“Stand Tall, Abe Lincoln” by Judith St.
George, illus. by Matt Faulkner (Philomel, 9780399241741, $16.99, 48 pages,
ages 6 to 10)
Just in time for Presidents’ Day (which is February 18th this year) comes
this excellent picture book telling the story of Abraham Lincoln’s difficult
and inspiring childhood in Kentucky and Indiana. Celebrated children’s
author Judith St. George and illustrator Matt Faulkner, creators of the book
“You’re On Your Way, Teddy Roosevelt,” team up once again to produce a
biography rich in both historical detail and delightful watercolor images.
The book begins on the Lincoln family’s farm in Knob Creek, Kentucky, where
young Abe had his first small taste of schooling—as well as his first sight
of slavery as he watched chained slaves being moved by foot down the nearby
turnpike. Abe got his schooling only “by littles,” having often to leave
lessons to help with spring planting and other farm tasks.
When they lost their Kentucky farm, the Lincolns started again in the wilds
of Indiana, right in the midst of wolf and bear country. The new life they
built went darkly awry very quickly when Abe’s mother Nancy Lincoln and
several relatives died of “milk sickness,” a kind of poisoning caused when
their cows ate an unfamiliar plant. Abe and his sister and their adopted
brother then entered their “pinching times” as they struggled to keep house
and run the farm without their mother’s guidance. Young, sad, and incapable,
they soon grew lean and dirty.
Things turned the corner for Abe after his father remarried to a widow named
Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln, or “Sally,” who become Abe’s stepmother and the
caretaker of his future. Sally, who herself could not read, gave Abe many
books. She made sure he was able to return to school, and she found time for
him to read and study at home. Even with a blended family of six children to
care for and much hard work to do, she fostered Abe’s growth and education
as he matured into a man who could shoulder much responsibility and
ultimately change the course of a great nation.
“Stand Tall, Abe Lincoln” is funny and intriguing, displaying some of the
color and difficulties of life in America in the early 1800s. It’s a
testament to the power of education and also to the important role that
teachers, parents, and mentors play in shaping the lives of every young
person.
Review by
Mark David
Bradshaw, February 6, 2008
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