Wicked Jack
He is big and imposing, with a wide girth and strong jaw, but with also a modicum of charm which he uses to lure people into his nasty pranks. Mean as he is, Will's rendering with pipe and coffee pot hints that there may be an ember of goodness in this heart of coal. He even bears a passing resemblance to both St. Peter and the Devil, although more toward the latter, suggesting the mix of dark and light that comprises humanity. Jack¹s pranks are not described in the text, but Will makes them clear in the small vignettes of practical jokes that extend the story in its early pages. Similarly he evokes the unfettered havoc of Jack’s fulfilled wishes in a tumultuous arrangement of small drawings. Here and elsewhere Will creates an aura of magic at work and the presence of supernatural forces through a flurry of white spots, in pointed contrast with the reds of the forge and fire. Wicked Jack closes where it opens: in the swamp with Jack and his now illuminated pumpkin.
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 Starting From Sketch Inside the Picture Book of Will Hillenbrand
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Reviews
School Library Journal (Starred Review): Surefire child appeal. From Booklist , November 1, 1995: Ages 5--8. Using classic source material by Richard Chase and Zora Neale Hurston, Wooldridge makes an auspicious debut with this folksy retelling of "Wicked John and the Devil." For those unfamiliar with the southern mountain tale of wishes and visits, the mean blacksmith defeats the devil and his young sons with a chair that won't stop rocking, a sledgehammer that won't stop pounding, and a fire bush that keeps on sticking. In the delectable ending, Jack, now deceased, is turned away from the underworld by terrified demons. "You take this here coal and go start a hell of your own." He does. Hillenbrand's imaginative mixed-media paintings (with smudges of coal) have thin, robust lines, angular figures, subtle colors, and a distinctive style. A folktale adaptation that works. Julie Corsaro Copyright© 1995, American Library Association. All rights reserved From Horn Book: In Wooldridge's adaptation of this well-known folktale, Wicked Jack practices meanness on strangers instead of treating them right. The story offers an explanation for he mysterious light you see dancing aroundin he Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina.Hillenbrand's pencil and oil pastel illustrations greatly heighten the humor. -- Copyright © 1996 The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
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