Maya Angelou - Mayas World Angelina of Italy

Text copyright 2004 by Maya Angelou. Illustrations copyright 2004 by Lizzy Rockwell. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House Childrens Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Angelou, Maya. Angelina of Italy / by Maya Angelou ; illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell. 1st ed. p. cm. (Random House pictureback)
SUMMARY : Angelina, who loves pizza, becomes very concerned when she learns about the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which she believes is made of pizza.
ISBN 978-0-375-82832-4 (trade)
ISBN 978-0-375-92832-1 (lib. bdg.)
ISBN 978-0-449-81830-5 (ebook)
[1. PizzaFiction. 2. Leaning Tower (Pisa, Italy)Fiction. 3. ItalyFiction.] I. Rockwell, Lizzy, ill. II. Title. III. Series.
PZ7.A5833An 2004 [E]dc22 2003017636
PICTUREBACK, RANDOM HOUSE , and the Random House colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

v3.1

When I was a little girl,

I looked around at my world.

It was small, so was I.

Then my world began to grow

With each child I came to know.

Now I try,

Now I dare

To make a new friend

Everywhere.

L et me tell you about my friend Angelina. She is a little girl who lives in Italy. Angelina means little angel. Most of the time she is an angel, but sometimes she gets a mischievous twinkle in her eyewhich is just what she had the day she told me this story. And now I will tell it to you.

Angelina was a friendly, happy little girl. She liked to say Ciao! to all her neighbors and friends as they passed by her window. (You pronounce ciao chow. Its a very useful word that means hello and goodbye.)

Angelina loved pizzaall kinds of pizza. Pepperoni pizza. Vegetable pizza. Insalata pizza. Even sardine pizza! She loved pizza so much that her sister, Annalisa, called her Patty Pizza, which Angelina didnt care for!

One night, Angelina and her whole family were sitting down to dinner. Angelina had a big family! There were her mama and papa, her twin baby brothers, Franco and Fredo, her big sister, Annalisa, and her Uncle Armando. Mama had to call Uncle Armando to the table twice because he was playing the guitar and singing loudly.

Angelinas mama had two platters in her handsone heaped high with steaming pasta with meat sauce and basil, and the other with a delicious pepper-bacon-mushroom-meatball pizzajust for Angelina!

Mangia! said Mama. Eat!

When Uncle Armando wasnt singing, he was telling stories. In between bites of pasta, he told the family about the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was very tall, and every year it leaned farther and farther, until one day surely it would fall.

A leaning tower of pizza? cried Angelina. This was the worst news she had ever heard!

Angelina imagined a tower made of delicious, saucy pizza pies rising as tall as the church steeple down the street. The Leaning Tower of Pizza leaned farther and farther. If it fell over, no one would ever have a chance to eat it! Especially her!

Dont worry, darlinghissima, said Angelinas mama. The Tower is made of marble and concrete and metal. But Angelina didnt believe it.

The next morning, Angelina curled up in the window seat. Friends and neighbors waved hello, but she didnt call out Ciao! like she usually did. She just couldnt get the Leaning Tower of Pizza out of her mind.

Papa gave Angelina a squeeze. Come, my little angel. Were going for a ride.

The whole family squeezed into their little carAngelina, Mama, Papa, Franco, Fredo, Annalisa, and even Uncle Armando. As they drove off, he began to sing. Canta! Canta! he demanded. So everyone sang along with him the whole tripexcept for Angelina.

Papa drove to the next town, which was called guess what? Pisa! A tall tower rose up before them. It didnt stand straight. It definitely leaned toward the ground! The Leaning Tower of Pizza! As she stared up at it, Angelina was sure she could see the mozzarella dripping off it. She began to sniffle.

Closer and closer they came. By now, big tears were rolling down Angelinas cheeks. Papa stopped the car, and before anyone could stop her, Angelina jumped out and ran toward the tower. There were ropes and gates around it. A stern man stood guard at the entrance.