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There are plenty of familiar faces — Madeline, Strega Nona, Babar — but just as many areas dedicated to worthy titles that don’t feature household names, including “Crow Boy,” “Sam and the Tigers,” “Gladiola Garden” and “The Zabajaba Jungle.”

“Time Shelter” has also won Italy’s Strega European Prize for literature in Italian translation.

The scene resembled something out of “Strega Nona,” the classic children’s book by Tomie dePaola about a kindly “grandma witch” whose magically overflowing pot floods her little town in Italy with pasta.

Nick Varano, owner of Strega restaurant in the neighborhood, was not happy with the city’s plan.

Whatever standards of comportment or interior restraint Ms. Marcus had to contend with to get her point across, the Strega Nona story was necessary — and perfect for getting that point across in a wickedly benign way.