This nonfiction chapter book is organized in seven chapters, with a couple additional selections. The first of these is called A Lincoln Sampler. This chapter contains many famous quotes by Abraham Lincoln which I found to be very interesting as well as inspiring. The second of these extra chapters is called In Lincoln's Footsteps. This section contains brief accounts of important locations in Lincoln's life including where he was born, grew up, as well as Ford's Theatre, where he died. The very first location is Hodgenville, KY, which is 40 minutes from the school where I teach. Children will find this FASCINATING! This book is a complete authentic biography because it covers Lincoln's life from birth to death and it is based entirely on factual information documented through eyewitness accounts, written documents, letters, diaries, as well as photos. The captions accompanying the primary resources in the book are clearly written and informative. The structure of this book is in sequence as it gives an account by account summary of Lincoln's life from beginning to end.
I have to say that in terms of evaluating this work I do not think it is necessarily attractive to a child. The photos are all in black and white and the length of the pages I am afraid would be off-putting to a child. With that being said, I think that after opening the book and jumping into the pages, the book would draw any child in with an interest in history, presidents, or Kentucky culture.
This book would appeal to student interest for several reasons
1) Lincoln has a lot of history in Kentucky, so students in Kentucky are already interested in anything that has to do with him.
2) Students are curious about real life things that really happened. The photographs in this book from the 1800's are fascinating to me and I know they would catch the attention of my student's as well. Most of my students' favorite books are ones that contain real life images, and this book has plenty!
In general, I think this book contains a lot of very interesting information and VERY captivating photographs from the time of Lincoln. However, with that being said, I think the look of this book may cause children to ignore it on the shelf.
The only bold-faced words in the book are in the section called Lincoln's Footsteps and they serve as headings to each of the important locations that were a part of Lincoln's life. They help organize this section and allow the ready to easily navigate from one place to another in the sequence of Lincoln's life. This section was actually very informational for me. I have always joked that many states claim to be Lincoln's birthplace or hometown. This section helped me understand exactly where Lincoln spent which parts of his life. And I must say his BIRTHplace is, in fact, in Kentucky!
Big Questions:
Describe some similarities between Abraham Lincoln's life and your own.
Do you think you would have had the same opinions as Lincoln during the Civil War? Why or Why not?
Describe what you think it would have been like to be in Ford's Theatre on the night of Lincoln's assassination.
-Haley
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