John Henry

"John Henry", by Julius Lester, is about a folk hero who races against a steam powered hammer and actually wins. He is more powerful than ten men combined and he grew so fast he burst through the roof and scared the sun. He builds roads and he is the greatest railroad building steel driver. When his boss buys a steam powered hammer he challenges it to a race. He ends up winning but he dies in his victory.

I would use this version in my classroom not only for the story but the literary elements it presents. The story fits in the cirriculum of folktales but there are other valuable lessons contained in this piece of literature. There are numerous examples of onomotopeias throughout the story and definately a lot of personification, Lester suggests the sun gets up and washes his face and flosses his teeth. He also uses many similies in his writing: "What he saw was a mountain as big as hurt feelings.", "As he swung them through the air, they shone like silver, and when the hammers hit the rock, they rang like gold", etc.