Blog #4

The book I am recommending to all of you is Strega Nona, by Tomie dePaola. Strega Nona is the town healer, if you will. She can heal warts, make people fall in love, and create anything for anyone. She hires a man, Big Anthony, to help out with the cleaning and yard work and in turn gives him meals and a place to sleep. She tells him he can do and touch anything he wants but not her cooking pot. He sees her one day making dinner, and all she does is sing a song and pasta comes out of the pot. She sings a different song to make it stop, but the part that Anthony does not see is the three kisses she blows to make the pot empty. He brings the pot to the towns people and feeds everyone, but when he sings the song to make the pot stop, it keeps going because he does not blow three kisses. The Whole town fills with pasta! This creative, well written and well illustrated is sure to engage children.

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Harold and the Purple Crayon is a book filled with the potential of a child's imagination. Written and illustrated by Crockett Johnson, copyright date 1955, this old story comes alive with every new pair of eyes that read it. In this story, Harold, with none other then the clothes on his back and a purple crayon, uses his imagination to create his own world with his purple drawings. The illustrations, although simple and VERY purple, are fun to look at, and I think would intrigue children to want to use their imaginations too. I recommend this fantastic book!