John Henry
I chose this book because I remembered singing about John Henry in my elementary music classes. I loved that song because of the story of perseverence it told. While that has been over 25 years, I still enjoyed the story of John Henry as told by Julius Lester.
First, I love reading and teaching folktales. I like how they make the unbelievable seem believable (John Henry growing from an one-day-old infant into a manchild who busts through his parents' front porch roof). I enjoy how they rely upon the personification of nature to make the main character seem superhumanample (animals and the sun, moon, and stars serve as witnesses to the great feats of John Henry). However, what I like most about folktales is the spirit of humanity they capture. In John Henry, children learn to always do their best no matter what it may personally cost them. Even though John Henry dies with the hammer in his hand, he defeats the steam drill. In the end, people across the United States come out to celebrate what he accomplished in his short life. This proves to be a valuable lesson for all, not only children, to learn.
Click the link below to directly access a list of Lester's books from his web site:
http://members.authorsguild.net/juliuslester/works.htm.
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