A Creole folktale from the U.S. Southern oral tradition features two sisters: a favored, spoiled, lazy daughter named Rose; and a generous, kind, hard-working one named Blanche. The girls are given identical tasks by a mysterious woman in the woods. Blanche obeys directions such as not to laugh at what she sees—and she sees the woman take off her head! Unlike selfish Rose who fails to follow any of the directions, Blanche is rewarded for her trust and obedience. This beautifully designed and printed version of a tale previously known by many in its Anglo-European variant features African-American characters wonderfully realized by Pinkney. His drawing and painting show fresh observations of humans and of the animal world and contain a richness of detail and motion harmonious with the tale's idiom, time and place. (Ages 4-9)

The author of such delights as The Christmas Ark and The Enchanted Tapestry joins forces with illustrator Pinkney to resurrect a colorful folktale that captures the unique flavor of the American South. A 1989 Caldecott Honor Book.