Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny: An Original African American Scare Tale is a 2004 picture book by Virginia Hamilton and illustrated by Barry Moser. It is about a witch, Wee Winnie, who terrifies Uncle Big Anthony but is then killed by Mamma Granny.
| Author | Virginia Hamilton |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Barry Moser |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Children's literature, Picture book, American Folklore |
| Published | 2004 (Blue Sky Press) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback, paperback) |
| Pages | 32 (unpaginated) |
| ISBN | 9780590288804 |
| OCLC | 861755682 |
Reception
editBooklist, reviewing Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny, wrote "This original scare tale, which may be her creepiest, is a wonderful horror story that draws on traditional beliefs about witches hanging up their skins and riding people using braided hair as a bridle. Moser's framed, colored wood engravings do a great job of bringing the wild, shivery adventure close to home, their black backgrounds and strong lines lit with garish Halloween images in shades of green and red."[1] The School Library Journal recommended that "This tale is admirably suited to Halloween telling, or for any time that shivers are in order."[1]
The Horn Book Magazine drew comparisons with Zora Neale Hurston's The Skull Talks Back (HarperCollins, 2004) and wrote that some of the illustrations "reflect a reality of historical suffering" and "casts an eerie suggestion of lynching" It found that "Visually and verbally, this is dark art on dark art."[2]
Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny has also been reviewed by Publishers Weekly,[3] and Kirkus Reviews.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b "Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny : an original African American scare tale /". bepl.ent.sirsi.net. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ "Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny : an original African American scare tale - Reviews". catalog.wccls.org. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ "Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny: An Original Scare Tale". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz LLC. August 9, 2004. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
The disjointed storytelling contributes to the suspense; the book's malevolent sexual overtones and startling illustrations will haunt readers after the last page is turned.
- ^ "Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny: An Original Scare Tale (starred review)". Kirkus Media LLC. July 15, 2004. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
it folds tried-and-true folkloric elements into a fast-paced story .. In full-page wood engravings, Moser captures the tale's moonlit horror with gloriously icky views of the witch, both skinless, and as a cat with long-nailed human hands—but he also provides welcome comic relief at the end, with a scene of James Lee, many years later, relating the tale with obvious relish to a wide-eyed young listener.