Looking At Lincoln

 by Maria Kalman

 

            Maria Kalman narrates this book from the perspective of a young girl wondering about our 16th president. While walking in the park, the girl noticed a man who looked familiar. Later, when the girl looked at a five dollar bill, she realized that the man reminded her of Abraham Lincoln, so she went to the library to find out more about the 16^th president of the United States, and became “lost in the photos of his unusual face.” This is the starting point of this educational and entertaining book. The author combines factual information with whimsical wonderings written as a child might state them. Well-known, facts about slavery and the Civil War are combined with lesser known information about Abraham Lincoln’s love of vanilla cake and apples. I thought Kalman did an excellent job showing the private side of Abraham Lincoln as a son, father, and husband, at the same time as she showed him as the public figure of our president who worked to abolish slavery and keep the country united.

            The colorful gouache, (opaque water colors mixed with gum), drawings in this picture book biography invite the reader or listener to join with the author as she imagines what Abraham Lincoln must have been like. I found this book to be an excellent choice for a read-aloud with 1^st through 5^th grade students this summer. The students compared their height to that of Abraham Lincoln. They laughed when we read the part where Kalman wondered if Abraham Lincoln and his wife had nicknames for each other, “Did she call him Linky? Did he call her Little Dumpy?” They were distressed to read that he had been assassinated and wanted to know what happened to John Wilkes Booth. I found the book to be full of factual information written in a way that elementary school children could understand it, and highly recommend it. I will be adding “Looking at Lincoln” to my personal classroom library.

Source of book jacket image: library website

.Click here to view trailer.