John Henry

This author/illustrator pair have teamed up for a great work. I am a teacher and have read this book with kids in k-8th grade for a variety of purposes. Wonderful illustrations is an understatement. The story itself is great even if different than the tale you may have heard before, and the language is so great. Fabulous book for teaching about many things-from tall tales to metaphors to thinking strategies. My kids at home loved this book too.

The story of John Henry fleshed out and made magical at the same time. The paintings are evocative watercolors, beautifully done. The language is an interesting mixture of puns and idioms. The story of John Henry is so compelling to my little boy that he resists reading the part where John dies because he just can't stand it. We have to skip over to the page where it explains that you can still hear the hammers ringing out if you listen in the night out front of the White House. He likes that. Odd and mystical. Recommended.

This wild and wonderful retelling of the classic John Henry folk tale will not disappoint any reader. From the moment John Henry is born and all the animals come to see, excitement and splendor beg the reader on. John Henry is a man of indomitable spirit. He works hard and large at whatever he sets his hand to. We are left with a feeling of 'can do' by the example of this mighty legend. I loved the illustrations by Pinkney. They come to life on the page and add wonder to the story. I was reminded of Paul Bunyan and his might blue ox Babe as John Henry bore down ever harder on that drill. Not willing to give up or quit. This book won both the Caldecott Honor and The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. ......Julius Lester was not an author I was familiar with, but he is one that I will certainly look for now. He has written some 25 books in his career and won many awards for his titles.

This was a great addition to my Tall Tales collection. It offered more information than any of the songs.

Julius Lester's version of the legend of John Henry is well-told. I laughed out loud when Lester described Ferret-Faced Freddy, a man "so mean, he cried if he had a nice thought." Lester also uses marvelous metaphors (next to a large mountain, John Henry doesn't look "much bigger than a wish that wasn't going to come true"). Lester's version is very different from other versions I'm familiar with (such as Ezra Jack Keat's), but I love it.Pinkney, who has teamed up with Lester on other books (my favorite is "Sam and the Tigers"), provides beautiful illustrations to accompany the text.