In this prequel to the Strega Nona books, readers find out how the delightful Italian sorceress comes into the world and how she comes to take on the bumbling Big Anthony as an apprentice. Water color illustrations.
Tomie dePaola serves as biographer to his delightful Italian sorceress, Strega Nona, in this beautifully drawn prequel. The tale begins with little Nona's birth on a dark and stormy night, and ends where the original Strega Nona picks up-with Strega Nona taking on the bumbling, knock-kneed Big Anthony as an apprentice. This winsome story is illustrated throughout with Tomie dePaola's warm and sunny watercolors! dePaola does a splendid job of working this sparkling tale into the Strega Nona canon. -Publishers Weekly