Lincoln: a Photobiography

Lincoln: a Photobiography	Scholastic, Inc.
Written by Russell Freedman	1988
Biography	145 pages
Reading Level ages 9-12	Newberry Award

Summary

This tells the story of Abraham Lincoln with actual photographs, his own accounts, and other’s descriptions. Lincoln helped with the family farm until he went to partner with a friend on a store. The store eventually failed and Lincoln spent years reading law books and then passed the bar. He opened a practice and loved circuit riding to help others with their disputes. He suffered from deep depression and relied heavily on the words of others. He was elected the Republican candidate and eventually won office. He was married and had three sons. He didn’t believe in discipline and his children were rambunctious. He was in office when the Civil War broke out and became more haggard from the stresses of the responsibilities, since he couldn’t find a general to follow his orders. He had less than a year of formal education but was self educated by reading books and peaking with others. He was a great orator and made many great speeches. He was a tall man who seemed even taller with his stovepipe hat. He was assassinated by an actor as he attended a play with his wife.

Reaction

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had interesting facts that I never knew about Lincoln and amazing pictures that were from that time period. I thought the facts were presented clearly and the story was easy to follow.

Potential Problems

There are actual pictures of the war, of the dead bodies that were left after the fighting had moved on or finished. This would not be appropriate for younger children.

Recommendations

I would recommend this to students that enjoy learning about presidents and of the Civil War. This would be a good introduction or further reading to a history lesson about Lincoln and his life.