Strega Nona, Her Story [Paperback]

Tomie dePaolaserves 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 originalStrega Nonapicks 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 WeeklyTomie dePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1934 to a family of Irish and Italian background. By the time he could hold a pencil, he knew what his life's work would be. His determination to create books for children led to a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and an MFA from the California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland, California.

It drove him through the years of teaching, designing greeting cards and stage sets, and painting church murals until 1965, when he illustrated his first children's book,Sound, by Lisa Miller for Coward-McCann. Eventually, freed of other obligations, he plunged full time into both writing and illustrating children's books.

He names Fra Angelico and Giotto, Georges Rouault, and Ben Shahn as major influences on his work, but he soon found his own unique style. His particular way with color, line, detail, and design have earned him many of the most prestigious awards in his field, among them a Caldecott Honor Award forStrega Nona, the Smithsonian Medal from the Smithsonian Institution, the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota for his singular attainment in children's literature, the Catholic Library Association's Regina Medal for his continued distinguished contribution, and the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion. He was also the 1990 United States nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustration.

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