By Maira Kalman
Penguin Children’s, $17.99, 32 pages
A little girl is walking through town one day on her way to breakfast, when she sees a tall man who looks very familiar. She realizes the man looks a great deal like Abraham Lincoln, and she wants to know more about him. She heads to the library and finds there are more than 16,000 books that have been written about him! She proceeds to tell us what she learns about Lincoln with the charming honesty of a young girl. She tells how he was born in a log cabin and had a stepmother who loved him, how he loved to read and taught himself because he could not go to school. She tells a little about his family and how he became president, the important work he did and how he died. The little girl takes us with her to visit the Lincoln Memorial and tells us what we will find there.
“He was thinking about freedom and doing good for mankind. And maybe he was also thinking about getting a birthday present for his little son. Maybe a whistle. Or pick up sticks.”
This charming book, written and illustrated beautifully by Maira Kalman, is told in the pitch-perfect voice of a small child. Her love and admiration for Lincoln comes through loud and clear. This historical fiction picture book is a wonderful introduction to Lincoln for the very young.
Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
