Lincoln: A Photo Biography

Title: Lincoln: A Photo Biography
Author: Russell Freedman
Publisher: Sandpiper
Copyright: 1987 by Russell Freedman
Ages: 9-12
Pages: 160
Genre: Non-Fiction

Summary:
This is the story of Lincolns life as it has never been shown to children before.
He was born February 12, 1809 in Kentucky. He was named after his pioneer grandfather. His family moved to Knob Creek where he remembers his first home. He didn’t have much formal education and mainly taught himself. His parents were not educated at all. His biological mother died when he was young and after a year his father left to find another wife. Lincoln grew to be a very tall and lanky man with a long lean face. Many people thought he was unattractive when they first saw him, but everyone enjoyed his company. He had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to learn. He was rarely seen without a book in his hands. He was a great ax wielder and could chop all day long. Even when he was young he suffered from depression. At age 22 he left home and began a job at a general store. It didn’t last long. At age 23 he decided to run for state legislature. That fell through when he enlisted in the militia to stop the Indians from destroying their crops. Once finished, he ran again and did not win. He tried his luck as a frontier merchant but that venture failed as well.
He ran for legislature again and was chosen and he began to study law on his own. Lincoln met a woman named Mary and fell in love with her. However her parents didn’t approve and he fell into a deep depression. 15 months later, they meet again and know they still love each other so they get married. They had four sons and Lincoln continued his career. But when his son Eddie turned 4 he became ill and died. Lincoln and Mary fell into depression, and he buried himself in his work. He and a friend owned a lawyers office and it was constantly a mess. But that didn’t stop him from being an amazing lawyer.
Abe and Mary fought often and the neighbors could almost always hear them. They adored their sons but refused to discipline them.
For the most part he was against slavery, but he was going for votes. He wanted it to die a natural death but soon discovered that it would not.
Lincoln ran for president and won. There were many attempts to assassinate Lincoln and once he hid in a train to escape them. The American Civil war began and Lincoln tried many times to command armies or at least get a competent commander. He failed many many times.
Another tragic loss occurred when their son Willie died from a fever. Lincoln came into his worst depression yet. The pace of the war sped up and Lincoln was still losing. Lincoln freed the slaves and many enlisted in the army to help. Many people wanted him to take back the emancipation, but Lincoln said, “I may be a slow walker, but I never walk backwards.”
Many soldiers were put to death because they ran from the army, but Lincoln pardoned as many as he could. Lee (the general of the South) finally surrendered after thousands of deaths on both sides.
On good Friday, Lincoln and Mary attend a play and because his guard was not where he was supposed to be, Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth. Booth jumps onto the stage, breaking his leg but escapes. Later he is shot in a barn and killed. The President died later that night.
His funeral was well attended and when the train that carried his body passed, people built fires to honor him.

Recommendations:
I would recommend this to slightly older children. Probably around the ages of 9-12. I think it is a good introduction to Lincoln.

Potential Problems:
It doesn’t sugarcoat his life like a lot of history books.

My Reaction:
I liked this book because it was honest. It didn’t show him as a perfect man with no faults whose only ambition was to free the slaves. I learned a lot of things that I never knew before about Lincoln.