Lincoln Shot: A President's LIfe Remembered

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:43:00 GMT

This is a BIG book -- 18 inches tall and at least a foot wide, but there are only 40 pages. The cover looks like it's old and worn out, but it's really brand new. Inside, the pages look like old yellowed newspaper articles. We first read about Lincoln's assassination and then about John Wilkes Booth, the assassin. There are "newspaper articles" on the group of assassins who plotted to kill LIncoln, and what happened to them.

After that there is much information on Lincoln's entire life, and the progress of the Civil War. Page 35 has a sobering progression of photographs, showing how much Lincoln aged from 1860 to 1865. The last page contains the poem by Walt Whitman, O Captain! My Captain!, mourning Lincoln's death.

Lincoln Shot: A President's LIfe Remembered is an excellent source for finding out about Abraham Lincoln in a concise manner. And along the way, you will find historic drawings and photos, along with a few ads appropriate to the 1860's for such things as splint bottom hickory chairs and men's tall black hats,

Have You Heard This Story About Abe Lincoln ?

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:27:00 GMT

There's a new picture book about Abe Lincoln. Deborah Hopkinson has written Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek; A Tall, Thin Tale (Introducing His Forgotten Frontier Friend). John Hendrix has drawn the pictures. When Abe was seven , he and his 3-years-older friend Austin wanted to get to the other side of Knob Creek, but the water was very high and neither one of them could swim. Abe dared Austin to cross on a log, and he did. But when Abe started across, he fell into the water, and Austin rescued him.

The interesting part of the book is its illustrations and the way Hopkinson relates the story. She tells it as if she is sitting next to a bunch of people, just talking to them. Maybe it happened this way, she says, and then again, maybe it happened this other way, and she tells both ways. In the meantime, John Hendrix is busily drawing each version, and often we see his hand in the bottom right corner of the page, holding a a paintbrush or a pencil, drawing the double page spread.

Deborah Hopkinson says there's a moral to this story, and she gives us a couple choices. What do you think the moral should be?

Would this be a good candidate for this year's Caldecott Award?

Kids Blog : Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln Shot: A President's LIfe Remembered

Have You Heard This Story About Abe Lincoln ?