John Henry

    This book by Julius Lester was modeled after an old African American folk ballad.  It depicts John Henry as representative of the heroic hard working man with courage and determination.  The story, in its simplist form, is about a boy that grows abnormally and astoundingly fast as a young child who then enters a race between a railroad boss and John Henry a railroad worker.  On one side was the boss, with a seemingly powerful steam drill and on the other was John Henry with his hammer and his muscles.  Each side drilled and carved their way into the mountain until they met one day.  John Henry, however, had carved out much more of the mountain than the fancy steam drill.  It was here that John received applause and recognition for his effort and strength, but fell to his death out of exhaustion.  This folk tale teaches that all will die, but that is not important.  The important thing is how you live your life.  The tale's setting takes place in the American West in the mid 1800's as railroads were being built to forge an easier path to the west.
     My thoughts on this book was that Julius Lester did this powerful folk tale justice.  With his colorful use of language, this tale is made even better than past retellings.  Julius Lester has a unique voice and uses imagery and personification very well, which gives humor and richness to the tale. This book reminded me of other folk tales that involve big men, such as Paul Bunyon and Pecos Bill. I used this book several weeks ago to show an example of a folk tale.  The students seemed to enjoy this gripping tale. Many of my students were curious about whether this story was true or not.  I used this opportunity to teach how folk tales often stretch the truth, but have a powerful lesson that often underlies the story.  This would be a fantastic book to do a week-long unit on the American West or transportation in social studies.

Other Books by Julius Lester

• To be a Slave
• Knee-high Man and Other Tales
• Sam and the Tigers
• The Tales of Uncle Remus
• This Strange New Feeling
• Day of Tears
• The Long Journey Home
• More Tales of Uncle Remus