Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny: An Original African American Scare Tale

Rating:
Summary: Wicked
Review: Just how far do you chose to believe a child when they tell you they want to be scared? Do they really know what they're asking for or are they just going to huddle under their bedcovers late at night and have nightmares for weeks on end when you give in to their demands? The book, "Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny" raises such questions because it's honestly a rather horrific peace of work. A well-researched, folklore accurate, beautifully written horrific work, but a horrific one just the same. Penned by the genius that brought us "The House of the Dies Drear" and "Sweet Whispers Brother Rush", Virginia Hamilton wrote this tale just before her death. Now with accompanying engravings by Barry Moser it's an honestly original and disturbing piece of literature. If Halloween rolls around and you want to show the kids a tale that will honestly knock their socks off, you couldn't do any better than this dark evocative tale of skinless witches, bridled men, and truly evil felines.

There's something wrong with James Lee's Uncle Big Anthony. Once a large strapping fellow, Anthony's been wasting away lately. There are mysterious scratch marks on his shirts and a tear at the corner of his mouth, "where a cat-wich Winnie must've tried to bridle him". The neighbors are saying that a Wee Winnie (a witch) must be after Uncle Big Anthony and there's nothing that can be done. James Lee doesn't know about that, so he's determined to help any way they can. Still, it's only with the aid of Mama Granny's spice-hot pepper witch-be-gone potion that one Wee Winnie Witch meets an ugly but well-deserved demise.

After reading the book it's difficult to figure out how exactly this creation could have been published without the accompanying Barry Moser illustrations. Evoking everything from lynching to slavery through the meticulous use of symbolism, light, and shadow, these pictures say a great deal about African-American history. Telling her tale with references to various elements of black folklore, Hamilton is faithful to traditional black scare stories and, if anything, she does too good a job. Still, it's Moser who brings these pictures horribly to life. Want to see an old crone (obviously European) remove her skin in one large horrible hunk? Or to view a black cat morphing into an evil woman, all long fingernails, teeth, and bloodshot eyes? This story is too young for older children, but younger ones with sturdy constitutions may adore it in it's own right. Or never want to open another book again out of fear. It could really swing either way here.

So when your child, aged five to nine years, pulls at your pantleg and asks you to get them a book at the library that's scary... REALLY scary... take them at their word. Pick out "Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny" from the bookshelves, cuddle up at night, and tell them this excellent tale. It will either be exactly what they're looking for or far far too much. In any case, it'll remain a memorable way to prove to them the full-blooded excitement of reading.

Rating:
Summary: Not your typical slumber-party ghost story!
Review: This odd little book is a wonderfully crafted story about Witch Wee Winnie, who sheds her skin to take a moonlight ride on the back of a Uncle Big Anthony, a big, burly black man who was transmogrified into a complacent horse. Though the story ends on a positive note, there are plenty of nail-biting parts that are macabre enough to impress even the most jaded young reader. The story is an action-packed and scary adventure that would make a great read-aloud in a classroom setting, as a study in African American folklore or story teller's perspective. Moser's woodcut illustrations are a perfect complement to the text; they manage to be high-contrast spooky and yet dark and shadowy, all at once.