The beloved children's book character Strega Nona is celebrating her 50th anniversary this year, and fans can view the original artwork that brought her to life at the University of Minnesota's Kerlan Collection. The watercolor illustrations from Tomie dePaola's 1975 masterpiece "Strega Nona, An Old Tale" are housed in Minneapolis, where visitors of all ages can examine the gentle brushstrokes behind the iconic Italian grandmother witch.
In her office overlooking the Mississippi River, Lisa Von Drasek, curator of the Kerlan Collection of Children's Literature at the University of Minnesota, carefully displays one watercolor painting after another from a large flat storage box. The pastel scenes feature distinctive blue pumpkins and rolling hills, a plump rabbit, abundant spaghetti, and the memorable grandmother figure with her signature headscarf, apron, and magical cauldron. "This is pen and ink and watercolor and a little pencil crayon. You see? Look at her dancing," Von Drasek explains as she examines the original illustrations.
The 1975 picture book tells the story of an Italian grandmother witch, her bumbling young apprentice Big Anthony, and her magical pasta pot that can flood their Calabrian village with spaghetti if not used properly. DePaola's creation earned him the prestigious American Library Association's Caldecott Medal in 1976 and launched an entire series of Strega Nona books that would captivate generations of young readers.
Von Drasek opens an old copy of the book to reveal a special treasure on the title page: a hand-drawn doodle of Strega Nona accompanied by a handwritten note from dePaola dated 1977. "For the Kerlan Collection, with love and three kisses," she reads aloud, adding, "Any time Tomie signed anything, he put a little heart." This personal touch reflects the warm relationship between the artist and the institution that would eventually house his life's work.
Although dePaola, who passed away in 2020, was based on the East Coast, he generously donated dozens of manuscripts and illustrations from more than 160 books to the Kerlan Collection. Von Drasek explains that his connection to the University of Minnesota stemmed from his friendship with her predecessor, fellow children's literature expert Karen Nelson Hoyle, and his involvement with the university's children's literature department. DePaola visited Minnesota frequently to conduct seminars and spent weeks in the 1980s and 1990s consulting with the Children's Theater in Minneapolis for several Strega Nona productions.
"He wanted us to have these because we're open access," Von Drasek explains, highlighting the collection's unique policy that allows anyone to make an appointment and examine the letters and illustrations directly. The accessibility extends across all age groups and educational levels. "I have classes with 8-year-olds. I have classes with graduate students. I have classes from MCAD (Minneapolis College of Art and Design), and I have classes from Hamline University's children's writing and, of course, University of Minnesota classes," she says. "All of them have the opportunity to hold these materials in their hands and say, 'Oh, a human being did this.'"
Despite creating hundreds of books throughout his prolific career, dePaola consistently identified Strega Nona as his favorite character. "She's a charming character and I'm even amazed by her. She strikes a chord in everyone. You don't have to be Italian to love her," dePaola said in a 2015 interview with the City University of New York. "She's a wise woman, but there's a little magic in her." This universal appeal has allowed the character to transcend cultural boundaries and connect with readers worldwide.
Von Drasek, who worked as a school librarian in New York before moving to Minnesota, developed a personal friendship with dePaola over the years. She recalls how the author would visit her library whenever he released a new book, and she observed that he shared many characteristics with his beloved character: kindness, compassion, and infinite patience. "I never saw him impatient with a child, with a parent, with a teacher who would have a stack of books for him to sign, and every book he signed... he would draw a little picture," Von Drasek remembers. "He exuded kindness."
Fifty years after her debut, Strega Nona's warmth continues to enchant new audiences across different platforms and generations. In 2024, the pasta witch unexpectedly became a TikTok phenomenon through the "Strega Nona Fall" trend, which celebrated her embodiment of autumn coziness. This digital revival was quickly followed by a wave of Strega Nona Halloween costumes, proving that her appeal extends far beyond traditional children's literature.
Strega Nona represents one of many retellings of the Magic Porridge Pot trope found in folk and fairy tales, similar to "Sweet Porridge" from The Brothers Grimm collection. However, Von Drasek notes that dePaola's version has become the most famous and enduring adaptation. "The story is a classic one, a familiar one of people in need being taken care of, and what is a bigger need than hunger and the fact that there is an older woman who has magic and can conjure food for an entire village," she explains. "That is not only a classic tale, but it's a comfort tale."
The enduring success of Strega Nona speaks to the universal human need for stories that provide comfort and hope. "These stories that we hear over and over and over again are retold by many writers and illustrators, but the ones that endure are the ones that bring love," Von Drasek observes. When asked why Strega Nona has maintained such lasting appeal, she offers a simple yet profound explanation: "It's a picture book that's like a hug."
