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1: John Henry
When you look at the cover of this book it looks so serious. The illustrations are so beautiful it's a shock really to read the text and find it so funny. Of course on closer examination the pictures are reflective of the tall tale. This is a great book for the 7-8 year-old crowd.
This book was an ALA Notable Book in 1994, and a Caldecott Honor book in 1995.
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2: jacuzzis and rainbows?
The John Henry I remember from my childhood was strong, honorable and could outwork any 20 other men. He would not have "added a wing onto the house (his parent's house)with an indoor swimming pool and jacuzzi". The text flowed somewhat awkwardly in spots - I assume there's some John Henry song that I haven't heard that perhaps would make it more lyrical. I feel that adding details that do not fit in historical context detract from the story itself. Adding random rainbows also did nothing to add to the story, for my part. Strangely sappy and a poor tribute to the original legend. Good illustrations.
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3: Not the John Henry your father read....
This version of John Henry is a slightly different version, at least from the one I grew up with, but a good version none the less. My 3 1/2 yr old son loves it and asks for it almost every night. The illustrations are good maybe a little dark, but very well done. I reccomend for fathers to read to sons or daughters and pass on to a new generation.
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4: Beautiful illustrations AND language
This author/illustrator pair have teamed up for a great work. I am a teacher and have read this book with kids in k-8th grade for a variety of purposes. Wonderful illustrations is an understatement. The story itself is great even if different than the tale you may have heard before, and the language is so great. Fabulous book for teaching about many things-from tall tales to metaphors to thinking strategies. My kids at home loved this book too.
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5: A man ain't nothing but a man
The story of John Henry fleshed out and made magical at the same time. The paintings are evocative watercolors, beautifully done. The language is an interesting mixture of puns and idioms. The story of John Henry is so compelling to my little boy that he resists reading the part where John dies because he just can't stand it. We have to skip over to the page where it explains that you can still hear the hammers ringing out if you listen in the night out front of the White House. He likes that. Odd and mystical. Recommended.
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