Kids’ Lincoln Books Abound 150 Years After Election

I just came back from the polling site in a nearby elementary school. Lots of people were exercising their right to vote today. There were men and women and citizens of various ethnic backgrounds and ages, walking into booths to cast their ballots.

 A mother held the hand of her skipping 5-year-old, who peppered her with questions. “Why are you voting? Who are you voting for? When do I get to vote?” It was music to my ears…a bright child with some good questions.

One hundred and fifty years ago, there was another election, resulting in the selection of our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. On Nov. 6, 1860, Lincoln defeated three other candidates for the presidency: northern Democrat Stephen Douglas, southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge and Constitutional Union candidate John Bell. Soon the former Midwestern farm boy (and avid reader) was knee-deep in the woes of a divided nation.

Our country has been through a lot since that election so many years ago, and I am happy to say our nation has prevailed. If we can overcome a horrible civil war, we can work our way through our present troubles, too. That inquisitive 5-year-old and the rest of her generation deserve it.

Why not mark this historic anniversary by reading an illustrated children’s biography about Abraham Lincoln? Big Universe has two in its online children’s books collection, plus a presidents encyclopedia volume that highlights Lincoln’s life.

• Abraham Lincoln by Christi E. Parker is part of the Primary Source Readers series published by Teacher Created Materials. (Grade 4-6, Reading Level S).
• Abraham Lincoln: A Life of Honesty by Tonya Leslie is part of the Blastoff! Readers series published by Bellwether. (Level 4).
• Rourke’s Complete History of Our Presidents Encyclopedia, Volume 5 features information about Lincoln. It’s part of an encyclopedia set by Rourke Publishing. (Grade 6-8 and up).

 Looking for more about Abe? Apples4theTeacher provides a list of Lincoln-themed books as well as a number of coloring pages for younger children and printable short stories.

***

  “No one who cannot rejoice in the discovery of his own mistakes deserves to be called a scholar.”

  – Donald Foster, Vassar professor

Note: Read “Kids’ Civics Books: ‘Why are Elections Important?” which features a list of leveled books about voting, elections and Americans’ basic rights.