About This Book

Big Anthony will always be a favorite among children. Strega Nona says it best in describing her bumbling but lovable assistant: "He's adorable...but Mama Mia!" How did Big Anthony find Strega Nona in her little house in Calabria?

From the day he is born on a farm in northern Italy, Big Anthony gets into trouble because he doesn't pay attention. He causes so many disasters that when he is a teenager, his father sends him south. Some of the cities he passes through on his way to Calabria — Pisa, Firenze, Roma and Napoli — will never be the same.

About the Authors or Illustrators

Tomie dePaola

Tomie dePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut in 1934. At age 4, he knew he wanted to become a writer and an illustrator. His mother was an avid book lover and read to him and his brother often. As a child, dePaola would illustrate the books his mother read to him.

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