Witches and Witchcraft in Children's Literature

One of my most cherished children’s books growing up was the tale of Strega Nona, written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola. This folktale tells the story of Strega Nona, alluding to what would be “Grandma Witch” in Italian. However, upon further investigation, the direct translation would actually be “Nonna Strega”. Having the protagonist be named Strega Nona with an emphasis on the single “n” implies that her name means “Ninth Witch” in Italian. Moreover, this was an intentional choice placed by the author, and something that went unnoticed as a child but greatly plays a part in the witchcraft movement.

The book takes place in Southern Italy in the town of Calabria. It follows Strega Nona who serves as the town’s witch doctor through curing fellow townspeople of their troubles with conjuring successful remedies, aids single women in finding husbands, and clears people of their warts. Strega Nona begins to grow old, so she enlists in the help of a young man named Big Anthony to assist her in her household chores. However, Strega Nona’s one stipulation is that Big Anthony is to never touch the magic pasta pot.

One fateful night, Big Anthony witnesses Strega Nona casting a spell to the magic pasta pot, resulting in the creation of colossal amounts of spaghetti noodles. When Strega Nona leaves town the next day, Big Anthony attempts to cast the spell himself, and does so with a catch. Big Anthony unfortunately missed the part of the spell where Strega Nona kisses the pot three times to stop the production of pasta. So, Big Anthony floods the entire town with infinite spaghetti noodles. In the end, Strega Nona returns home and stops the production of pasta, while making Big Anthony eat all the pasta he created.

Strega Nona was a beloved childhood book of mine, and a favorite repeat read. However, it wasn’t until now, while researching the book, that I discovered it is actually banned in numerous libraries across the United States for its positive portrayal of magic and witchcraft. Strega Nona is depicted as a helpful figure in her community, using her magic to assist others and solve problems by cooking ample pasta for the village community. The values represented in the depiction of Strega Nona include kindness, generosity, and the importance of using one’s talents to help others. Strega Nona is a positive role model who teaches readers the value of sharing and the importance of using power responsibly. Overall, the representation of Strega Nona in the book is one that promotes positive values and does not support the negative stereotypes often associated with witches and witchcraft.