John Henry – by Julius Lester

On the 1^st page we learn that bears and panthers and other animals gather to see the new baby. Does that give you any clues about what kind of a story this is going to be? (Do animals normally gather for the birth of humans?)

How is the sun described on page 1? What do you think about the author giving the sun a personality and human traits?

A simile [sim-uh-lee] is a figure of speech that draws a comparison between two different things using the words “like” or “as.” A voice like bat wings on tombstones is a simile. See if you can notice other similes in this story.

When John Henry leaves home his father gives him two twenty-pound sledgehammers. If you were a father or mother, what would you give YOUR son to help him “make his way in the world”?

Do you think this story takes place in modern times? A long time ago? Why or why not?

The boulder is described as “hard as anger.” What do you think that means? How about a mountain “as big as hurt feelings”? (Are these similes?)

The men couldn’t move the boulder with dynamite, but when John Henry worked on it, it “shivered like the morning when freedom came to the slaves.”  Why do you think the author mentions slaves?

The rainbow drapes around John Henry “like love.” What does that mean – to be draped like love?

Why does the rainbow drape itself around John Henry? What does that say about the man?

The operator of the steam drill says John Henry can’t out-hammer a machine. Are there things humans can do that machines can’t?

How did you feel when John Henry died?

After he died, what did everyone know at the same moment? (“Dying ain’t important. What matters is how well you do your living.”) What does that mean, to “live well”?

Did you like this book? Why or why not?