Tomie dePaola

After helping Strega Nona plant her vegetable garden just so, Big Anthony takes some extra seeds and sows another garden willy nilly, then must find a way to deal with the consequences.

When a new girl in the Barkers' class, Carole Anne, acts like a bully, the students try talking to her and ignoring her until Morgie finally discovers what is wrong and finds a way to fix it.

Twins Moffie and Morgie are excited when they hear that their family is adopting a three-year-old Hispanic boy.

Tomie de Paola's first story featuring his beloved Strega Nona character, who began life in the 1970s as a doodle, and was the perfect creation for his Italianized retelling of Der süße Brei, Grimm's Fairy Tales, number 103. Der süße Brei, or The sweet porridge, is better known in English as The magic porridge pot. When Strega Nona leaves him alone with her magic pasta pot, Big Anthony is determined to show the townspeople how it works.

When Strega Nona leaves him alone with her magic pasta pot, Big Anthony is determined to show the townspeople how it works.

A houseful of relatives turns "Mrs. C." and Santa's Christmas into a string of surprises, from the arrival of a pet polar bear to Cousin James B.'s flaming plum pudding.

"When the first big snow of winter hits, Sandy wants to play outside--but Andy isn't so sure. Sandy drags Andy along to make a snowman, go sledding, and make snow angels. Will Andy discover that snow can be fun--despite being wet and cold?"--

"Andy is small. Sandy is tall. Andy is quiet. Sandy is LOUD. When these two opposites-attract best friends play dress up, anything could happen"--

"Young Jack meets a host of animals on his way to ask the king for a house"--

In Strega Nona's village, the holiday season is a time of celebrations-and nothing says celebration like a feast. All the kitchens are bustling from the Feast of San Nicola, when the children choose the food, to the Feast of Epiphany, when someone gets to be king or queen for the day. Even the animals share in the holiday spirit, and when Big Anthony smells the delicious treats Strega Nona is cooking for them, he decides that just a taste couldn't...