Strega Nona ... and More Folk Tales (2004)

Strega Nona (and More Caldecott Award-Winning Folk Tales) contains four classic storybook adaptations (plus two versions in Spanish) from the last quarter-century of the second millenium: Strega Nona by Tomie dePaolo (an Italian crone with healing powers finds her magic pasta-cooking pot has gone awry at the hands of a dim-witted assistant, 3 stars), Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback (a Yiddish man converts an aging overcoat to a jacket then a vest then a tie and so on, 2.5 stars), Stone Soup by Marcia Brown (three hungry soldiers cajole an uncooperative village into helping concoct a delicious soup starting with just three stones, 3 stars), and The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks by Katherine Paterson (a wrongfully disgraced ex-samurai finds love and happiness through mutual mercies exchanged with a mandarin duck and his mate, 3.5 stars). Each story is mildly animated and accompanied by music. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat includes a musical version after the story -- I found both to be overlong though they are colorful. Overall 3 stars.