What matters is how well you do your living.'Ī paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere. The rainbow whispers the lesson here: 'Dying ain't important. Pinkney's watercolors walk a smart and lovely line between ephemerality and sheer natural energy. The Man Who Knew Too Much, see below) wisely makes it clear that you don't have to be John Henry to get things done: You just need the will there's a bit of John to be tapped in us all. Lester ( The Last Tales of Uncle Remus, p. John smoked the drill, but his big heart burst in the process.

Lester hits upon all of John's special moments: his stupendous growth spurt his humbling of Ferret-Faced Freddy his smashing the great stone so fast that he creates a natty rainbow around his shoulders and, of course, the climactic duel with the steam drill deep in the hills of West Virginia. John was the archetype for the 'Just Do It' generation he was all bustle and business, surrounded by an aura of triumph. This carefully crafted updating begs to be read aloud for its rich, rhythmic storytelling flow, and the suitably oversize illustrations amplify the text.Onto the page bounds the colossus John Henry, man of legend, man of myth (though the preface keeps things off balance on that point).

'A great American hero comes fully to life in this epic retelling filled with glorious, detailed watercolors. 'Another winning collaboration from the master storyteller and gifted artist of Tales of Uncle Remus fame.' - School Library Journal The story is told with rhythm and wit, humor and exageration, and with a heart-catching immediacy that connects the human and the natural world.

* 'This is a tall tale and heroic myth, a celebration of the human spirit. Nothing can stop John Henry, and his courage stays with us forever. He's stronger than ten men and can dig through a mountain faster than a steam drill. He grew so fast, he burst right through the porch roof, and laughed so loud, he scared the sun! Soon John Henry is swinging two huge sledgehammers to build roads, pulverizing boulders, and smashing rocks to smithereens. When John Henry was born the birds, bears, rabbits, and even a unicorn came to see him. Julius Lester and Jerry Pinkney's warm, humorous retelling of a popular African-American folk ballad.

John henry by lester