Tony's Bread

A baker loses his daughter but gains a bakery in the grand city of Milano after meeting a determined nobleman and baking a unique loaf of bread.

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. A baker loses his daughter but gains a bakery in the grand city of Milano after meeting a determined nobleman, in a tale that explains the origin of the name "panettone"--a traditional sweet bread of Italy.

Publishers Weekly

How did panettone , the rich Italian Christmas bread, get its name? With tongue firmly in cheek, dePaola provides this confection as a reply. Chubby Serafina, the baker Antonio's daughter, spends her days eating candy and weeping by the window. For although her father adores her and gives her the best of everything, Tony is convinced there is no man worthy of her. Then Angelo, a wealthy nobleman, falls in love with Serafina and enlists the help of three meddlesome ``aunties'' to win her father's approval. In return for Serafina's hand in marriage, Angelo sets Tony up in his own bakery in Milano, where he becomes wonderfully rich and famous from sales of an unusually shaped bread: pan di Tonio , or panettone . The tale is a typically charming dePaolian effort, and the illustrations abound with his trademark coziness. Another nice touch: like Tony's currant-filled buns, the story is sprinkled with Italian words and phrases, translations of which are cleverly woven into the text. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)

Best known for his award-winning picture book Strega Nona and for the 26 Fairmount Avenue series of chapter books, Tomie dePaola is one of the most prolific -- and beloved -- author/illustrators in the field of children's literature.