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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J 921 LINCOLN | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | E 921 LINCOLN | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
With a down-home, folksy flavor, Amy L. Cohn and Suzy Schmidt have written an unusual biography of Abe Lincoln that is sure to become a perennial classic.
In their first collaboration as storytellers since FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA, Amy L. Cohn and Suzy Schmidt tell Lincoln's story from his birth to his untimely death. Begining with his humble start in a log cabin in Kentucky, the authors take us through his young life working on the family farm, learning to read and write on his own with only the crudest schooling, his early love of knowledge, and the sad times when he lost his mother. They delve into his adult life as a lawyer, a father, a husband, a politician, a military leader and a president - all the while exploring the many facets of his character - his kindness, his wisdom, his compassion, and his wonderful, quirky humor. Readers will relish this flavor-rich biography that portrays a favorite American hero with rare sensitivity.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-This picture-book biography of the Great Emancipator is a winner. Readers are taken from Lincoln's humble birth to his sad death, each of which took place on a cornhusk mattress. The writing is lively and irresistible: "-all his life his knees and nose got a little too friendly every time he sat down." There's a tall-tale feel to the text and to the illustrations. "School? Wasn't much time for that. Abe did go-by littles-." Pictures are done in pen and ink with watercolor washes. The palette is soft and muted. In one depiction, a sunburned Abe is shown building a log cabin. He's barefoot, shirtless, and his pants are held up by one suspender while a book lies open at his feet. Another shows him as wartime president, the weight of the world on his shoulders. Finally, readers are shown a rendition of the Lincoln Memorial. "He looks like a giant, doesn't he? He was." There are many fine titles on the 16th president, such as Ann Turner's Abe Lincoln Remembers (HarperCollins, 2001). Cohn and Schmidt's contribution has a wonderfully fresh approach and will grab the interest of young audiences in both classroom and library settings.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
From their opening sentences ("See that tall, tall man in that tall black hat? Know who he is?"), Cohn, who compiled From Sea to Shining Sea, and Schmidt, who contributed to same, effectively involve readers in this breezy picture-book biography. Typeset in large, bold-face letters, the first four words quoted above are stacked one on top of each other, mimicking not only Lincoln's imposing stature (he stands tall on the facing page), but the book's fittingly vertical format. Initially, the informal narrative seems as rough-hewn as Lincoln's early lifestyle: "He's a boy of seven now. My, he's strong. Strong enough to plow and plant 'longside his pappy." After anecdotally tracing Lincoln's peripatetic path, as he dabbles in various livelihoods, the authors note that he eventually began working "as hard with his head as ever he had with his hands." Turning then to a description of the man's political prowess and accomplishments, the prose becomes more polished and refined, as do the quotations revealing this remarkable leader's insight and eloquence. Like the narrative, Johnson's (Old Mother Hubbard) period-evoking, earth-toned art, rendered in ink and watercolor wash, evolves with the passage of time, moving from spare, grainy pictures to more clearly defined, sophisticated images. A balanced, artfully composed portrait. Ages 7-11. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Primary) Writing in a strong, unpretentious voice, Cohn and Schmidt introduce Lincoln as a great man with a string of accomplishments-but still human rather than invincible. They write with an immediacy reminiscent of a beloved elder thumbing through the family photographs and speaking of a much-admired relation. "Look. In the cradle. See the baby? That's Abraham Lincoln, born on a cornhusk mattress one cold Kentucky morning. Big sister Sarah stands beside her new brother, waiting for him to grow." Seventeen full-page watercolor washes snapshot Lincoln at various points in his life, such as his birth, marriage, and inauguration. Each triggers a recollection. "Now look at Abraham, all dressed up and on his way to the White House. Abe had tried-and failed-to win a United States Senate seat. But, by golly, the speeches he gave about slavery and the country's future made him so famous that he found himself elected president just two years later." In such a short biography, there are expected omissions, and here darker events (a child's death, Mary Todd Lincoln's erratic behavior) are left out, emphasizing what Lincoln accomplished over what he endured. Still, the life doesn't appear idyllic. In one particularly poignant illustration, his despair over the war is evident; the authors cover his assassination. The final illustration, of the imposing Lincoln Memorial, underscores Lincoln's stature. "Look. There's Mr. Lincoln. There, in the building made for him. He sits quietly, eyes steady, knees high. Imagine. All his life he was so busy he barely had time to take a haircut. Now he rests. He looks like a giant, doesn't he? He was." Appended with a chronological list of milestones in Lincoln's life. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
"See that tall, tall man in the tall black hat? Know who he is? That's right, he's the man on the penny-Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president of the United States," who here receives a thoroughly humanizing picture-book treatment. Editor and compiler Cohn teams with one of her contributors to From Sea to Shining Sea (1993) to craft a narrative that borrows freely from the American tall-tale tradition in style but that succeeds beautifully in turning the monument into first a child and then a man. Anecdotes and quotations are sprinkled liberally throughout, allowing Lincoln's humor and forthrightness to speak directly to the reader. From the first to the last page, the text refers the reader to the illustrations, which complete the humanizing task in fine style. Johnson's (Old Mother Hubbard, 1998) muted ink-and-watercolor washes frequently allow their subject to break the frame, emphasizing his gangling length and enormous feet and hands. One illustration of Lincoln as a young lawyer features a dramatically foreshortened Abe at his desk, looking out from behind his paper in mid-story, gigantic feet and bristling quills dominating the foreground. A later illustration depicts the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln's careworn face stares directly at the reader over a rumpled tie, a quill in one huge hand. Less a formal biography than a biographical story, this offering depends upon previous exposure to Lincoln's career-the term "Confederate" is introduced toward the end with no previous contextualizing, for instance-but as a literary overlay to that history, it succeeds magnificently. A timeline is appended, but there are neither source notes nor suggestions for further reading. (Picture book/biography. 7-11)
Booklist Review
Ages 5-8. Lincoln comes across as a lanky, likeable fellow who grows in stature throughout this large-format biography for younger children. Johnson, who previously illustrated Old Mother Hubbard (1998) and The Beggar's Magic (1996) takes a giant step here, creating a series of striking, memorable illustrations. The clean, expressive line drawings, tinted with subtle shades of delicate colors, portray Lincoln from the cradle to the presidency, and beyond, to the immortality of his image in the Lincoln Memorial. Cohn and Schmidt's verbal portrait of Lincoln is lively as well. Writing in well-cadenced sentences and phrases, they capture his humanity as well as his heroic role in American history. However, the brevity of the text makes it easy to oversimplify, introducing errors such as this statement: "Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves free." Actually, the document did not emancipate the slaves in states loyal to the Union, nor in parts of Virginia and Louisiana. Still, those who consider this a minor flaw will want to add this handsome book to their collections. --Carolyn Phelan
