Lincoln : a photobiography

by Russell Freedman

Paper Book, 1987

Status

Available

Barcode

10286

Publication

New York, N.Y. : Clarion Books, c1987.

Description

Photographs and text trace the life of the Civil War President.

Awards

Kentucky Bluegrass Award (Nominee — Grades 4-8 — 1989)
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — Grades 6-8 — 1992)
Cardinal Cup (Winner — 1988)

Original publication date

1987

Physical description

150 p.; 24 cm

User reviews

LibraryThing member MaowangVater
This 1988 Newbery Award winner has a text as vivid and revealing as its photographs.
LibraryThing member abrial2433
Following the life of an American icon, this text tries to capture the image of the man that history has mostly glossed over. Sullen, morose, and a gifted speaker; Lincoln was more than what the history books depict but rather a real, breathing person with faults and incredible strengths. This book
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uses a rich selection of photographs, historical illustrations and cartoons, as well as letters and articles to show Lincoln for all that he truly was.

I found this book riveting and I learned so much about a figure everyone thinks they know. I had heard of his mercurial nature but it was fascinating to hear firsthand accounts and stories of his life as well as be drawn in by the wonderful assortment of images. Truly a treasure of American history.
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LibraryThing member DianaHarger
This book portrays the life of a former president, Abraham Lincoln. It represents him as a human and a great leader. Black and white pictures closely tell the story of his life.
The author tells Lincolns life very vividly. I remember personally learning about his life when I was a student. This
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book would be good for a large group of young students. It uses short sentences and get directly to the point helping to keep young children interested.
For extensions, I would have my students do a timeline of Abraham Lincoln's life. I would also consider having students draw a portrait, or color a picture of him as an extension.
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LibraryThing member lp118825
This book is about Abraham Lincoln 's Biography. It talks him as a regular person and as a president. Though President Lincoln had many faults, he also had many strong points. I remember learning about him when I was growing up, but we never read anything exicting like this. It has black and white
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pictures in it. This book reveals that he was more like an everyday citizen.

Classroom Extensions: I think I would have my students draw a portrait of President Lincoln. I would also have them make a timeline of his life.

Personal Reaction: This book is fun and different, because when I was in school we never had biographies with pictures. Students will realize that President Lincoln was just like everyone esle.
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LibraryThing member jamie_tow
" A spider of a boy" they called him. Throughout Lincoln's life he was known as a tall, bony legged man. Although he claimed he had forgotten his childhood, historians say he was born in a log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. Thomas and Nancy named him after his pioneer
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grandpa, who had been killed by Indians while harvesting his crops. After many years Thomas Lincoln, who was a farmer, decided to move the family to Indiana. This was as Lincoln said "The hardest experience of my life." Abe and his sister Sarah attended a small one-room cabin school two miles away from their home. This was the only formal schooling he had. When Abe was nine his mother, uncle, and aunt all come down with the so-called "milk sickness" and died week later. A year went by until Thomas found another wife. He married Sarah Bush Lincoln, who was a great housekeeper and took very good care of Lincoln and his sister. She also brought three children to live with them. Lincoln learned to work hard at an early age. Later during his presidency he said "Work, work, work is the main thing." After that, Lincoln decided to look for work in New Orleans and then New Salem Illinois, In Salem, Lincoln studied law and decided to run for the state legislature. He lost but than ran again when he was 25 and became the second highest vote getter in the state so he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. At the age of 30, he moved to Springfield and met the love of his life, Mary Ann Todd. They were engaged soon after they met, but called the wedding off after Mary's sister did not approve of the marriage. Lincoln's friends said this period was the worst emotional crises of his life. On the 4th of November they told Mary's sister they were to be married, and they did that evening. The first child Robert Todd was born nine month later. Then Eddie was born in 1846. By the time Eddie was born Lincoln had opened his own law office and won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and moved to Washington. Eddie, not yet four, died in 1850. Later in 1851 Willie was born, when Thomas, who was nicknamed Tad was born in 1853. At this time, Lincoln was the leading Anti-slavery spokeman in Illinois. At the age of 51, he ran for President. He was elected on the 4th November 1860. In 1861 the death of Willie, who was only 11, really upset Mary. During Lincoln's presidency he accomplished a lot of things including the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation declared that ll slaves in confederate territory would be free. As President during the war between states, Lincoln agonized over the loss of life and the division of the country. He wanted preserve the democratic goverment of truly united group of states. On April 4th 1865 at the age of 56 was shot in Ford Theater by John Wilkes Booth. Although the President did not straight away he did die the next day.

I think this book was written either for research purposes or to show the world what a great man Lincoln was. Freedman showed how Lincoln started from almost nothing and went to become President.

I think this book is biased because Freedman only shows how great of a person Lincoln was and not any bad sides. This bias could be from nationalism. Everyone in the United States thinks his is a great man and Freedman could have gotten his bias from that. This book is an inspiring story about persevering under difficult situations. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know about Lincoln or who is researching him.
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LibraryThing member servantHEART
Lincoln: A Photobiography offers a detailed look into Lincoln's roots, his personality, and his death. The book offers photos taken of Lincoln at all stages in his life. Lincoln comments on his own reflection more than once.

I particularly enjoyed the page where the author shows multiple photographs
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of Lincoln showing the aging face of the Lincoln and his office. The best part were the quotes intertwined in the text. This offers the reader a "real" look into Lincoln's personality, not just his famous quotes at Getysburg.

On the classroom, I would introduce this pictorial account of Lincoln during the "this day in history" lesson. The book could be used for Lincoln's birthday, President's Day, Lincoln's death, and/or other significant days in his life.
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LibraryThing member debnance
Lincoln is presented here as I have never seen him, in both text and photographs. The details about him surprised me; I knew, of course, that he was extremely tall and had had a limited formal education, but I had no idea his voice was high pitched and that he had so much trouble finding a good
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general during the Civil War and that he was shy. I also loved the fact that though he had a total of a year of schooling he was able to read and study himself for two years and pass his bar exam. The Civil War years were a revelation. Poor Lincoln went through general after general who was afraid to act. And Lincoln’s assassination was so unexpected, coming so close to the end of the war. I could really feel Lincoln’s anguish in trying to figure out how to lure back the rebel states without cruelty yet also closing the door forever on slavery.
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LibraryThing member asousley
Lincoln's life story starts from the beginning of his life and goes all the way to his last day that ended with an assassination. The book shows how his youth shaped his adulthood. The book tells about his accounts as a boy, his career as a lawyer, his courtship and marriage to Mary Todd. The book
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also tells about the many complex issues he had to deal with during the Civil War and tragic ending at Ford Theatre on April 14,1865. The book also has samplings of Lincoln's writings and pictures of different items of his time.

Good book. While it is a good book to read, it also has pictures throughout the book to show different aspects of his life.

A teacher can show that the life of Lincoln's was humble. Even though he had troubles and struggled at times he always seem to come out on top. Life will have ups and downs but we have to keep going and strive for the best.
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LibraryThing member ewang109
Freedman's biography begins with Lincoln's childhood and ends with his assassination. Freedman skillfully integrates quotes to bring to life this beloved president. Instead of seeing Lincoln as a folk hero, readers discover that he was very much an "ordinary" person. He struggled with bouts of
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depression, clung to news articles that complimented him, and at times, was concerned with what his critics said. Readers will also enjoy the photographs, which provide greater insight into Lincoln's life.
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LibraryThing member SandraKLee
Many photographs and the text traces the life of the Civil War and President Lincoln. Includes index.
LibraryThing member jakdomin
This photobiography provides an illustrative account of several themes, including slavery, violence (dead soldiers, war, assassination), responsibility, and one of the most important figures in the history of our country. Being able to visually see where Lincoln came from, a “backwoods boy” in
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chapter 2, the choices he made, and what he stood for and died for will help children grasp Lincoln's character better than simply reading it. The book also shows kids that Lincoln was not just a president and the he came from an extremely modest background, perhaps an inspiring detail for kids in forming dreams and aspirations. One of my favorite pictures is the one of downtown Springfield (page 29) “where Lincoln practiced law” because it tells so much for the times (i.e. everything is made of wood).
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LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
This biography of Abraham Lincoln presents a picture of Abraham Lincoln that is easily accessible to the younger reader, complete with photos and interesting details of his growing up years. The chapters covering his presidency and the difficulties of the civil war are particularly moving.
LibraryThing member knightlight777
I never tire of reading books on our greatest president. This book written for children was a pleasure to read and had a great selection of photographs some I had not seen previously. My favorite photo of Lincoln in this book was one he had taken in Springfield shortly before his election. It
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portrays a youthful looking man before he grew his beard and the strains of office took their toll. His hair is a tangled mess which by modern day standards would have him fitting right in. He was said to have commented that it was a reasonable likeness of himself.
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LibraryThing member goodnightmoon
Surprisingly moving, yet simple and straightforward. The author uses excellent details, including plenty of Lincoln's own quotes, to masterfully draw us into often-simplified events, like the reasons behind the Emancipation Proclamation. Whereas I had started the book with a simple appreciation of
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Lincoln, I finished with a strong adoration toward him. Also, the vocabulary is rich and will stretch an upper-elementary reader in just the right ways.
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LibraryThing member EmilyPhilips
This book explores the life of Abraham Lincoln through both words and pictures. It is aimed at younger to middle elementary, as it appropriately uses pictures along with words for children to easily understand many significant issues of Lincoln's time. It is great for teaching children about issues
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such as slavery in a lighter way, and it is also a great learning tool for exploring one of our most influential presidents of all time.
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LibraryThing member nmrepko
This book was recommended by one of my grad. classes in multicultural children's literature. It is also on the reading list of a local prep school. Considering this one for 5th grade reading group. haven't read it yet.
LibraryThing member NoahGray
I enjoyed reading and looking at the illustrations of Abraham Lincoln through his childhood and Presidential career. I have not seen many illustrations or images of Abraham Lincoln as a child. The illustrations showed Lincoln as the tall figure I know him to be. From this text, I learned that
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Lincoln was a country lawyer. I did not know that Lincoln was a “prairie” lawyer who encountered any form of business that needed a lawyer. One characteristic of the text that I appreciated was how the text was able to skillfully explain the difficult task Lincoln had during the Civil War and the troubles that the country faced with a divided nation. I found the portion of the text that explained Lincolns path to President through being an active congressman. One aspect of Lincoln's career that I found interesting and motivational was that Lincoln “reinvented” the idea of republican values. Lincoln was able to use political rhetoric to redirect emphasis to the importance of the Declaration of Independence for the basis of American political values. Lastly, I feel that it was important to include the tragic assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The last chapter of the biography explains John Wilkes Booth assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. This was a major event in United States history because Lincoln was a symbol for change, equality and freedom. Overall, I enjoyed reading and assessing the illustrations in this book and was able to learn new factual information about President Abraham Lincoln.
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LibraryThing member Stsmurphy
Abraham Lincoln stood out in a crowd as much for his wit and rollicking humor as for his height. This Newbery Medal-winning biography of our Civil War president is warm, appealing, and illustrated with dozens of carefully chosen photographs and prints.

Russell Freedman begins with a lively account
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of Abraham Lincoln's boyhood, his career as a country lawyer, and his courtship and marriage to Mary Todd. Then the author focuses on the presidential years (1861 to 1865), skillfully explaining the many complex issues Lincoln grappled with as he led a deeply divided nation through the Civil War. The book's final chapter is a moving account of that tragic evening in Ford's Theater on April 14, 1865. Concludes with a sampling of Lincoln writings and a detailed list of Lincoln historical sites.
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LibraryThing member LoganBerglund
Lincoln: A Photo biography is an in-depth look at the life of United States President Abraham Lincoln. The history laid out over the course of Lincoln's life is printed through type and picture in great detail in this book. This book is a non-fictional history book, and therefore used mostly for
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research purposes. Students might be required to write a paper specifically on the life of an important historical character. A child who chooses to write on Abraham Lincoln would find the presence of this book very useful in the classroom. sixth through twelfth grade would serve well for this book.
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LibraryThing member ah932109
Summary of Book: This book is about our 16th President Abraham Lincoln. This book gives the reader an insight look on Lincoln's life growing up and after becoming President. This book contains many pictures which is great for younger readers to be able to see Lincoln as a young boy, and pictures
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through out the rest of Lincoln's life.

Personal Reaction: I found this book to be very informative. I liked how this book talked about how Lincoln struggled, which was nice to know he was just like everyone else. I also enjoyed looking at all the old photograph's of Lincoln.

Classroom Extension: 1) Have students make a time line of Abraham Lincoln's life.
2) Have students write a story about why people thought he may or may not have been a good President.
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LibraryThing member klburnside
1988 Newbery winner. Engaging enough for children's non-fiction, but I am not very interested in Lincoln.
LibraryThing member Megan_Livsey
Summary:
This book has all kinds of different pictures and drawings and tells a lot about how Lincoln was like as a person and not just a president.

Personal reaction:
I really like this book because I am a visual learner. So if i didn't know about Lincoln, it would be easier to be able to connect
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things with the photos and illustrations.

Classroom Extension:
-Students make their own short photo biography.
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LibraryThing member david__clifford
A good quick overview of Lincoln. Photo's are well picked.
LibraryThing member jessica_haynes
I really enjoyed ready about Lincoln and how he became a president. This book describes Lincoln's early childhood on the frontier, his career as a lawyer, his rise in politics, and obstacles he faced a president.
LibraryThing member KylieNelson
This book is a description of the childhood, young adult, marriage, and young professional life of Abraham Lincoln, it includes his presidential years. I like this book because its done in a unique way that it truly makes the information fun to read, but it still stays true to history with snippets
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of quotes and journal entries. This book is best understood by ages 12 and up.
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Other editions

Lexile

L

Pages

150

Rating

(144 ratings; 4.1)
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