The Three Witches

The three bad witches are HUNGRY! Let's eat these children, they say. They may have teeth that are longer than their lips and they may wear high heels, but they are NO match for two smart children, their brave grandma, three hound dogs, and a fast-running snake.

The Three Witches was first published in every tongue got to confess, the third volume of folklore collected by Zora Neale Hurston while traveling in the Gulf States in the 1930s. It has been adapted for young people by National Book Award winner Joyce Carol Thomas. The vibrant paintings have been masterfully executed by internationally celebrated artist Faith Ringgold.

Publishers Weekly

This suspenseful folk story, collected by Hurston (1861-1960) and adapted by Thomas (The Six Fools), finds three crones (with teeth far longer than their lips) in pursuit of a brother and sister. After the children's grandmother leaves their woodland cabin for provisions, the sister says, I smell witches. Good ones or bad ones? her brother asks. Bad, she answers. The red, green and purple hags-depicted in Ringgold's (Tar Beach) homespun painting style-chase the siblings up a tree and commence to chop it down; while the girl repeats a conjuring spell, the boy calls for their three hound dogs and grandmother slowly wends her way home. Simultaneously nerve-wracking and comic, this joins the crop of African-American scary tales like Hamilton and Moser's Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny. Ages 6-10. (Aug.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.