What matters is how well you do your living.' The rainbow whispers the lesson here: 'Dying ain't important.

Kirkus posted their reviewd of this book, they wrote that Pinkney's watercolors walk a smart and lovely line between ephemerality and sheer natural energy. And the story is very life-affirming, even though the protagonist faces many challenges and only lives for a few days. For some reason he was fascinated by the villain “Ferret-faced Freddy” (maybe all those stories about the pet ferret from my childhood?). Paul Dilley as the other readers also described about this book, he said that his son really enjoys this book, and so do Him, especially for its take on African-American folklore from the South, about which is unfamiliar for him. 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. Extraordinary from the moment he was born, John Henry amazed the woodland animals, his parents, and the sun and moon themselves. ProsĪbigai who rated this book four stars spoke out her thought about this book, the 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. 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. Other episodes trace the growth of his generous spirit. 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.

From his momentous birth, when all the animals come to see him and the sun won't go to bed, John Henry works wonders. This amazing book talks about a great American hero comes fully to life in this epic retelling filled with glorious, detailed watercolors.

He was also a photographer, as well as a musician who recorded two albums of folk music and original songs. He was an academic who taught for 32 years (1971–2003) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Julius Lester was an American writer of books for children and adults.

John henry by lester