Picture Book 6 --- John Henry and His Mighty Hammer

Title: John Henry and His Mighty Hammer
Author: Patsy Jensen
Illustrator: Roseanne Litzinger
Genre: Legend
Sub Genre: Picture Book
Theme: steel driving, hammer, strong babies, marriage
Characters: John Henry, Polly Ann, Captain Tommy, Mom
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date:1994
Publishing Company: Troll Associates
Summary: This book is about a baby named John Henry who was very miraculous from the start. He was speaking right when he was born and eating enough food for a village at ten minutes old. He always said that he was a steel driving man and that he would die with a hammer in his hand. His mother did not want John Henry to drive steel, but he wanted too. He married Polly Ann who accepted John Henry as a steel driving man and they moved to work on the railroads. John Henry worked very hard on the railroads and he used a thirty pound hammer versus a ten pound hammer. One day John Henry took on a bet and it led to a terrible end but John Henry was right about his life. He was a steel driving man who would die with a hammer in his hand. I would use this book in my classroom when we began to discuss all the different types of traditional literature. It is kind of crazy but it explain in a sense that you can be whatever you want to be and nobody can or should stop you.