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The legend of John Henry has a rich and varied background. More than a century old, it has withstood the test of time as a popular American legend with near-universal appeal. For the last thirty years, however, the John Henry story has been dominated by one picture book retelling, Ezra Jack Keats's John Henry: An American Legend (1965). Although there have been various picture book retellings within the last three decades (Stein, 1969; Blassinggame, 1971; Nader, 1980; Sanfield, 1991; and Jensen, 1993), Keats's version still remains one of the most captivating, rendered with his signature collage style reflecting his love of marbled papers, bold patterns, and brilliant colors.
Keats's retelling has outlasted its competitors, however, not because of the artist's captivating illustrative style, but because of Keats's message. For Keats, John Henry is the personification of the medieval Everyman who struggles against insurmountable odds and wins. With the release of Julius Lester's (1994) and Terry Small's (1994) retellings, however, we are forced to reevaluate the legacy of Keats's contribution, because Lester and Small accomplish what Keats is unable to-they position themselves firmly within the black community, dealing more honestly and squarely with John Henry's African American heritage.
All three writers narrate a chronology of events in the life of John Henry, starting with his birth. For Keats and Lester, there is a miraculous quality to John Henry's birth, what Brett Williams calls a "magico-spiritual Moses-like event" (86). John Henry is unnaturally strong, strong enough, in fact, at birth to wave a hammer (Keats) or hold his cradle high over his head (Lester). Lester further amplifies the magical quality of John Henry's birth by giving his origins a more mythic quality: Lester introduces a unicorn at the special event. In Small's retelling, John Henry's birth is ordinary, but not uncomplicated: He is born a slave. Although he soon grows big and strong, his physical prowess is not that of Superman. He is large, yes; strong, of course; but he does not possess the superhuman qualities characteristic of Keats's and Lester's folk hero.
Whereas Small deals quickly with John Henry's early life, Keats and Lester chronicle several episodes in his adolescent life before John Henry leaves his hometown to seek work on a road crew. In Keats's...