Showing results by author "Tomie dePaola" in All Categories

Mix together an old witch, her magic pasta pot, and a greedy boy. What do you get? Mischief, wild adventure, and a big helping of fun! All the people in the little town of Calabria go to old Strega Nona for solutions to their troubles. From aching heads to broken hearts - Strega Nona can cure them all. But when she hires a lumbering boy named Big Anthony to help her, Strega Nona’s own troubles begin. Award-winning children’s author Tomie dePaola offers an original tale that will have listeners of all ages laughing out loud.

When Strega Nona leaves him alone with her magic pasta pot, Big Anthony is determined to show the townspeople how it works in this classic Caldecott Honor book from Tomie dePaola. Strega Nona - "Grandma Witch" - is the source for potions, cures, magic, and comfort in her Calabrian town. Her magical ever-full pasta pot is especially intriguing to hungry Big Anthony. He is supposed to look after her house and tend her garden but one day, when she goes over the mountain to visit Strega Amelia, Big Anthony recites the magic verse over the pasta pot, with disastrous results.

Presenting a delightful collection of children's favorite Mother Goose rhymes by Tomie dePaola. Young listeners and their parents will enjoy meeting up with familiar friends, including Old King Cole, Little Bo-Peep, Jack and Jill, and many more in an audiobook that is sure to be a story-hour favorite.

In a heartwarming first-person account, dePaola retells his experiences at home and in school when he was a boy. 26 Fairmount Avenue is full of humor, drama, suspense and just the day to day ups and downs of a little boy's life.

This is story of Santa's visit on a snowy Christmas Eve, beautifully brought to life with festive music.

First-grader Tomie dePaola experiences uncertainty in the weeks following the attack on pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. What are the grown-ups talking quietly about at home and even at school? Why does his class have to go to the spooky furnace room for an air raid drill? Why does the family hang thick black curtains over the windows? Tomie's mother is there to comfort and explain the confusion, and Tomie feels better. but he's still scared.

Tommy is four years old, and he loves visiting the home of his grandmother, Nana Downstairs, and his great-grandmother, Nana Upstairs. But one day Tommy's mother tells him Nana Upstairs won't be there anymore, and Tommy must struggle with saying good-bye to someone he loves. This classic story will continue to win the hearts of listeners of all ages.

Strega Nona, the local witch, is very popular in her small Italian town. Her potions are old fashioned, but reliable. Strega Amelia, who lives on the other side of the mountain, is a modern witch. She uses the latest scientific equipment in her cures. What will happen when she moves to Strega Nona’s town? Tomie dePaola delights fans of all ages with his timeless stories of Strega Nona and her colorful friends.

This is the beloved Strega Nona's own story, every detail just as she remembers it, from her childhood with Grandma Concetta, who trained young Nona and her best friend Amelia, to her early days in the little house on the hill and the happy moments when she met Big Anthony and Bambolona. It is the story of a most fascinating life that has influenced and delighted countless children and adults all over the world, and it all starts with the night Strega Nona was born, when the wind was blowing dark storm clouds across the hills...

Tommy is so excited. His first-grade class is putting on a play about Peter Rabbit, and he’s sure to get the starring role. But in his enthusiasm, Tommy talks too much in class, so his teacher decides that he should play Mopsy instead - and Mopsy doesn’t have any lines! Tommy is disappointed until he gets an idea. If he can’t be the star, he can still get the audience’s attention by reacting to everything Peter Rabbit does. But how will Tommy’s mother and teacher react to his performance?

In Mexico, the poinsettia is called flor de la Nochebuenao - flower of the Holy Night. At Christmastime, the flower blooms and flourishes, the quite exquisite red stars lighting up the countryside. This Mexican legend tells how the poinsettia came to be, through a little girl's unselfish gift to the Christ Child. Beloved Newbery honor-winning author Tomie dePaola has embraced the legend using his own special feeling for Christmas.

When Jamie O'Rourke's wife leaves him alone for a week, it's up to Jamie to do the housework. But Jamie isn't just the laziest man in Ireland, he's also the messiest! When a magical pooka arrives unexpectedly and starts to do the dishes and sweep the house, Jamie thinks that maybe he's the luckiest man in Ireland as well. But will Jamie's good fortune - and his pooka's housekeeping - last? Young listeners will be giggling through Tomie dePaola's delightfully funny sequel to Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato.

When a killing drought threatens the existence of the tribe, a courageous little Comanche girl sacrifices her most beloved possession - and the Great Spirit's answer results not only in much needed rain but a very special gift in return.

These laugh-out-loud stories from New Hampshire and Vermont are set during the four seasons of the year. The storyteller in his appealing dialect tells little-known tales, among them "Mothah Skunk" and the night she had to move out with her kits because Sherman Curtis smelled so bad; the escapades of Big Gertie Benson, the lumberjacks' cook and a cousin of the Bunyans in the Midwest; and George Petty, who delivered the mail even during mud season by standing on the back of his horse with only his head sticking out.

"My Irish grandfather, Thomas Lawrence Downey, was a great storyteller. I never tired of sitting on his knee - and later, when I was a bit too big, sitting at his feet with one of my baby sisters on his knee - listening to his wonderful tall tales. Among the stories I loved the best were the ones about the Irish - and the Downey family in particular. In those tales, I'm afraid, 'dramatic flair' and artistic liberties took over for fact. But as any good storyteller knows, to embellish is to make the tale interesting, especially to a young Tomie."

In this delightful sequel, award-winning author-illustrator dePaola shares engaging childhood memories about siblings, school, and life as a five-year-old.

In a heartwarming first-person account, dePaola retells his experiences at home and in school when he was a boy. 26 Fairmount Avenue is full of humor, drama, suspense and just the day-to-day ups and downs of a little boy's life.

In this retelling of the old French legend, Giovanni, a once-famous juggler now old and penniless, gives one last, unforgettable performance on Christmas Eve.

Tomie invites listeners to share in his childhood memories as he prays for his brand-new baby sister to get over pneumonia and finally learns to read.

Tomie celebrates his sixth birthday in style, dresses up as Snow White for his first Halloween, celebrates holidays with his family, suffers through a bout of the chicken pox, and gets to stay up to see the new year in!