My own Grandma Witch

When I found out I was pregnant with Emma, I wanted to share the news with my parents in a creative and meaningful way. So, I bought a book that my grandmother used to read to me and I inscribed it. I wrote that now it was my parents' turn to read to their grandchild. The book I chose was Strega Nona, my fifth pick. We're visiting my parents this weekend and last night my dad read Strega Nona to Emma. So, the timing is perfect to write about this favorite.

5. Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

Strega Nona is an award-winning and magical story about an old Italian healer, Strega Nona or "grandma witch," who has a bottomless pot of pasta. Strega Nona's helper Big Anthony causes trouble one day when he tries to use the pot without fully understanding how it works. Anthony makes enough pasta to feed the whole town, but he just can't figure out how to make it stop. And soon, the pasta is completely out of control. In hopes of hiding is mischief, Anthony has to eat all of the pasta to get rid of it. I love that this story stresses the importance of listening to your elders. And dePaola's illustrations are incredible. They are so good, it's almost like you don't even need the words.

The book is still a little too long for Emma (age 4), but she's getting there. And even though she doesn't always sit still long enough to hear the entire story, it's still amazing to see my parents reading it to her. It brings back many happy memories of my grandmother reading it to me. (I even used to call her "Streg" sometimes.) Tomie dePaola has lots of other books too, but I admit, I have not read them. When Emma is a little bit older, he's definitely an author we'll explore.