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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.
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.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2006
75 people want to read
About the author
Joyce Carol Thomas
39 books29 followersJoyce Carol Thomas was an internationally renowned author who received the National Book Award for her first novel, Marked By Fire, and a Coretta Scott King Honor for her first picture book, Brown Honey In Broomwheat Tea. Her other titles include I Have Heard Of A Land, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book; The Gospel Cinderella; cCrowning Glory; Gingerbread Days; and A Gathering Of Flowers. Ms. Thomas lived in Berkeley, California.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 18, 2017
Thanks to one of my Goodreads' friends, I was suggested the author Faith Ringgold. My class will be reading all her picture books that my library has because they are great for our Black History Month unit.
This book was very entertaining. It had a completely different plot that my students instantly clung to. The only part of the book they didn't like was the beginning and the end. They were both very unclear. There was no ending to this book. It just stopped.
This book was very entertaining. It had a completely different plot that my students instantly clung to. The only part of the book they didn't like was the beginning and the end. They were both very unclear. There was no ending to this book. It just stopped.
April 30, 2016
This is a strange little book about witches trying to eat children. However, the more I pondered it, I realized that it is no stranger than the folklore and fairy tales that I read as a child. It's just that reading for the first time as an adult kind of threw me off-kilter.
November 23, 2019
I'm a huge fan of Zora Neale Hurston. I was even part of putting together the first Zora festival in Eatonville that became an annual event.
I saw this bookand I nabbed it. After going through it, I'm pretty sick it has Hurston's name on it, if it should. There's an indication that this tale was gathered by Hurston, but nothing actually written that she did. There's nothing included telling just where this came from or why Hurston's name is attached.
I'm well aware she collected many, many tales and we have writings and recordings that she did. Then why doesn't this refer to the source material? After finishing the short volume, I greatly question if this has anything to do with Hurston and may be a story cobbled together from two words found in all her writings: three and witches.
Wherever this came from it's a pretty horrible story. Especially for children.
The tale is poorly thought out, written and executed. The ending makes little sense, as do the characters and the over all story.
The artwork is horrendous. Look at the history of publishing and the great illustrators that have graced the printed word. This book should have reached for that quality or higher. Instead of the misshapen figures, lousy backgrounds and entire lack of knowledge of design, Harper-Collins used an unskilled bare-amateur. Harper Collins!!! They couldn't seek a better illustrator????
If this was an independent book, I might forgive much of this. But that Harper-Collins let this happen is the true disgrace. Shameful.
Bottom line: I do not recommend this book. 0 out of 10 points.
I saw this bookand I nabbed it. After going through it, I'm pretty sick it has Hurston's name on it, if it should. There's an indication that this tale was gathered by Hurston, but nothing actually written that she did. There's nothing included telling just where this came from or why Hurston's name is attached.
I'm well aware she collected many, many tales and we have writings and recordings that she did. Then why doesn't this refer to the source material? After finishing the short volume, I greatly question if this has anything to do with Hurston and may be a story cobbled together from two words found in all her writings: three and witches.
Wherever this came from it's a pretty horrible story. Especially for children.
The tale is poorly thought out, written and executed. The ending makes little sense, as do the characters and the over all story.
The artwork is horrendous. Look at the history of publishing and the great illustrators that have graced the printed word. This book should have reached for that quality or higher. Instead of the misshapen figures, lousy backgrounds and entire lack of knowledge of design, Harper-Collins used an unskilled bare-amateur. Harper Collins!!! They couldn't seek a better illustrator????
If this was an independent book, I might forgive much of this. But that Harper-Collins let this happen is the true disgrace. Shameful.
Bottom line: I do not recommend this book. 0 out of 10 points.
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October 13, 2015Title: The Three Witches
Author: Joyce Carol Thomas
Illustrator: Joyce Carol Thomas
Genre: Legend
Theme(s): Be careful of witches.
Opening line/sentence: Three witches had already eaten a boy and a girl’s mother and father, so their grandmother took them to live with her far off into the woods.
Brief Book Summary: Two children that live with their grandmother are home alone when witches soon arrive at their home. They run away to escape and finally get saved by their dogs.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Children's Literature - Ken Marantz
In this adaptation, Hurston's folktale takes its place with the other goose-bump-raising stories of wicked witches. These three have eaten the mother and father of a boy and girl, who are now living happily off in the woods with their grandmother. One day, when she has left to get food, the three witches, with "teeth far longer than their lips," arrive and threaten to eat them. The children run away and hide in a tree. As the witches chop away at the tree, the children chant, the girl's chant making the wood chips fly into the witches' eyes, while the boy calls to his hounds. Back and forth go the chopping and the chants. Meanwhile, exhausted Grandma has returned and fallen asleep; the hounds are tied up. Finally, a snake wakes up Grandma and she and the dogs arrive just in time to rescue the children. Despite their fashionable dresses, Ringgold's witches are really ugly, with fangs and crossed eyes; each has a different skin color, while the humans are African American. The action takes place in a typical folktale woods with rustic cabin and lots of greenery. The textured, mixed-media, casual-appearing illustrations have a direct appeal. The three dogs each have a distinct appearance. Once loose, they add positive energy with their open mouths and big sharp teeth. As the children set the dogs on the witches, we avoid the mayhem as the narrator reports, "By that time I left." Both adapter and illustrator have added informative notes.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: School Library Journal
Gr 1-4-"Three witches had already eaten a boy and girl's mother and father, so their grandmother took them to live with her far off in the woods." Grandmother goes for food and the witches come. "Those witches! Their teeth were far longer than their lips!" They send the children to fetch water in a sieve; the children end up in a tree, and the witches start to chop it down with broad axes. The girl sings "Block eye, chip!" and the wood chips fly back into the witches' eyes and blind them. The boy calls the dogs, but they are tied up at home. Grandma returns, but is so tired from her journey that she takes a nap. A snake wakes up the old woman, she looses the dogs, and all ends well. Thomas's adaptation of the tale is careful and clever-she doesn't leave out anything, and elaborates only by drawing engaging dialogue out of the more straightforward original narrative. Ringgold's naive-style paintings in dark rich hues suit the creepy story perfectly-boy, are those witches ugly! Her portrait of Hurston, laughing, at the end of the story, lends a lovely and reassuring visual coda. Short engaging notes add context and cite Hurston's original source. Read this aloud, and add it to any collection alongside the other recent Hurston adaptations for young audiences, including Mary E. Lyons's Roy Makes a Car (S & S, 2005), Christopher Myers's Lies and Other Tall Tales (HarperCollins, 2005), and Thomas's adaptation of The Six Fools (HarperCollins, 2006).-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: The reviews seem to think that this novel has great illustrations. The pictures are engaging and very casually appearing. The illustrations are extremely plausible.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The conflict in the novel is that two young children are being chased my three evil witches. They seem helpless. There is no one to help them and they don't know how to escape.
Consideration of Instructional Application: Have students get into large books and discuss what they would have done if they were in the same position as the two children. Would they have screamed? Would they have jumped from the large tree?
Author: Joyce Carol Thomas
Illustrator: Joyce Carol Thomas
Genre: Legend
Theme(s): Be careful of witches.
Opening line/sentence: Three witches had already eaten a boy and a girl’s mother and father, so their grandmother took them to live with her far off into the woods.
Brief Book Summary: Two children that live with their grandmother are home alone when witches soon arrive at their home. They run away to escape and finally get saved by their dogs.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Children's Literature - Ken Marantz
In this adaptation, Hurston's folktale takes its place with the other goose-bump-raising stories of wicked witches. These three have eaten the mother and father of a boy and girl, who are now living happily off in the woods with their grandmother. One day, when she has left to get food, the three witches, with "teeth far longer than their lips," arrive and threaten to eat them. The children run away and hide in a tree. As the witches chop away at the tree, the children chant, the girl's chant making the wood chips fly into the witches' eyes, while the boy calls to his hounds. Back and forth go the chopping and the chants. Meanwhile, exhausted Grandma has returned and fallen asleep; the hounds are tied up. Finally, a snake wakes up Grandma and she and the dogs arrive just in time to rescue the children. Despite their fashionable dresses, Ringgold's witches are really ugly, with fangs and crossed eyes; each has a different skin color, while the humans are African American. The action takes place in a typical folktale woods with rustic cabin and lots of greenery. The textured, mixed-media, casual-appearing illustrations have a direct appeal. The three dogs each have a distinct appearance. Once loose, they add positive energy with their open mouths and big sharp teeth. As the children set the dogs on the witches, we avoid the mayhem as the narrator reports, "By that time I left." Both adapter and illustrator have added informative notes.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: School Library Journal
Gr 1-4-"Three witches had already eaten a boy and girl's mother and father, so their grandmother took them to live with her far off in the woods." Grandmother goes for food and the witches come. "Those witches! Their teeth were far longer than their lips!" They send the children to fetch water in a sieve; the children end up in a tree, and the witches start to chop it down with broad axes. The girl sings "Block eye, chip!" and the wood chips fly back into the witches' eyes and blind them. The boy calls the dogs, but they are tied up at home. Grandma returns, but is so tired from her journey that she takes a nap. A snake wakes up the old woman, she looses the dogs, and all ends well. Thomas's adaptation of the tale is careful and clever-she doesn't leave out anything, and elaborates only by drawing engaging dialogue out of the more straightforward original narrative. Ringgold's naive-style paintings in dark rich hues suit the creepy story perfectly-boy, are those witches ugly! Her portrait of Hurston, laughing, at the end of the story, lends a lovely and reassuring visual coda. Short engaging notes add context and cite Hurston's original source. Read this aloud, and add it to any collection alongside the other recent Hurston adaptations for young audiences, including Mary E. Lyons's Roy Makes a Car (S & S, 2005), Christopher Myers's Lies and Other Tall Tales (HarperCollins, 2005), and Thomas's adaptation of The Six Fools (HarperCollins, 2006).-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: The reviews seem to think that this novel has great illustrations. The pictures are engaging and very casually appearing. The illustrations are extremely plausible.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The conflict in the novel is that two young children are being chased my three evil witches. They seem helpless. There is no one to help them and they don't know how to escape.
Consideration of Instructional Application: Have students get into large books and discuss what they would have done if they were in the same position as the two children. Would they have screamed? Would they have jumped from the large tree?
February 24, 2014
Hurston, Z.N. (2006). The three witches. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
"The Three Witches" by Zora Neale Hurston, retold by Joyce Carol Thomas, and illustrated by Faith Ringgold, is a tale of three witches, who with their long teeth and claws, hunt for young children. It follows two children who are left alone as their grandmother goes to hunt for food, and while, she is gone three evil, and hungry witches appear . The are dead set on eating the children. But, the children are too smart, and with the help of their grandma, dogs, and a snake they escape danger. This story reminds me of the Grimm's' brother's tale of Hansel and Gretel. This could be considered a fairytale, but it is actually an African American folk tale. The illustrations are very vivid and colorful. But, I think the depictions of the witches might scare young children. I even think the story itself with them trying to eat the children, could definitely be scary for some. I would say the ages for this book would be second to even fifth graders depending on level of maturity. I wouldn't recommend this for the pre-school ages. I didn't really care for the story, I probably will never read it again.
While the content of the story could rival Grimms' Fairy Tales in scariness and gruesomeness (Hansel and Gretel only had to deal with one witch!) the distinctive style of the black folk tale, as written by Hurston and retold by Joyce Carol Thomas, sets this tale apart. Faith Ringgold's illustrations are striking, as always, and I appreciated that the stereotypical witch in black is not portrayed. These witches sport skin colors of orange, green and purple! But my favorite illustration is the artist's portrait of Zora Neale Hurston, following the end notes
"The Three Witches" by Zora Neale Hurston, retold by Joyce Carol Thomas, and illustrated by Faith Ringgold, is a tale of three witches, who with their long teeth and claws, hunt for young children. It follows two children who are left alone as their grandmother goes to hunt for food, and while, she is gone three evil, and hungry witches appear . The are dead set on eating the children. But, the children are too smart, and with the help of their grandma, dogs, and a snake they escape danger. This story reminds me of the Grimm's' brother's tale of Hansel and Gretel. This could be considered a fairytale, but it is actually an African American folk tale. The illustrations are very vivid and colorful. But, I think the depictions of the witches might scare young children. I even think the story itself with them trying to eat the children, could definitely be scary for some. I would say the ages for this book would be second to even fifth graders depending on level of maturity. I wouldn't recommend this for the pre-school ages. I didn't really care for the story, I probably will never read it again.
While the content of the story could rival Grimms' Fairy Tales in scariness and gruesomeness (Hansel and Gretel only had to deal with one witch!) the distinctive style of the black folk tale, as written by Hurston and retold by Joyce Carol Thomas, sets this tale apart. Faith Ringgold's illustrations are striking, as always, and I appreciated that the stereotypical witch in black is not portrayed. These witches sport skin colors of orange, green and purple! But my favorite illustration is the artist's portrait of Zora Neale Hurston, following the end notes
April 28, 2015
I'm not sure if this is an adaptation of an old village tale, but it seemed a bit strange. There is a boy and girl whose parents were eaten by the three bad witches that live in the forest. The kids go to live with their grandma, who leaves them home alone to go to the store. The three witches come to kill and eat the children, so they run away. While running, they climb up in a tree that the witches then begin to start chopping down with axes. The children begin chanting at them, which causes the wood chips to fly into the witches eyes and blind them. They call for their dogs that come, and the children tell the dogs to kill the witches and eat their bones. This book seems a bit scary for little kids and the pictures are a little bit creepy as well. I would say the reading level is appropriate for children in grades 1-2.
February 13, 2015
Overall I really enjoyed the story with the lack of details. Every children story tale has this grand introduction, middle, and simple ending. This story is about these three witches who killed this boy and his sister's parents by eating them.
Since they are orphans, the grandmother takes care of them and one day leaves to go do groceries and horrifically the witches appear and wreak havoc on these poor innocent children.
I love the illustrations and felt like I didn't get enough of the story and was left with this emptiness for the lack of facts. Zoe's Neale Hurston writes magnificently but like I said if she had given more story plot or more action in this story it would have been a true 5 stars for me. Overall I was simply entertained.
Since they are orphans, the grandmother takes care of them and one day leaves to go do groceries and horrifically the witches appear and wreak havoc on these poor innocent children.
I love the illustrations and felt like I didn't get enough of the story and was left with this emptiness for the lack of facts. Zoe's Neale Hurston writes magnificently but like I said if she had given more story plot or more action in this story it would have been a true 5 stars for me. Overall I was simply entertained.
July 14, 2011
While the content of the story could rival Grimms' Fairy Tales in scariness and gruesomeness (Hansel and Gretel only had to deal with one witch!) the distinctive style of the black folk tale, as written by Hurston and retold by Joyce Carol Thomas, sets this tale apart. Faith Ringgold's illustrations are striking, as always, and I appreciated that the stereotypical witch in black is not portrayed. These witches sport skin colors of orange, green and purple! But my favorite illustration is the artist's portrait of Zora Neale Hurston, following the end notes.
April 27, 2013
This could turn out to be a fun read aloud, if performed in the right way; maybe something for Halloween if you are tired of reading the same old-same old. Faith Ringgold's illustrations are colorful and exciting; particularly the witches, who look like monsters (with teeth longer than their lips, to quote the story) dressed up as ultra-cool urban African American women from the 1970s. The story is scary and gruesome, which makes it all the more fun.
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December 15, 2014Oooh, these witches are scary. A person sort of roots for them, just to see what would happen if they won out. I'll have to read this one again, because somehow the kids and the grandma were not as engaging for me on first read. There is somewhat too much green for me, too.
July 16, 2008
Scary and gruesome, but the chants will stick in your head. Anyway, my daughter liked it.
October 29, 2010
Not my favorite "witchy" story (I thought it ended abruptly), but I did enjoy the illustrations a lot.
October 26, 2012
I liked this book because it had nice pictures.
March 21, 2013
I think the book looks good
February 13, 2014
Takes the cake for strangest children's book I've ever read!
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December 12, 2016Picture book. I will use this to teach about different fairy tales.
January 6, 2018
This folktale of the American South, collected by Zora Neale Hurston & adapted here by Joyce Carol Thomas, is a delightful mixture of terror & humor. The last line is the absolute best, & had me caught off-guard & laughing out loud. Faith Ringgold's paintings are also great.
January 8, 2019
Three witches decided they want to eat two local children. // When I first read this a few years ago, I didn’t care for it. I still don’t but now it’s a bit funnier since my kids are older. These tall tales come off as creepy to younger kids, but my 7-year-ole asked to read it again. Probably because spooky is fun at this age. It’s a nice way to introduce Zora Neale Hurston to younger readers, and it seems like a trend for me now to read it on her birthday. A good book to check from the library but one I wouldn’t buy.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews