Honestly, if you grew up with a certain kind of picture book on your shelf, you probably have a visceral reaction to the smell of spaghetti. You can thank Big Anthony for that. He’s the legendary, well-meaning, and spectacularly dim-witted assistant to Strega Nona, the "Grandmother Witch" of Calabria. Most people remember the pasta. They remember the flood. But if you look closer at the world Tomie dePaola built starting in 1975, there’s actually a lot more going on than just a kitchen mishap.
Who Is Big Anthony Anyway?
Big Anthony is basically the patron saint of people who "didn't hear the last part." In the original Strega Nona book, he’s hired to help the elderly witch with her chores. Strega Nona is a pillar of the community; she cures headaches with oil and water and handles relationship drama with magic. She’s busy. She needs a hand.
Anthony is tall, gangly, and has a heart of gold, but his brain is a bit like a sieve. The central conflict of his life—and the reason we have a story at all—is that he only pays attention about 70% of the time.
The Pasta Incident
You know the drill. Strega Nona has a magic pasta pot. She sings a little song, the pot makes pasta. She blows three kisses, the pot stops. Anthony sees the first half. He misses the kisses.
When she goes over the mountain to visit Strega Amelia, Anthony decides to play the big man in town. He wants to prove he’s got the "magic touch" too. He gets the pot going, feeds the whole village, and then... the pasta doesn't stop. It overflows the house. It fills the streets. It almost drowns the town in noodles.
It’s a classic "Sorcerer’s Apprentice" trope, but dePaola gives it a very specific Italian flavor.
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Why We All Secretly Root for the Oaf
There is something deeply relatable about Big Anthony. Most children's book characters are either paragons of virtue or clearly defined villains. Anthony is neither. He’s just a guy who wants to be noticed. He wants the villagers to stop laughing at him.
In Big Anthony: His Story (published in 1998), we find out his clumsiness isn't a choice—it’s a lifelong condition. As a kid on his family farm in Northern Italy, he accidentally let all the animals out because he didn't listen to his mother. He even "fixed" the Leaning Tower of Pisa by leaning against it.
He’s a disaster artist.
The Character Dynamics
The relationship between Big Anthony and Strega Nona is what makes the series stick. She isn't a cruel boss. She’s patient. Even after he nearly destroys her home, her punishment is poetic: he has to eat all the pasta.
- It’s a natural consequence.
- It solves the physical problem of the pasta blockage.
- It teaches him a lesson without being unnecessarily mean.
Honestly, it’s a masterclass in parenting that most of us probably missed when we were five.
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More Than Just One Pot
The "Big Anthony and Strega Nona" cinematic universe (if we can call it that) is surprisingly deep. After the 1975 original won a Caldecott Honor, dePaola kept going.
In Big Anthony and the Magic Ring (1979), he steals a ring to turn himself into a handsome stranger so he can go to the village dance. It ends with him being chased by a literal mob of women. In Strega Nona’s Magic Lessons, he even tries to disguise himself as a girl named "Antonia" just to learn magic, because Strega Nona was only teaching the baker's daughter, Bambolona.
He is nothing if not persistent.
The Origins of the Characters
Fun fact: Strega Nona started as a doodle. Tomie dePaola was in a faculty meeting at Colby-Sawyer College, bored out of his mind. He was drawing "Punchinello," a character from the Italian commedia dell’arte. He gave the doodle a headscarf and a big nose, and boom—Grandma Witch was born.
Big Anthony came later. In the first draft, the person who messed up the pasta pot was a girl named Concetta. DePaola realized he didn't want another "dumb girl" trope in folklore, so he swapped her out for the bumbling guy we know today.
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The Real Lesson (It’s Not Just "Pay Attention")
If you ask a teacher why they read these books, they’ll talk about "characterization" or "sequencing." But for the rest of us? The value is in the failure.
We live in a world that demands perfection. Big Anthony is the opposite. He fails constantly. He gets fired from jobs in Pisa, Rome, and Naples before he finds Strega Nona. He is the king of the "fresh start."
There’s a weirdly comforting message there: even if you mess up in a way that literally floods your town with starch, life goes on. You might just have to eat a lot of spaghetti to fix it.
Next Steps for Your Inner Child
If you're looking to revisit these stories or share them with someone new, start with the "Big Three" to get the full scope of the Anthony-Nona dynamic:
- Read the original Strega Nona (1975): This is the foundation. It establishes the pot, the kisses, and the punishment.
- Check out Big Anthony: His Story: It’s a prequel that makes you feel much more sympathetic toward the guy. It explains his "curse" of not paying attention.
- Look for Strega Nona’s Magic Lessons: This is where you see the rivalry between Anthony and Bambolona, which adds a lot of texture to the village life.
Don't worry about the order too much. Like Big Anthony, you can pretty much jump in anywhere and figure it out as you go. Just remember to blow three kisses when you're done.