Tomie DePaola

After helping Strega Nona plant her vegetable garden just so, Big Anthony takes some extra seeds and sows another garden willy nilly, then must find a way to deal with the consequences.

When Strega Nona leaves him alone with her magic pasta pot, Big Anthony is determined to show the townspeople how it works.

"Andy is small. Sandy is tall. Andy is quiet. Sandy is LOUD. When these two opposites-attract best friends play dress up, anything could happen"--

Lucinda is unhappy because she has ruined the blanket that was intended for use in a Christmas procession. In Mexico, the poinsettia is called flor de la Nochebuenao flower ofthe Holy Night. At Christmastime, the flower blooms and flourishes, the quite exquisitered stars lighting up the countryside. A Mexican legend tells how the poinsettia came to be, through a little girl's unselfishgift to the Christ Child. Tomie dePaola has embraced the legend...

In Strega Nona's village, the holiday season is a time of celebrations-and nothing says celebration like a feast. All the kitchens are bustling from the Feast of San Nicola, when the children choose the food, to the Feast of Epiphany, when someone gets to be king or queen for the day. Even the animals share in the holiday spirit, and when Big Anthony smells the delicious treats Strega Nona is cooking for them, he decides that just a taste couldn't...

Presents a variety of facts about popcorn and includes two recipes.

"Young Jack meets a host of animals on his way to ask the king for a house"--

Bossy Moffie and her quiet twin brother Morgie both enjoy starting school, especially getting gold stars and making new friends.

Three wise men of the East, having seen a new star symbolizing the birth of a great king, follow the star to Bethlehem where they present gifts to the newborn Jesus.

Twins Moffie and Morgie are excited when they hear that their family is adopting a three-year-old Hispanic boy.