Vibrant scratchboard oil paintings bring to life a retelling of a popular Alabama folktale in which young Wiley must outwit a mean, trickster ogre in order to make it go away for good. Grade 2-4?A picture-book retelling of the popular Alabama folktale. Sierra omits the boy's first meeting with the Hairy Man found in other versions and has Wiley ask the man to turn himself into a bear rather than a giraffe. Unlike Virginia Haviland's tale in North American Legends (Philomel, 1979; o.p.) and Virginia Hamilton's in The People Could Fly (Knopf, 1985), this version does not contain African American dialect. Pinkney's signature oil paint-on-scratchboard illustrations, with greens and browns predominating, are effective and dramatic. Except for his cow feet, the large Hairy Man appears to be more human than beast, although his head is proportionately larger than his body, adding to his unearthly look. Libraries owning any of the aforementioned books will want to purchase this new edition only for the purpose of adding a variant telling to the collection.?Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. Ages 5^-8. A well-known African American folktale is given a solid presentation that is sure to make the story a strong favorite with a wide range of readers. Sierra's flowing retelling is spare but solid, lending itself to reading and telling aloud. Pinkney's painted scratchboards, full of motion and feeling, are unfailingly vibrant, their rich reds and greens evoking a lush, slightly dangerous environment. Several variants of the tale are currently available, including Molly Bang's 1987 adaptation, but this particularly successful collaboration will find a permanent place on library shelves. Janice del Negro Used Book in Good Condition