The Boy Who Looked Like Lincoln

This was a surprisingly funny book. Maybe I'm a bit childish but this book tickles me. The illustrations are so absurd and the writing has that minimalist humor that allows for interplay between the pictures and the text to advance the story. The story is funny, plain and simple.

I enjoyed the general tone of this book. Although it was humorous, I believe that it helps children to feel comfortable with themselves without necessarily having to feel self-conscious. A key characteristic of this book were the characters. The main character was comforted by the similarities that he had with all of the other characters in the book. Benjy was bullied because of his looks, however, at his summer camp he fit in perfectly with the other students who looked like things. The other characters played a critical role in the book because they reiterated the fact that being different is okay. The illustrations were also key in getting across the gist of the story. By illustrating the different characters and actually being able show more to see the other things that the kids looked like, it enabled the reader to visualize everything being read. It also allows the reader to compare our main character, Benjy, to those other campers that look like other things. The single page that explained that Benjy had fun all summer changed the mood of the story. No longer was Benjy embarrassed or self-conscious but he ignored that differences that each kid had and focused on their personalities. The big idea of this picture book is that it is completely fine to look different from someone else. Each child is made individually. show less

This picture book about an eight-year-old who is unhappy because he looks like Abraham Lincoln is unlikely to find an appreciative readership. When Benjy is sent to "Camp What-cha-ma-call-it: The Camp for Kids who look like Things," he learns to appreciate his appearance after he meets children with even bigger problems. One camper looks like the Mona Lisa, one resembles a toaster, and another child looks like "the back of a horse." At the end of the summer, Benjy returns to school with enough confidence to run for class president. Reiss's sly humor is reflected in Catrow's cartoon drawings. While the brief text and silly art indicate a primary-grade audience, the plot is better suited to older children, but they're likely to be turned show more off by the format. show less

self-esteem. Parents get more than kids, but still a fun read.