Editorial Review

This entry in the well-written ‘Our Presidents’ series provides an overview of Abraham Lincoln’s life, early years on the frontier in Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois, his rise in law and politics, his preservation of the Union after the Civil War, and a quick mention of his assassination. Photographs of Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln are included but other artwork is taken from paintings, illustrations, and other depictions of this most famous president. Outtake pages include one about education on the frontier, a double page about the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Lincoln’s family life, and the importance of the Gettysburg Address. Sidebars include interesting facts and the picture captions are informative and lengthy enough to inform casual browsers. Each book in the series ends with a glossary defining highlighted words in the text, a timeline specific to the president’s life, a complete table of presidents through George W. Bush with their home states, life spans, presidential spans, political party and the name of their first ladies. Included are a page of ‘Presidential Facts’ and numerous web sites and relevant suggested other resources, as well as an index. All in all, it’s a strong, informative, and very readable contribution to the literature about presidents for upper elementary and middle-school readers.