BIG ANTHONY

The followers of Strega Nona and her consistently befuddled sidekick Big Anthony now have his “biography” from birth to that fateful meeting on a hill in Calabria. Set in the sunlit, fresco-colored world of once-upon-a-time-in-Italy, readers see Anthony baptized (he got water on everyone), during his first birthday (he landed in the cake), and in school (he didn’t pay attention). As he gets older, he’s needed more on the farm, but he never quite gets the instructions right. In self-defense, his father sends him out into the world. Big Anthony wanders through Pisa, Roma, Firenze, and Napoli, creating havoc all the way to Calabria, where he meets Strega Nona. This cheerful addition to the dePaola canon has plenty of Italian words to roll off the tongue, and abundant, limpid colors to delight the eye. (Picture book. 4-8)