John Henry: An American Legend - Hardcover

by Ezra Jack Keats (Author)

Celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Caldecott Medalist Ezra Jack Keats's vibrant retelling of the popular African American folk ballad in this beautiful hardcover edition.

Have you heard the tale?

John Henry was born with a hammer in his hand. He was taller and stronger than anyone around. When men started talking about laying railroad tracks across the prairies and deserts, and right through the mountains, John Henry knew he and his hammer had to be a part of it. And drive those spikes he did Then came the day when a challenge was announced: Who could dig a tunnel through a mountain faster--John Henry and his hammer? Or a steam drill?

Author Biography

Ezra Jack Keats (1916-1983) is the Caldecott Medal-winning creator of The Snowy Day, which broke ground as one of the first picture books for young children to portray a realistic, multicultural urban setting. He is best known for his bold, beautiful, and honest interpretations of children of color living and growing in a mid-twentieth-century inner-city landscape.