Books like Merry Christmas, Strega Nona
By Tomie dePaola
For families who already treat Strega Nona like a beloved neighbor, this is the cozy holiday visit they've been waiting for. Warm, folksy, and full of holiday bustle, with the gentle comedy of a helper who might just rise to the occasion.
A girl named Emily writes to her teacher, Mr. Blueberry, insisting a blue whale is living in her pond, and the two trade letters all summer as he tries to set her straight.
After a long night delivering presents to every child in the world, Santa comes home to the North Pole — where his elves decide it's finally his turn to have a Christmas morning of his own.
A young girl finds a box of yarn that never runs out and knits sweaters for everyone and everything in her gray town — until a greedy archduke decides he wants the box for himself.
A girl named Treva notices her family's Christmas decorations and presents mysteriously vanishing, and when she tracks down the culprit, she finds two trolls who have never had a Christmas of their own.
On the day before Christmas, the very first snow falls and children build a snowman who comes to life the moment a magic hat lands on his head.
A city kid worries that Santa can't visit her apartment building — no chimney, no room on the block for a sleigh and eight reindeer — until her family and community show her the Christmas spirit finds a way.
A beloved zoo lion, adored daily by townspeople who greet him with treats and kind words, finds his door open and sets out to politely return the visits — with unexpected results.
A dragon-like creature called the Funny Thing has a habit of eating children's dolls, until a kindly old man named Bobo invents a strange new treat to change its appetite for good.
A carpenter named Caleb gets into a spat with his wife Kate, then wakes up transformed into a dog — unable to speak or explain who he really is, so he stays close to her as her loyal companion.
A young witch with a nose that glows blue sets her alarm so she won't be late for the midnight flight of Scurry 13 — but a band of trick-or-treaters tempts her off course.
When a Czar promises his daughter to whoever brings him a flying ship, a young man dismissed by everyone as a fool sets off to try his luck and gathers a band of strange companions along the way.
A hungry young man arrives in a village where a little old lady insists she has no food, so he sets a pot of water and a stone to boil and calls it soup — and something clever begins to unfold.
