Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

Kate is under the distinct impression that she sounds like Dracula in this episode, but I say she’s Luigi-tastic. She also had to edit the living heck out of this one because I just kept flubbing the lines repeatedly. I have no idea what was going on with my tongue that day. She in turn has written, “Never make me do Italian again, I beg you.”  Which, naturally, makes me DESPERATELY want to make her do Italian again. But what kind of Italian shall I have her do? Something a little more Godfather? A little Sophia Loren? Suggestions are welcome.

The lesson of the day: Don’t take a pregnant woman’s fork. Explanation to follow.

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Show Notes:

– I’ll do the Weston Woods folks a solid and not link to a YouTube video of their take on the book, but you should really watch it. For the soundtrack alone if nothing else.

– If anyone has any further information on the goose “Black Murdoch” that belonged to the Dillons, please alert me immediately.

– Wait. Kate may have been right about the Dracula thing. I may have to take my words back.

– To know more about the life of Big Anthony, check out Big Anthony: His Story.

– Evidence that Big Anthony knew that he was applying for a job. Note the paper in his hand.

– For the sequel with Strega Amelia, you’ll want Strega Nona Meets Her Match.

– The eleven Strega Nona sequels are as follows:

• Big Anthony and the Magic Ring (1979)
• Strega Nona’s Magic Lessons (1982)
• Merry Christmas, Strega Nona (1986)
• Strega Nona Meets Her Match (1993)
• Strega Nona: Her Story (1996)
• Big Anthony, His Story (1998)
• Strega Nona Takes a Vacation (2000)
• Brava, Strega Nona! A Heartwarming Pop-Up Book (2008)
• Strega Nona’s Harvest (2009)
• Strega Nona Does It Again (2013)

– Is this pasta gross or good? You decide. It does say, “And some people came back for two and three helpings”.

– This peacock ain’t waiting around to get strangled by spaghetti. Tail or no tail, it’s outta here.

– The one safe space in town. That rabbit is still perched there near the story’s end.

– Strega Nona performs a cardinal sin: Taking the pregnant woman’s fork. That guy in the background knows it’s going down.

– The priest and the nuns going to the local witch. I was reminded of The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz when I spoke of the early mix of paganism and Christianity in medieval Europe.

– The hat sequence. Let’s do this. The first time it goes off his head:

– The second time, when it’s removed willingly:

– The last time when the pot itself knocks it off. Maybe it felt he was disrespectful.

– “It’s wafer thin.”

– Evidence that he just did a path to her home. Do you see the pasta in the lower left-hand corner? So she’s not being a complete monster about all of this.

– Minh Le’s bit on Strega Nona can be found here but its brilliance belongs to the masses.

– Can you crack The dePaola Code? It’s a doozy.

– You can find Handsome Big Anthony in Big Anthony and the Magic Ring.

– This is what a quokka is. It doesn’t, insofar as we can tell, give you chlamydia:

– Actually, the yams are a-okay. What reader C. Baker actually wrote was, “Yams in Africa are not at all related to sweet potatoes in America. When Africans were kidnapped and brought to America, they used a familiar word (yam) to refer to a new vegetable. But they’re not the same, and you can hardly find yams over here.”

– Kate mentions the Freelance Wrestling Show in Chicago and her story is borne out by these tweets:

– Cannot recommend this book enough. Cake Magic by Caroline Wright:

Filed under: Fuse 8 n' Kate