Saturday, September 29, 2012

John Henry


John Henry

By Julius Lester

Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Lester, Julius. (1994). JOHN HENRY. Illus. by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial Books.
       ISBN 0-590-53936-1.

PLOT SUMMARY:

This book is a beautiful retelling of the American folk tall tale John Henry, which is based on an old black folk ballad. When John Henry is born, all of nature is in awe, even the sun and the moon, “And instead of the sun tending to his business and going to bed, it was peeping out from behind the moon’s skirts trying to get a glimpse of the new baby.” He immediately begins to grow, and grow, and grow until he bursts through the roof. The next morning, he is grown and ready to work even chopping “down an acre of trees. . .” His triumph is his strength and the tools his father gave him. With these he is able to pulverize a boulder and turn out a perfectly constructed road and beat a steam drill tunneling through a mountain. He hammers so long, hard and fast that his heart bursts from the exertion. He dies with a smile on his face, while “the sound of soft crying” is heard from the sun and the moon. Sadness gives way to clapping and cheers in celebration of the man who died doing what he loved.
John Henry may or may not have been a real, historical person, but the message in his story is what matters, “Dying ain’t important. Everybody does that. What matters is how well you do your living.”

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

The book is told in the distinct voice of a storyteller who adds his own bit of humor to the telling of the story. The storyteller is obviously telling the story to a group of contemporary children and when he tells of John Henry rebuilding the porch, he says he “. . . added a wing onto the house with an indoor swimming pool and one of them jacutzis.” When John Henry tackles a boulder with his hammers, “that boulder shivered like you do on a cold winter morning when it looks like the school bus is never going to come.” Finally, he adds a clever twist on words with “. . . John Henry was already on the other side, sitting in a rocking chair and drinking a soda mom.” No soda pop here. And of course, the story has to be true, because “My great-granddaddy’s brother’s cousin’s sister-in-law’s uncle’s aunt was there that morning.”

The author uses some examples of colloquial dialect or slang in the book such as “sho’nuf”, “ain’t”, and “gon”, “folks”, and “didn’t nobody”.

In keeping with the spirit of the tall tale, the author employs frequent use of hyperbole. Some notable examples are these: “He laughed so loud, the sun got scared,” “. . .he was so fast, the wind was out of breath trying to keep up with him,” and, “the dynamite made so much racket, the Almighty looked over the parapets of Heaven and hollered, ‘It’s getting too noisy down there’”.

The watercolor, pencil and color pencil illustrations are done in a realistic manner with true-to-life people, settings and colors. Some of the illustrations of the people are more distinct than others and some of their features are hard to discern. But Pinkney shows the crowds of people in the town or in the work camp interacting with each from varying racial backgrounds. The clothing, hairstyles, equipment, and buildings appear to be historically accurate. The illustrations of John Henry the character are life-like and are not exaggerated stereotypes or unrealistic.

John Henry, so monumental a character, that even the sun and the moon are intimately woven into every step of his story.  Just as the rainbow is a rare and magical treat, the rainbow in the story is a rare and magical symbol of love, hope, the end of a journey, and a bridge-- between the past and the future, a bridge between cultures, between this world and another.

AWARDS:

Caldecott Honor Book 1995

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award 1994

ALA Notable Book for Children 1995

Parents Magazine Best Book 1995

REVIEW EXCERPTS:

Publishers Weekly: “A great American hero comes fully to life in this epic retelling filled with glorious, detailed watercolors. From his momentous birth, when all the animals come to see him and the sun won't go to bed, John Henry works wonders. As a child he helps his father by adding "a wing onto the house with an indoor swimming pool and one of them jacutzis"-and that's just before lunch. Other episodes trace the growth of his generous spirit. His greatest feat is, of course, in his battle against the steam drill, as he races the machine to cut through "a mountain as big as hurt feelings." He dies ("he had hammered so hard and so fast and so long that his big heart had burst"), but the onlookers understand that "dying ain't important.... What matters is how well you do your living." This carefully crafted updating begs to be read aloud for its rich, rhythmic storytelling flow, and the suitably oversize illustrations amplify the text. As only one example, the animal witnesses of his birth reappear throughout, most notably to watch John Henry's funeral train pass by. This may not supplant more traditional retellings, such as Terry Small's The Legend of John Henry, but it is a triumph of collaboration from the creators of the noted Uncle Remus retellings.”

School Library Journal: “Another winning collaboration from the master storyteller and gifted artist of Tales of Uncle Remus (Dial, 1987) fame. Based on several well-known versions of an African American folk ballad, Lester's tale is true to the essence of the steel-driving man; yet, it allows room for touches of whimsy and even includes some contemporary references that tie the hero to our own times. Told with just a trace of dialect, the story moves along briskly toward the climax. Its moral message of the importance of a well-lived life is clearly stated, and the ending is uplifting. Pinkney's marvelous watercolors, abundantly rich in detail, convey both the superior strength and the warm sense of humanity that make John Henry perhaps a more down-to-earth character than some other tall-tale figures. The paintings' muted earth tones add a realistic touch to the text, bringing this John Henry alive. When viewed from a distance, however, figures and details sometimes blend together, making the book better suited to independent reading that group sharing. It will appeal to an older audience than Ezra Jack Keats's John Henry (Knopf, 1987) and is a fine addition to any folklore collection.”

CONNECTIONS:

Jerry Pinkney’s Website: http://www.jerrypinkneystudio.com/






 

 

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