JOHN HENRY by Julius Lester, pictures by Jerry Pinkney

Lester, Julius. John Henry. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Puffin Books. 1994. ISBN0140566228.

For almost 3 decades, Julius Lester and Jerry Pinkney have combined their enormous talents to bring us superb and authentic African American literature and art.  John Henry is one such collaboration.  Julius Lester has written a strong text to tell the tale of the steel driving man, John Henry, who is a member of the folk legend hall of fame along with Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill.  Jerry Pinkney’s illustrations are museum worthy.  In fact, in 2014, the Philadelphia Museum of Art added the cover illustration of John Henry to their permanent collection. 

 Jerry Pinkney has illustrated over 100 children’s books.  In addition he has been commissioned for several other projects including a series of postage stamps commemorating famous African Americans.  His research when preparing for a project attests to his passion for authenticity for the story he is illustrating.  His illustrations in John Henry depict a handsome, strong, confident, and kind African American in traditional clothing for its setting in the 1870’s.  Using pencil, colored pencil and watercolor, Pinkney draws intricately detailed realistic scenes of daily life, including men and women, children and workers, light and dark skin, white and black features.

Although the story has tall tale elements such as growing from birth to manhood in 24 hours, there are also elements of John Henry’s character that makes one hope he is an actual historical figure.  One of the main events in the story is the historical construction of the Big Bend Tunnel in  the Allegheny Mountains for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad from 1870-1873.  The historicity of John Henry has not been proven, however.  The symbol that John Henry has become stands for the indomitable spirit of humanity in general and African Americans in particular.  

Jerry Pinkney has earned many awards and deserves many more.  He received a Caldecott Honor Medal for John Henry.  The book has also garnered many other awards including a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, a Parents Magazine Best Book, and an ALA Notable Book.  Booklist notes that Jerry Pinkney illustrates the story with “rich colors borrowed from the rocks and the earth, so beautiful that they summon their own share of smiles and tears.”

Any folklore collection would be incomplete without this book.  Study of folklore would also be incomplete without this story.  A folklore day when students can dress up or make props for various folklore characters would enliven the learning process.  A class could also compare and contrast the characters of John Henry, Pecos Bill, Dona Flor and others.  Whatever the project, the moral message of John Henry could be the best part of the experience and that is “Dying ain’t important. Everybody does that.  What matters is how well you do your living.”