Tomie DePaola

Little Gopher follows his destiny, as revealed in a Dream-Vision, of becoming an artist for his people and eventually is able to bring the colors of the sunset down to the earth.

Four-year-old Tommy enjoys his relationship with both his grandmother and great-grandmother, but eventually learns to face their inevitable death.

Big Anthony plans a surprise Christmas party for Strega Nona. "It's Christmas time in Calabria and with Strega Nona's annual feast around the corner, she has no time for her usual magical tasks. Christmas has a magic of its own, and no one knows magic like Strega Nona does, especially Big Anthony. But with the clock ticking on her preparations, will Big Anthony finally be able to prove that he can be counted on with some magic of his own?"-- Provided...

The laziest man in all of Ireland catches a leprechaun, who offers a potato seed instead of a pot of gold for his freedom.

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.

Because Befana's household chores kept her from finding the Baby King, she searches to this day, leaving gifts for children on the Feast of the Three Kings.

Staying behind when their circus moves on, a young clown and a troupe of baby animals put on a special Christmas Eve show for an Italian village too poor to celebrate the holiday.

Grandma Concetta heals everyone with her remedies and advice, and when she retires, she leaves Nona her magic pasta pot with its secret ingredient.

Children's author-illustrator Tomie De Paola describes his experiences at home and in school when he was a boy.