Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln

by Doreen Rappaport, Kadir Nelson (Illustrator)

Overview

From the time he was a young boy roaming the forests of the unsettled Midwest, Abraham Lincoln knew in his heart that slavery was deeply wrong. A voracious reader, Lincoln spent every spare moment of his days filling his mind with knowledge, from history to literature to mathematics, preparing himself to one day lead the country he loved toward greater equality and prosperity.

Despite the obstacles he faced as a self-educated man from the back woods, Lincoln persevered in his political career, and his compassion and honesty gradually earned him the trust of many Americans. As president, he guided the nation through a long and bitter civil war and penned the document that would lead to the end of slavery in the United States.

The passion for humanity that defined Lincoln's life shines through in this momentous follow-up to Martin's Big Words and John's Secret Dreams. Told in Doreen Rappaport's accessible, absorbing prose, and brought to life in powerful illustrations by Kadir Nelson, Abe's Honest Words is an epic portrait of a truly great American president.

Praise for the Big Words series:

Martin's Big Words
* 2002 Caldecott Honor Book
* 2002 Coretta Scott King Honor Book
* Child Magazine Best Book of 2001
* New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book of 2001

* "A stunning, reverent tribute."
-School Library Journal, starred review

Abe's Honest Words
* "Exceptional art, along with Rappaport's and Lincoln's words, makes this a fine celebration of a man who needs little introduction."
-Booklist, starred review


Eleanor, Quiet No More
* "Once again Rappaport celebrates a noble, heroic life in powerful, succinct prose, with prominent, well-chosen, and judiciously placed quotes that both instruct and inspire...Celebrate women in history and in politics with this picture-book life."
-School Library Journal, starred review


Helen's Big World
* "Stirring and awe-inspiring."
-The Horn Book, starred review

To Dare Mighty Things
* "[T]his lavish picture-book biography deftly captures the legendary man's bold, exuberant nature. . . . A truly inspiring tribute to a seemingly larger-than-life U.S. president."
-Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "Theodore Roosevelt's big ideas and big personality come together in this splendid picture-book biography."
-Booklist, starred review

* "Concisely written and yet poetic, this is a first purchase for every library."
-School Library Journal, starred review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423104087
Publisher:	Disney Press
Publication date:	11/11/2008
Series:	Digital Citizenship
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	10.38(w) x 11.16(h) x 0.44(d)
Lexile:	AD820L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Doreen Rappaport's nonfiction and historical fiction books have been acclaimed for their meticulous research and varied literary styles. She is the recipient of the Washington Post-Children's Book Guild lifetime achievement award for the writing of nonfiction. Among her many award-winning biographies are Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., illustrated by Bryan Collier, a Caldecott Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor Book, Orbis Pictus Honor Book, and a Jane Addams Children's Book Award winner; Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, a CCBC Best Book of the Year, an IRA Teacher's Choice, and winner of Library of Virginia's Whitney and Scott Cardoza Award; and Helen's Big World, illustrated by Matt Tavares, an ALA Notable Book for Middle Readers, CCBC Best Book of the Year, and an Oppenheim SNAP (Special Needs Adaptable Products) Award winner. She lives and writes in upstate New York. Visit her at www.doreenrappaport.com.

Kadir Nelson is the illustrator of many books for children, including Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford, an NAACP Image Award winner, a Caldecott Honor Book, and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner; and Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner. He is also the author/illustrator of We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, winner of the Coretta Scott King and Robert F. Sibert Awards, and I Have a Dream, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor winner, among others. Kadir lives in Los Angeles, California. Visit him online at www.kadirnelson.com.

Editorial Reviews

Intertwining a simplified biography of the life and times of Abraham Lincoln with words from his speeches and writings, this book gives an overview of an American president who many believe is the greatest the nation has known. From his early words, which demonstrate his love of books to the legacy of the words of the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's character shines forth through his own words. The author is able to reduce the complexities of the times and the issues of slavery and civil war to the sparse prose of a picture book and the powerful and arresting illustrations further illuminate Lincoln's life. The illustrations are stark and realistic and this realism offers a glimpse at the look of the pre-Civil War and Civil War period of America's past. The book also includes a listing of important dates in Lincoln's life, a bibliography of 10 books about Lincoln for those who wish to read more, some research sources, and the complete text of the Gettysburg Address. Reviewer: Lesley Moore Vossen

Children's Literature - Lesley Moore Vossen

Gr 3-6

Written in prose as elegant and spare as that of its subject, this distinguished book takes readers from Abe's backwoods boyhood in Kentucky to his first harrowing witnessing of slavery in New Orleans, on to the Illinois legislature and the presidency. Each half-page of generously spaced text appears against a white background. Rappaport's carefully chosen words are both accessible and effective: "The war dragged on./Lincoln grew sadder and sadder/as more men died." Until, "The South finally surrendered./The job of healing the nation began./But Lincoln was not there to help./An assassin's bullet ended his life." Corresponding quotes from Lincoln appear in italics, e.g., "The moment came when I felt that slavery must die that the nation might live!" Handsome, larger-than-life paintings fill the remaining page and a half of each spread with powerful images-of Abe as a strong, lanky youth with a book or oar in hand, then later as a lawyer with unkempt hair, feather pen, and midnight candles burning. Readers see the somber, resigned faces of slaves-young and old-first in chains, then picking cotton under a blazing sun, and later the proud faces of an all-black regiment of the Union Army. From Lincoln's striking countenance on the cover-scruffy dark hair tinged with gray, big ears, bright eyes, and benevolent face, lined with worry and age-to the end, this is one Lincoln book that all libraries will want to have.-Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools

School Library Journal

* "Exceptional art, along with Rappaport's and Lincoln's words, makes this a fine celebration of a man who needs little introduction."—Booklist, starred review

From the Publisher