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    John Henry
    John Henry
    John Henry
    Audiobook18 minutes

    John Henry

    Written by Julius Lester

    Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Based on the famous African American folk ballad "John Henry," this story tells of the legendary contest to the death between a spirited man with a hammer and a steam drill to build a tunnel through the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWeston Woods
    Release dateJan 1, 1998
    ISBN9780545786898
    John Henry
    Author

    Julius Lester

    Julius Lester is the author of the Newbery Honor Book To Be a Slave, the Caldecott Honor Book John Henry, the National Book Award finalist The Long Journey Home: Stories from Black History, and the Coretta Scott King Award winner Day of Tears. He is also a National Book Critics Circle nominee and a recipient of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. His most recent picture book, Let's Talk About Race, was named to the New York Public Library's "One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing." In addition to his critically acclaimed writing career, Mr. Lester has distinguished himself as a civil rights activist, musician, photographer, radio talk-show host, and professor. For thirty-two years he taught at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He lives in western Massachusetts.

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    Reviews for John Henry

    4.5/5

    40 ratings28 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Summary:This is the story of John Henry, a big man with a big heart. John Henry is an american folk hero. He works hard, and he inspires those around him.Personal Experience: I've always loved the story of John Henry. This book does a really good job of telling the story. The illustrations are really good.Classroom Extensions:I would definitely use this book during Black History Month. It is a great story for all children to read.It could also be used to demonstrate hard work.
    • 5/5
      This Caldecott winner immediately brings to mind Pete Seeger's (and Bruce Springsteen's version) song "John Henry." The book, like the song, follows John Henry's life from birth to death and all the struggles in between. A great companion when exploring other tall tales with predominantly white character heroes. Pinkney's watercolors and Julius Lester's rendition of the age old tall tale of John Henry brings to life a hero for primary school children no matter the color of their skin.
    • 5/5
      I LOVE this book. This book is full of so many good, creative writing ideas for students to emulate in their own writing. This book could be used for an exaggeration minilesson, a personification minilesson, or a voice minilesson, just to name a few. The pictures enhance the memorable, creative language that Lester uses. Lester would be a great author for students to stand on the should of. He would also be interesting to do an Author's study on. The book could also be used to teach the importance and impact of powerful illustrations. I have so many ideas on how to use this book that I'm having a hard time writing them all. This book also packs a punch with a strong hook right at the beginning and a impactful ending. The beginning uses a strong (and steady) voice which carries through the whole story until the ending.
    • 4/5
      Summary: The story of John Henry begins with all of nature stopping to see his birth. John Henry is born and quickly grows so large he bursts through the roof of his family's home. As John Henry grows, he also becomes very fast and strong. John Henry is very competitive and wins races against his fellow workers, and even a steam drill machine. John Henry's heart bursts from working too hard and too fast, but the people celebrate his life and all the hard work he did.Personal Reaction: I thought this was a great telling of the John Henry stories I grew up hearing. John Henry's attitude and love of his work is a commendable trait I like to read about to children. Classroom Extension Ideas:1. The students could race to make popsicle stick "railroad tracks", the surprise is the tracks pop back up and explode when you let go of the last stick.2. The students could dress like John Henry did in the book and carry around toy inflatable hammers (like the ones at a carnival) and have a "John Henry Day" in the classroom.
    • 4/5
      Overall a nice book! The story of John Henry is told with colorful statements and nice imagery....The Almighty said, "Its getting too noisy down there!" "....shining and shimmering in the dust and grit like hope that never dies...." IDEA:
    • 4/5
      Although this version of the John Henry legend is a little bit different than some I’ve read, I enjoyed the book. For starters, the illustrations are wonderfully done in watercolor and bring the story to life. The story itself is fun and would appeal to little boys everywhere. When you hear about a man that is, “stronger than ten men, and can dig through a mountain faster than a steam drill,” the image is unforgettable. I also loved the way Julius Lester makes us feel like we’re hearing the story from someone we know, since his “great-granddaddy’s brother’s cousin’s sister-in-law’s uncle’s aunt” witnessed one of the events!
    • 4/5
      When you look at the cover of this book it looks so serious. The illustrations are so beautiful it's a shock really to read the text and find it so funny. Of course on closer examination the pictures are reflective of the tall tale. This is a great book for the 7-8 year-old crowd.
    • 5/5
      John Henry is a folk tale about a man larger and stronger than life. His strength is known far and wide and so is he. The legend tells that he died by successfully cutting through a mountain faster than a steam drill machine. Interesting folklore for children.
    • 4/5
      Like any story about John Henry, the book leaves you sad yet inspired. John Henry is the story of a railroad worker who battles a steam-powered machine for not only his job but also the jobs of all the other workers. In the end, John Henry wins, but his victory his bittersweet because he ends up collapsing from exhaustion and dying. The illustrations were beautiful and fit perfectly with the flow of the words. I think that it will be good for children to read because it is important that children learn about loss.
    • 4/5
      John Henry, by Julius Lester and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, was recognized as a Caldecott Honor book in 1990. It tells the extraordinary tale of a boy named John Henry who was said to be larger than life. Pinkney used pencil, colored pencil, and watercolors in his makings of the illustrations in this book. Pinkney’s use of shading creates an almost transparent effect in the illustrations, giving you the illusion that you are looking far into the past. The lines in the pictures are not very distinguished and the people in the background often seem to bleed together, making John’s character stand out, taller than everyone else depicting his “larger than life” stance.
    • 4/5
      John Henry is a larger than life boy and man. He has extraordinary strength. The tale attempts to be faithful to the indomitable human spirit John Henry embodies but it is not certain if there ever was a person named John Henry. This book is wonderfully illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. When John was born, everyone came from everywhere to see him, including the animals and the sun. When he was brought on the porch by his mom, he jumped from her arms and started growing and growing. The very next day, he is a grown adult and helps rebuild the porch and chops down an area of trees. The larger-than-life John challenges a man on a horse to a race (John on foot) and he wins. John then decides to make his way in the world and finds a crew building a road with a giant rock in the middle. He handily used his sledgehammers to break it and builds a road in the process. If only men like John really existed! He has so much perseverance!Sadly, even mythical characters sometimes meet their end, as John did. But the best part that comes from his death is this message: "dying ain't important. Everyone does that. What matters is how well you do your living."What a great lesson to deliver to students!
    • 5/5
      Excellent book! It is one of my favorites!
    • 5/5
      I love using this book in my first grade classroom as a resource for satisfying Georgia Performance Standard SS1H2. It states- “students will read or listen to American folktales.” John Henry is one of the folkheroes included in this standard. This book takes students on an emotional rollercoaster ride, but it is one they always enjoy. The book immediately captures the attention of students as they wait in anticipation to see if John Henry will win the race against the steam engine. Their cheers for his victory, however, are quickly replaced with disbelief at his death. At the end they are always intrigued, however, at the thought that he is buried on the White House lawn and can still be heard singing.
    • 4/5
      This is a tall tale about a man who was able to beat a machine drilling through a cliff in order to expand the railroad in the West. This book is good to use for cultural studies or even just to inspire students.
    • 5/5
      This is a superbly written tall tale about John Henry. John Henry was barely a baby for a day when he started growing. By the next day he was building all sorts of things. He could outrun a horse, was more powerful than dynamite, and could hammer faster than a steam drill. Unfortunately his super speed causes his heart to burst and he dies. The townspeople remember him for what a full life he lived.The best part about this book was the analogies and hyperboles. It is chalk full of over the top statements which truly give this book that tall tale feel.
    • 4/5
      Author Julius Lester and illustrator Jerry Pinkney join forces in this lovely picture-book retelling of the tall tale of John Henry, the legendary African-American steel driver whose contest with a steam-powered drilling machine has been immortalized in American folk music. Extraordinary from the moment he was born, John Henry amazed the woodland animals, his parents, and the sun and moon themselves. Eventually setting out to make his way in the world, he performed marvelous feats, before eventually coming to the mountain in West Virginia where the railroad needed to get through. It was here he triumphed in his race with the machine, only to die in the end...I have always thought of the story of legendary hero John Henry as being a meditation on humanity and the human spirit - on our strength and weakness, our ability to perform extraordinary deeds, and ultimately, our mortality. Set in a time of increasing mechanization, the story both upholds the idea of the human being as superior to the machine, and undermines it, by highlighting that our great deeds must come at a price, and cannot be sustained forever. Lester's poetic and poignant retelling in this picture-book captures that feeling for me, while Pinkney's gorgeous watercolor illustrations ably bring out the beauty and power of the central figure's story. The artwork here was definitely worthy of the Caldecott Honor it received! I've long been aware of this retelling, and am glad to have finally picked it up and read it. I will have to seek out the one from Ezra Jack Keats, and see how it compared. Recommended to all young tall-tale lovers, as well as to fellow Pinkney fans.
    • 5/5
      Samuel Jackson is a great narrator for this classic. ?
    • 4/5
      Julius Lester’s take on the John Henry legend takes some creative liberties with the story but maintains the core message: that one determined man can do more than any man-made creation. Lester’s writing is simple poetry, incorporating a number of original metaphors and images to complement the John Henry myth, and making cross-temporal references to connect with today’s young readers. Even more powerful than Lester’s text, though, are Jerry Pinkney’s breathtaking illustrations: they capture the majesty and humanity in John Henry’s actions, breathing life into a legend whose origins are still shrouded in mystery. This book, although not perfect, is a masterpiece in the making.Citation:Lester, Julius, and Jerry Pinkney. John Henry. New York: Dial, 1994. Print.
    • 5/5
      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. Lester's version is very different from other versions I'm familiar with, but I love it..
    • 4/5
      Interesting tall tale, very creative. Pictures are a bit dark.
    • 4/5
      A hard worker.
    • 5/5
      Wonderfully written and illustrated, this is a folk tale that any child would enjoy. The dialogue is song-like and instantly engaging. The pictures are very intricate and beautiful watercolors.
    • 4/5
      I liked this book because it could be used in a social skills lesson about determination. I would use this book for that lesson in 2nd to 4th grade. I think students would like this book because where it is a folklore, it is a good book to show that when you work hard for something and are determined, you can achieve your goals and dreams.
    • 4/5
      A lovely telling of the tale with exquisite illustrations. This also has a nice little bit about where the legend of John Henry came from.
    • 4/5
      This is a re-telling of the legend of John Henry, a man with incredible strength and speed, combined with a willingness to work hard and always lend a hand. The narrative is so beautifully written that it is almost poetic. My favorite lines contain an important message: “Dying ain’t important. Everybody does that. What matters is how well you do your living.” The illustrations were a bit disappointing. They are well executed technically, but with very few bright colors, giving the illustrations all a muddy, faded out look.
    • 5/5
      The poetic language in this book makes me want to read it again and again.
    • 2/5
      This is the story of John Henry and his hammer.
    • 5/5
      Beautifully painted, this book is a truly deserving award winner. The text also paints a picture with extremely descriptive language and a dignified retelling of a classic tall tale.