The purpose of this reading is to bring together the information in the text and the illustrations. The discussion and activity options focus on analyzing the main idea, theme, character traits, setting and how all of the story elements fit together.

During this reading your child and you will read the story all the way through. Three ways that you can add fun and improve recall during this reading are:
~You may switch roles and become the listener and the questioner as your child “reads” (retells) the story to you. Assist your child in matching the retelling of the story to the illustration. Help your child pay attention to the details in the illustration to know when to turn the page.

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The focus of this reading is the text. Through Tomie dePaola’s many illustrations, he shows you most of the action in the plot. Making these connections between illustrations and plot will help anchor understanding of the plot for the young reader. Remember the questions that you had in the First Reading. The text will answer most of them, especially any questions you had about why the characters might be looking and feeling certain emotions.

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Page 1:
~Find Strega Nona in the picture. What does she seem to be doing?
~Discuss the setting information. (The setting of a story refers to where the story takes place and when the story takes place.) Does this story seem to be taking place in this country? Is it taking place in the past, in the present, or in the future? What information in the illustration helps you answer these questions?

Pages 2 – 3:
Tomie dePaola uses a comic strip approach on several pages. Talk with your child about the order in which to look at the illustrations.
On page 2, three different characters are with Strega Nona. ~What does Stega Nona appear to be doing? (She seems to be doing something for the people.)

~Do you notice any changes in the characters? Discuss any changes. (The first lady seems happier. In the second strip of illustrations, there’s a man with his hands over his heart who seems to care about the lady. In the last strip, the bump on the man’s nose is gone.)

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ABOUT THIS BOOK: STREGA NONA

By Tomie dePaola

As a new kindergarten teacher in 1971, I fell in love with Tomie dePaola’s books, and I have continued to love his art work and his wonderful characters. Strega Nona was published in 1975 and was loved immediately (over 38,000 ratings on www.goodreads.com). In 1976, it was a Caldecott Honor book in recognition of Mr. dePaola’s unique art work that is heavily influenced by folk art.

Mr. dePaola recalls that at the age of four he announced to his family and the world that he wanted to be an artist. He never swayed from that desire. The character, Strega Nona, emerged from the doodles that Mr. dePaola drew during a meeting. He kept doodling, and his drawings have resulted in more than 200 children’s books published in fifteen different countries.

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