - Honor(s)