(3) K-3 Adapted by Joyce Carol Thomas. Illustrated by Faith Ringgold. After witches eat their parents, two siblings go live with their grandma in the woods. One day while Grandma is away, the witches come after the children. The text's repetitive chants and rhythmic prose invite participation, and the exaggerated ugliness of the colorful witches downplays their scariness. An illustrator's note explains the story's basis in the oral tradition.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(2) 4-6 Adapted by Joyce Carol Thomas. Illustrated by Leonard Jenkins. Thomas sacrifices none of the oral qualities of the original collections' language in these adaptations that bring six of Hurston's tales to a younger audience. Jenkins's haunting illustrations vary from representational art (in a portrait of Hurston accompanying a biographical sketch) to surreal collages. Rich in both language and art, this collection is a fitting tribute to Hurston's work.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2004

(4) K-3 Adapted by Joyce Carol Thomas. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. Adapted (and scrubbed of "dialect") from Hurston's Every Tongue Got to Confess, these nine pourquoi animal tales are characterized by brevity, a sly sense of humor, and a dependence on the storyteller's intonation for just the right effect. Collier's collaged paintings add some funny modern touches to the tales but often seem crowded on the pages.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton