CULTURE 2

JOHN HENRY

Biblioghraphy

Lester, Julius. 1994. JOHN HENRY. Ill. Jerry Pinkney. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN 059053937X.

Plot Summary

This is the folktale of an extraordinary man called John Henry. John Henry is so special that when he is born animals from all over come to see him. Both the sun and the moon come to see him. He grows so big on his first day of life that his head went straight through the roof. He is an extraordinarily hard worked with a big heart. One day he decides to go off into the world and his parents give him two sledgehammers that belonged to his granddaddy. He is easily able to chip away rocks and boulders. He was able to swing his hammers so fast that he created a rainbow that stayed around his shoulders. One day he gets into contest against a new piece of machinery called a steam drill. The magnificent John Henry easily wins the contest, but after giving it his all he dies. The folktale goes on to say that some people say he was buried on the White House lawn.

Critical Analysis

This intriguing folktale is told in a way that demonstrates all the good qualities of life such as strength and determination without being preachy about it. The writing is very poetic in places and there is a song that is repeated throughout the tale. “I got a rainbow RINGGGG! RINGGGG! Tied round my shoulder RINGGGG! RINGGGG! It ain’t gon’ rain, No, it ain’t gon’ rain. RINGGGG! RINGGGG!” The text is well written and stays within the context of the times. His poetic use of words adds to the drama. He says things that can make you stop and think, such as “What he saw was a mountain as big as hurt feelings”. The beautiful pictures that help to tell the story were done with pencil, colored pencils, and watercolor. The illustrations are done in mostly earthy tones with splashes of color. The people are dressed in the appropriate clothes for the time period. The hairstyles look correct for the time period. Some things look exaggerated, but it is because it is a folktale and things are supposed to be larger than life. Overall the pictures and text tell a beautiful, well written story.

Review Excerpts

Horn Book Magazine(; 0-8037-1606-0; 978-0-8037-1606-3)The original legend of John Henry and how he beat the steam drill with his sledgehammer has been enhanced and enriched, in Lester's retelling, with wonderful contemporary details and poetic similes that add humor, beauty, and strength. Pinkney's evocative illustrations -- especially the landscapes, splotchy and impressionistic, yet very solid and vigorous -- are little short of magnificent. With source notes. From HORN BOOK 1994, Copyright © The Horn Book, used with permission.

Booklist(; 0-8037-1607-9; 978-0-8037-1607-0)/*STARRED REVIEW*/ Ages 4 and up. Based on the popular black folk ballad about the contest between John Henry and the steam drill, this picture-book version is a tall tale and a heroic myth, a celebration of the human spirit. Like Lester's great collections of the Uncle Remus tales, also illustrated by Pinkney, the story is told with rhythm and wit, humor and exaggeration, and with a heart-catching immediacy that connects the human and the natural world. ("This was no ordinary boulder. It was as hard as anger . . . a mountain as big as hurt feelings"). The dramatic climax of the story is set at the time of the building of the railroad through the Allegheny Mountains in West Virginia, but Lester begins with the hero's birth, when all the birds and animals come to see the baby and the sun is so excited it forgets to go to bed. Pinkney's dappled pencil-and-watercolor illustrations capture the individuality of the great working man, who is part of the human community and who has the strength of rock and wind. John Henry swings his hammer so fast, he makes a rainbow around his shoulders, and the pictures show that light everywhere, "shining and shimmering in the dust and grit like hope that never dies." (Reviewed June 1994)0803716060Hazel Rochman

Connections
Read and discuss a variety of Folktales
Discuss the qualities that make John Henry a hero
Write a folktale