Winnie the Witch

Winnie the witch has a black house. The interior of the house is also blackthe rooms, walls, furniture, utensils, etc. Her cat is Wilbur, black with bright green eyes. When Wilbur closes his eyes to doze off, he disappears into the background of Winnie's home, and she accidentally tramples himagain and again. This practical witch, who loves her feline friend, changes his color to green. But when he's outside in the grass, the problem recurs. She then waves her wand over him five times and turns him into a five-color cat, but Wilbur is mortified and climbs up a tree to hide. Winnie brings him back to his original state and instead uses colorization on the big black house. In true Halloween spirit, Paul's pictures of the witch's house are spooky and most imaginative. Her palette of gray, black and white in the opening pages reveals all the eerie details of Wilbur and Winnie's existence, and the technicolor transformation is a startling surprise. Thomas's story is simply stated, with a cauldron-full of original humor. Ages 4-8. (October)