A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln

A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln is an excellent introductory biography. The book is written in chronological order and the author does a good job of describing Lincoln's life as a child, thus appealing to children. The illustrations by John and Alexandra Waller are detailed and engaging, and my students loved looking closely at them. I have read many children's books on Abraham Lincoln but I particularly love this one because the story makes it easy for children to relate to.

In Kindergarten boy world, we celebrated the 100th day of school on Monday. We are creating books titled, 'When I'm One Hundred..." and the boys are writing about different things they would like to accomplish before turning one hundred. On Monday I read Mem Fox's show more Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partidge and we talked a lot about the elderly. Today, I introduced the term biography to the boys. We discussed how a biography notes someone's accomplishments, and I read A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln by David Adler. The boys absolutely loved this book. They loved pointing out things Lincoln accomplished and using that big, fancy word of the week: accomplish. They also loved seeing the illustrations depicting Lincoln as a child. Of course, they were super engaged when I read about the Civil War and Lincoln's assassination. What is it with boys and guns? We also had a nice discussion about civil rights, and many of the boys heard of slavery for the first time. I thought this book touched on these topics in a "light" way, since it was an introduction. Many of the boys wrote that they want to become president before they turn one hundred, and another wrote, "I want to get married and have four kids like Abe Lincoln before turning one hundred." It was a great start to this week's studies. show less

Overall, although very simplified, this book is a great biography book for any young reader. I liked how simplified the writing was. The book was written in a way that is easy for kids to read and comprehend. Another reason I liked the book is because of the illustrations. They too help with comprehension as they are matched perfectly to the text on the page. For example, when the text spoke on Lincoln's re-election, which may be a new word for some readers, the illustrations show a celebration of his winning which would reinforce the definition of re-election. The organization of the book is also something I noticed and liked. The book literally goes in order, including specific dates, of Lincoln's life from birth until death. Although show more it does leave out some important aspects but its best they are left out because who the intended audience is. Nonetheless, a truly good book. The main message of a simple informational biography on America's sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln is definitely executed well. show less

I like this book for a couple reasons. First, the information Adler chose to use is very good. Of course the major events such as the Emancipation Proclamation, The Gettysburg Address, and the assassination are all used. What I liked was his choice of background information. His child hood on a farm, enjoying books, and attending law school are all included and are simple enough that young readers definitely can understand it. The second thing I like is the illustrations. While cartoony in some places they still compliment the information that's happening in the biography very well. If a young reader is getting confused by what is happening the pictures easily explain it. The main idea of this book is the life of Abraham Lincoln from show more hos childhood to his assassination. Overall I really like this as a biography. It gives a good overview of his life highlighting specific events while being broad enough that young readers would easily be able to follow what;s being said. I definitely feel it would be an asset in a classroom. show less

This book was extremely informative about Lincoln and his life. I liked the book a lot. It used very descriptive language that drew the reader in. I thought that the word choices were vivid and yet still very clear to the reader. The author made sure that the reader would be able to easily understand the timeline by making the language comprehensible. Also to help the timeline remain clear to a young reader, the author included a chart in the back of the book that put the events in order. It is very helpful in non fiction books to include extra aides such as a literal timeline or equivalent that is additional to the main paragraphs within the book. Another thing that I loved about this book was presenting very accurate and detailed show more facts about Lincolns life and the other events surrounding it. I thought that this book was a very good biography that was able to teach children the information. The main idea of this book was to teach children about one of our presidents lives in a way that is interesting to the reader and encourages them to learn the information. show less

I enjoyed this book as a tool for children in the primary grades especially. It tells the life of Lincoln from birth to death with heavier emphasis on the adult years. Each page focuses on some major event in his life.The content and illustrations are not thorough enough for older children but are perfect for students in the K-3 ages. The length of the book was appropriate but it seemed to sometimes drag on for a while. I especially liked the time-line at the end of the story which is typical in this specific series of books. The depiction of Abe Lincoln was just right for the intended audience and it allowed the readers to understand why he is such a hero in this country.

I would have students list reasons why they would or would not show more vote for President Lincoln today. show less

As teachers, I want my future students to know who all the important presidents are and the great things they have done to the country. I like this book because it does a wonderful job at providing important information about Abraham Lincoln while also using small potions of words on the page, and easy vocabulary. The one thing I did not like about the book was the picture of John Wilkes Booth shooting Abraham Lincoln. Not that I think children shouldn't know that he was killed, but I don't think the illustrator needed to incorporate the picture. Other than that, I really would recommend this book to your future students. My favorite part of the book was when the author talked about how Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves and ended the war show more between the north and the south. This concept is an important concept to understand as a U.S. citizen and the author informed readers using easy to understand language. For young children, the illustrations in this book are fun do to detail in the pictures and the amount of action going on in all the pictures. show less

In this version of a biography of Abraham Lincoln, it focuses more on his life broadly, and less on his childhood like the other book did. It was very informative and gave much more detail than the other one. It added his experiences of seeing enslaved people, which was very crucial to his career. I enjoyed this biography more than the last.