Julius Lester (1939–2018)

John Henry is a man who can do things that other men can't do, like run very fast, or tell the sun to wake up in the morning. He goes on many adventures like racing a horse on foot and leaving his family behind to venture out into the world. This book would good for 2nd graders. It is a good example of folk tales while also being inclusive.

Julius Lester is an African-American author that writes books about African-American history. He has many books, but this book specfically stood out to me about folktales. This specfic book tells stories of 12 African-American folktales and I thought that was really interesting. I have never read any of his books but they look very familar. It is said that the folktales in this book were told by slaves and the stories were passed down for many centuries.

A wonderful read out loud book. Marvelous language. This was one of my daughter's favorites.

The four year old loved the stories of tricky Brer Rabbit. This mama had to do some editing, but not too much. The voice and language use is engaging and charming, especially the little asides directed to the reader. This is also wonderfully illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, and would be a great book to own, since the stories are short and can be returned to again and again.