LS 5903 MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE

Review of JOHN HENRY

A. Lester, Julius.and Jerry Pinkney, illustrator. JOHN HENRY. New York: Dial. ISBN 0803716060

B. PLOT SUMMARY: The typical John Henry story and song that many of us grew up with is a glorious tale, but from John Henry's birth until his death after shaming the steam drill this tale is an inspiring and very different John Henry story. John Henry's interconnectedness with nature and magic are treated as simply a given in Lester and Pinkney's version. The animals of the forest gather round to witness the birth of John Henry very reminiscent of the animals of the forest attending the birth of Walt Disney's Bambi. Henry's friendship with the sun, moon, and affinity with rainbows is handled as matter of fact. This John Henry is just what every parent wishes for in a "good boy," selfless, kind, a real humanitarian without ulterior motives. John Henry is a larger than life hero who gets a send off on a steam engine train that people and animals are lining the roads to admire and pay homeage to before sunrise as the train travels to Washington, D. C. This part of the story has the feel of the long slow political funerals for figures with a populist appeal such as Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Kennedy, Reagan, and in more recent history the cortege of Princess Diana. John Henry serves his fellow man and is truly a man of the people in this story. There are whisperings of friendly ghosts and a secret burial of John Henry on the White House lawn. The beauty of this story is that it celebrates the human spirit and makes the Henry story more of an enchanted fairy tale of virtue than simply a tall tale.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS (INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS) Lester and Pinkney combine their talents to show us a fully fleshed out John Henry and a cast of characters, scenes, and settings to show the diversity of the African American. We see John Henry dressed as Nat Love, like a young man on the prarie, as a Railroad man. Pinkney shows both white and black Americans with varying colors of light and darkness about their skin tone and he seems to celebrate that rainbow of people's colors as much as the sun's rainbow that plays a part in this John Henry telling.

In looking at Rudine Bishop's goals for multicultural literature I would say that John Henry would arouse an appreciation for diversity and that is also just a fine example of literature. John Henry is every good and honest, hard working man and yet he is still a child of Africa that appeals to one and all. I believe the broad appeal is generated because this is a feel good, self esteem building kind of book. The John Henry story is an old and well loved one. I believe it speaks more to the American spirit than to any specific race. Daniel Hade talks of searching for ways to "affirm and celebrated differences" which I believe this picturebook does thought it is never forced or stilted. I do not believe it was written as an overt means of claiming reforms of equity and justice but this version of the book does humanize the man of legend in a quiet and dignified manner. The clothing, attire, hairstyles look natural rather than stilted. This story is so obviosly a labor of love for the two gentlemen who made the book. A surprising facial characteristic of John Henry is his slightly protuding front teeth. I certainly don't think it was done as a caricature and it could be said to be authentic of people in general of that day and age when dental care was scarce and only for the wealthy and braces were unheard of. But, Pinkney's John Henry is a very handsome man on the pages where he is smiling with his mouth closed.

The motif of magic is very apparent in parts of this story showing me how more similar than different were the early stories and beliefs of man. The animorphisms and belief cosmoligies are similar to Native American tales as well as other earlier religions that revered nature and the family.


D. REVIEW EXCEPTS Publisher's Weekly expounds, "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."

School Library Journal remarks, "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..."

Reviews Accessed at http://www.amazon.com/Henry-Picture-Puffins-Julius-Lester/dp/0140566228/ref=sr_1_1/103-3323325-5316604?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182530799&sr=1-1

E. CONNECTIONS
Other books about the legendary John Henry
Keats, Ezra Jack. JOHN HENRY: AN AMERICAN LEGEND
Other tall tales on VHS but of a more comical nature are the Rabbit Ears video productions of Pecos Bill, narrated by Robin Williams and Paul Bunyan narrated by Jonathan Winters.