John Henry illustrated by: Jerry Pinkney

John Henry by: Julis Lester and illustrated by: Jerry Pinkney is a tale about a man named John Henry. John Henry was a miraculous beginning at birth. The day after he was born John Henry helped his daddy add a wing onto the houseand and chopped down an acre of trees. The story continues to tell how he grew big, strong, and fearless in no time at all. John's biggest achievement was winning a contest that consisted of him breaking through a mountain so that a railroad could go through it. He beat a steam drill and this contest cost him his life. After he finished hammering he fell to the ground and died. The people that was there realized from what had happened that " Dying ain't important. Everybody does that. What matters is how well you do your living." This story made me think of Paul Bunyan. The way that he grew and was strong resembles Paul Bunyan.

The illustrations by Jerry Pinkney are wonderful. I spent a great deal of time studying the illustrations as I read the story. There is a full two page spread of the mountain and I was amazed by all the detail Pinkney had provided. It was as if images were inside of other images. It was sort of like trying to find Waldo. There was so much to look at and I was surprised many times when I found an image I did not even know was there.

Other books Jerry Pinkney has illustrated include:

The Patchwork Quilt (written by Valerie Flournoy)
The Tales of Uncle Remus (written by Julius Lester)
Mirandy and Brother Wind (written by Patricia McKissack)
The Talking Eggs (written by Robert D. San Souci)
Half a Moon and One Whole Star (written by Crescent Dragonwagon)
Pretend You're a Cat (written by Jean Marzollo)
The Man Who Kept His Heart in a Bucket (written by Sonia Levitin)
Tonweya and the Eagles and Other Lakota Tales (written by Rosebud Yellow Robe)
Back Home (written by Gloria Jean Pinkney)
I Want to Be (written by Thylias Moss)
The Sunday Outing (written by Gloria Jean Pinkney)
Sam and the Tigers (written by Julius Lester)
Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman (written by Alan Schroeder)
The Hired Hand (written by Robert D. San Souci)
Drylongso (written by Virginia Hamilton)
Black Cowboy, Wild Horses (written by Julius Lester)
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (written by Rudyard Kipling)
Aesop's Fables
The Ugly Duckling (written by Hans Christian Andersen)