Magic Pasta by Headline Books / Zoom Into Books

In a small Italian village in Italy lived a royal family, King and Queen Primavera, Prince Orzo, and Princess Penne. When Princess Penne grew tired of her royal toys, she discovered a little magic beneath her pasta bowl. Join this royal Italian family on a magical adventure that will last a lifetime. “Magic Pasta is a fun story to read and listen to. The author turns a dinner into a magical kingdom which brings back fond memories of great family pasta dinners.” —Carrie Menas, owner of Colasessanos Pizza Fairmont, WV Magic Pasta

“This story left me with a smile because I realized there is a little bit of Princess Penne in all of us. At times we get lonely looking for a friend and ‘poof ’ there’s that friend as close as our pasta bowl.” —Marisa Minard, Minards Spaghetti Inn, family-owned in Clarksburg, WV “Magic Pasta is a charming little story with equal parts pathos and Parmesan.” —Andrew Cotto, award-winning author and editor-in-chief of Appetito Magazine “Princess Penne and her bowl of magic pasta are sure to fill up the imagination of any tiny pasta eater. This book is a perfect addition to your child’s collection.” —Nick DeMedici, Nonna Carlo Italian Deli and Imports

Diana Pishner Walker

Multi-award-winning author Diana Pishner Walker is a native West Virginian and of Italian descent. Her Italian roots run deep. Her maternal grandparents were from San Giovani in Fiore, Province of Cosenza, Italy. Her paternal grandparents were from Caulonia, Reggio Calabria Italy. She is the author of six award-winning books, Spaghetti & Meatballs: Growing Up Italian, The Christmas Feast: A Fishy Tale, Hop & Trot, and the Hopping to America Series. For more information visit DianaPishnerWalker.com.

Diana Pishner Walker

illustrated by

Brian Dumm

Diana Pishner Walker illustrated by Brian Dumm

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any other form or for any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage system, without written permission from Headline Books. To order additional copies of this book, or for book publishing information, or to contact the author: Headline Kids P. O. Box 52 Terra Alta, WV 26764 Email: mybook@headlinebooks.com www.headlinebooks.com Published by Headline Books Headline Kids is an imprint of Headline Books ISBN-13: 9781958914243 Library of Congress Control Number: 2023946926

PR I N T E D I N T H E U N I T E D STAT E S OF A M E R IC A

Each year on Labor Day weekend for the past forty-four years the West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival is held in Clarksburg, WV. A queen and her court reign over a three-day period and the town is transformed into a “royal Italian Festival” featuring many entertainers, bakers, cooks, and dancers of all ages. I dedicate this book to the West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival board members, my brother Stephen Pishner and the Amici band, my sister Anna Harsh and the Allegro Dancers. Buona Festa!

King and Queen Primavera and their two children, Prince Orzo and Princess Penne, live in a small village in Italy.

There were not many children in this village, so the princess often complained of boredom.

She grew tired of her royal toys and often became very lonely.

The royal prince always stayed busy getting into much mischief, keeping the royal staff constantly cleaning up messes and mending broken antiques.

This Italian royal family had most meals together and ate a lot of pasta. However, one pasta Sunday, the King and Queen had to travel out of the kingdom, and the prince was off getting into trouble.

The royal cook presented a bowl of pasta to Princess Penne for her lunch. She stared at the pasta for a very long time. When she finally decided to begin the twirling of her fork, the pasta bowl began to move.

Princess Penne gasped and right away came to the only conclusion possible, that it was “Magic Pasta!” Magic Pasta did one thing of course, and that was grant wishes. Princess Penne lay down her fork and closed her eyes tightly to concentrate on her first wish.

Little did Princess Penne know that beneath the pasta bowl was a tiny fairy, the only fairy still living in the kingdom. 14

Just as the fairy began her escape from beneath the pasta bowl the princess opened her eyes and blurted out, “I wish for a larger castle to live in!”

Oh no! What was the fairy to do? Hidden behind the bowl, the fairy shrugged her shoulders and, with a wave of her wand, made the castle larger. The royal staff now had even more castle rooms to chase the prince through and the castle was much too large for the land. Princess Penne looked out the window and thought, This will never do. I don’t have much of a space to play outdoors now.

The princess rushed back to the magic pasta and wished to return the castle to the same size again.

Hmmm, she thought, what else can I wish for? I could wish for my brother, the prince, to disappear! No, that would cause much sadness for the King and Queen. “I could wish for more toys!” she continued to think aloud. “More ice cream? What do I want?”

The fairy began to speak, “I will grant you one more wish.” Princess Penne finally decided, “I need a friend. I will wish for a friend.” So, the princess closed her eyes tightly once more, but this time, the little fairy did not try to escape. The princess spoke, “I wish for a friend. If I had a friend, I would not be so lonely. Yes, that’s it. I wish for a friend.”

At last, the little fairy popped out from beneath the pasta bowl. “WHEW! That bowl was getting heavy! Do you always use that much parmesan cheese?”

“What are you doing under my Magic Pasta? Who are you?” the Princess asked. 23

The little fairy dusted off the cheese and straightened out her wings as she bowed proudly before Princess Penne. “I am but a fairy and I would be truly honored to be your friend, my royal princess.” Princess Penne began to tap her chin. “So, my pasta is not MAGIC? Why did you say you could only grant me one more wish?” The fairy replied, “I said you could only have one more wish because your pasta bowl was getting heavy and your pasta was getting cold, and you need to eat your dinner.”

The princess giggled. “My little fairy princess, I know we will be the best of friends.”

The magic fairy granted the princess many wishes throughout her life.

When the princess grew up and had a family, the little magical fairy had many more pasta bowls to hide under and grant many more wishes. The little Italian kingdom, over the years, began to grow and flourish, and there was always plenty of pasta for everyone, all from the kindness of the princess and her new BFF, the little magic fairy. The End 30

Princess Penne’s Pink Pasta Salad Ingredients • • • • • • • • •

4 cups cooked pasta, prepared according to package directions 1/2 cup pineapple chunks PLUS 1/2 cup pineapple juice or liquid from can, optional 1/2 cup yogurt or mayonnaise 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 Tablespoon Sugar, to taste 2 cups chopped broccoli (you can also use one pack frozen broccoli thawed) 1 cucumber, diced Salt and pepper, to taste Pink food dye, optional

Instructions 1. Add 5 drops of pink food coloring to the pasta cooking water and cook the pasta according to package directions, and then set aside to cool. 2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the pineapple juice, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and yogurt/mayonnaise. Taste and adjust as necessary - adding more juice, sugar, or vinegar to hit that perfect balance of tart, sweet & creamy. You can also add some pink food coloring to the salad dressing. 3. Season the dressing with salt and pepper. 4. Combine the dressing, chopped veggies, pineapple chunks, and pasta. Stir to coat the veggies and pasta with the sauce. 31

Diana Pishner Walker

illustrated by

Brian Dumm