DePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut, to a family of Irish and Italian heritage. His paternal grandparents were from Calabria, where he set his well-known Strega Nona stories. Strega Nona and its sequels tell the story of a kindly grandma witch, who helps her fellow Calabrian townspeople with potions, cures, magic, comfort, and an always full pasta pot. Big Anthony, Strega Nona’s kind-hearted but clumsy helper, adds comedy and chaos to Strega Nona’s life.
My kids loved the Strega Nona stories, especially the first book, where Strega Nona fills her magic pasta pot and leaves Big Anthony to look after it while she goes over the mountain to visit her friend Strega Amelia. The ever-full pasta pot intrigues the always hungry Big Anthony and after Strega Nona leaves, he recites the magic verse over the pasta pot and gets some disastrous results.
Tomie dePaola died in 2020. Just this month, the USPS honored this prolific children’s book author and illustrator with the issuance of a Forever stamp. The stamp art features a detail from the cover of Strega Nona. The stamp image shows her carrying her magic pasta pot.
My daughter alerted me to these stamps; she remembers me reading the books to her and her siblings. We were in Chicago on the first day of issue and I asked her if we could swing by the post office to buy some. Her reply, “No. You don’t want to go in there. That place is an absolute zoo.” Heeding her advice, I went to the Dayton post office Monday morning and bought a few sheets of Strega Nona stamps plus a few other fun ones that caught my eye.
PS…postage is now $0.63 for a standard sized letter. Oy.
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