L ' I ta l o - Am e r i c an o
GIOVEDÌ 18 DICEMBRE 2014
www.italoamericano.com
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Why do Italian children hang up a stocking on the eve of the Epiphany?
The Night of La Befana explains this custom with a retelling of the ancient Italian legend in which a
reclusive old woman named Befana is the object of curious whispers.
And for what reason? For sweeping and baking all day long, and singing lullabies to no one at all!
But the appearance of a brilliant star one winter's night changes everything.
Author Maria Centofanti Pritchard and illustrator Isabella Centofanti Alexander are sisters who grew
up when life's slower pace invited them to linger long at the dinner table and to listen to their parents tell
of their Old World childhood adventures.
To create The Night of La Befana, Maria and Isabella drew deeply on memories: their father's birth-
place in Italy, the hard-working villagers there, and their Italian grandmother who baked bread and sang
the ninna nanna with joy and passion.
The Night of La Befana unfolds in a simple yet lyrical style. Each watercolor illustration is entirely
hand-done, every brush stroke robust and purposeful. Together, text and pictures capture the essence of
that strange night when three royally dressed men invite Befana to join their star-led search for the
Christ Child, and she stubbornly declines.
What happens when she wakes to regret her decision is why January 5th is the Night of La Befana.
And it is why Italian children hang up a stocking on the eve of the Epiphany.
Readers and listeners of all ages will treasure The Night of La Befana, a story to be read and enjoyed
throughout the Christmas season, again and again!
Cost of book $17.95, Hardcover, 32 pages 8.5 x 11"
This book may be purchased at www.italianchildrensmarket.com or www.thenightoflabefana.com
The Night of La Befana, an Italian legend
Retold by Maria Centofanti Pritchard Illustrated by Isabella Centofanti Alexander
