Strega Nona is a very magical story that brings readers into a fantasy world. While this world may seem hard for some people to imagine, it relies more on pictures to show details rather than the text. Text is kept to a maximum of three or four sentences (though usually just one or two) while pictures take up no less than half of the page. Author and illustrator, Tomie de Paola chose to play with rhythm and rhymes in the text by creating a fun song for the magic pasta pot. This also helps to add to the magical feel of the book, specifically in regards to the pasta pot. Despite the story’s fantasy world, de Paola still managed to make Big Anthony a relatable character. Even though Big Anthony is not perfect children will relate and connect to him because many children will at one point of their lives let their excitement or curiosity take over them and cause them to perhaps miss an important message, just like how Big Anthony’s excitement and curiosity caused him to play with the magic pasta pot and miss the crucial last step to kiss the pasta pot in order to turn it off.
