Lester's poetic and poignant retelling in this picture-book captures that feeling for me, while Pinkney's gorgeous watercolor illustrations ably bring out the beauty and power of the central figure's story. Set in a time of increasing mechanization, the story both upholds the idea of the human being as superior to the machine, and undermines it, by highlighting that our great deeds must come at a price, and cannot be sustained forever. It was here he triumphed in his race with the machine, only to die in the end.I have always thought of the story of legendary hero John Henry as being a meditation on humanity and the human spirit - on our strength and weakness, our ability to perform extraordinary deeds, and ultimately, our mortality. 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. 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.
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