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Childrens Book Review of Strega Nona's Gift by Tomie dePaola, Number Eleven in the Series

Grandma Witch Nona follows the old ways. She therefore has to think of month-long gift-giving every December to January. Her villagers always look forward to “Strega Nona’s Gift.”

Italy’s Christmas season typically goes from the beginning of December in one year through the beginning of January in the next year. It has many opportunities for celebrating because every day honors saints. Six weeks will be devoted to preparing for Christmas Eve and Day on Dec. 24 – 25 and Epiphany Eve and Day on Jan. 5 – 6. In the transition from one month to another, there is ample opportunity to celebrate New Year’s Eve and Day on: • Dec. 31; • Jan. 1. Villagers in peninsular Italy’s hilly, southwestern, sunny, tradition-bound Calabria know that all of the above-mentioned dates will host cultural and religious festivities. They always look forward to their beloved, industrious “Strega Nona’s Gift.” ***** Website: http://www.tomie.com/ *****

Tomie daPaola sets his Strega Nona series in Calabria, located in the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula, where villages maintain traditions that contribute to Italy's colorful history.

panorama of Conflenti, Catanzaro Province, south central Calabria, southern Italy — Antal, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Christmas holidays throughout Italy’s islands and peninsula abound with festivities. Some celebrations center upon food-making for:

December 24’s Christmas Eve dinner;
December 25’s Christmas Day lunch;
December 26’s Saint Stephen’s (died A.D. 36) lunch;
December 31’s Saint Sylvester’s (died A.D. 335) feast;
January 5’s Epiphany Eve feast for animals (who get to talk);
January 6’s Epiphany lunch.

Other festivities focus upon gift-giving on:

December 5 – 6, as Italy’s role model for Santa Claus on Saint Nicholas’s Eve and Day;
December 13, as Saint Lucy’s (died A.D. 304) Day;
December 24 – 25, thanks to Babbo Natale (Father Christmas);
January 5 – 6, through Old Befana.

It means that Strega Nona is busy and Big Anthony is up to mischief.

In "Strega Nona's Gift," Big Anthony's misadventures are balanced by his finding the desirable fava bean in his portion of the Epiphany cake.

broad beans, shelled and lightly cooked. — Richard W.M. Jones, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Big Anthony appears to be unable to resist edibles. Christmas holidays therefore constitute Strega Nona’s clumsy, inattentive assistant’s favorite season. Despite six weeks of foods (including dried cod and smelts on Christmas Eve) and gifts, Big Anthony goes into Epiphany Eve fixated upon meals. Strega Nona’s noodles have far less appeal for him than the goat’s servings from the evening’s feast for the animals. Big Anthony is quick to eat the goat’s turnips. The goat is equally quick to eat Big Anthony’s blanket. Cold and sleepless, Big Anthony loses out on Strega Nona’s feast for dream-filled villagers. But for finding the Epiphany cake’s fava bean, he receives as gifts befitting Epiphany’s king for the day:

Blanket;
Turnips.

In 2011, the year of publication for "Strega Nona's Gift," Tomie dePaola was awarded the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in recognition of his significant and lasting contributions to children's literature.

Tomie dePaola delivered his acceptance speech Sunday, June 26, at the ALA Annual Conference, held in New Orleans in 2011. — Schu (MrSchuReads), CC BY SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/), via Flickr

Conclusion

Calabria’s beloved Grandma Witch Nona always finds ways to embellish and enliven her village customers’ lives. Her Christmas season gift of a dream-come-true feast gives beautifully perfect evidence of her sensitive generosity. The bold, Christmas-inspired, folkloric coloration in Tomie dePaola’s acrylic and watercolor illustrations is humorously inviting in communicating the culinary glories of:

Lasagna coverings;
Mozzarella and ricotta walls;
Sausage posts.

The dream feast lets Calabrian villagers enjoy holiday food and fun -- without clean-up duties. Characters, dialogue, plot, and setting merge throughout the story even though the above-mentioned feast serves as the most endearing high-point in this 2011 release through Nancy Paulsen Books’ annually exclusive 12 – 15 publications for:

Picture book readers;
Middle graders;
Young adults.

"Strega Nona's Gift HOLIDAY BOOKS Read Aloud" (7:19)

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FVUNGUQw5s

Strega Nona's Gift 🎄 HOLIDAY BOOKS Read Aloud 🎄

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image Credits

Tomie daPaola sets his Strega Nona series in Calabria, located in the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula, where villages maintain traditions that contribute to Italy's colorful history.
panorama of Conflenti, Catanzaro Province, south central Calabria, southern Italy: Antal, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Panorama_di_Conflenti.jpg

In "Strega Nona's Gift," Big Anthony's misadventures are balanced by his finding the desirable fava bean in his portion of the Epiphany cake.
broad beans, shelled and lightly cooked.: Richard W.M. Jones, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Broad-beans-after-cooking.jpg

In 2011, the year of publication for "Strega Nona's Gift," Tomie dePaola was awarded the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in recognition of his significant and lasting contributions to children's literature.
Tomie dePaola delivered his acceptance speech Sunday, June 26, at the ALA Annual Conference, held in New Orleans in 2011.: Schu (MrSchuReads), CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/litandmore/5891982741/

"Strega Nona's Gift HOLIDAY BOOKS Read Aloud" (7:19)
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FVUNGUQw5s