The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary

By Candace Fleming

Fleming, Candace.2008.The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary. NY, NY: Random House. ISBN: 978-0-375-93618-0

SUMMARY:

This book details the life of Abraham and Mary Lincoln’s lives up until their deaths. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

The scrapbook format shows an image and then explains it in a short blurb below or around it. Included in this book is a timeline that details the direction of the book. The book begins with a young Lincoln and ends at Mary Lincoln’s death in 1882.  There is full bibliography listing at the end of the book shows the many sources the author consulted while writing this book. The images used in this book were scanned directly from the 140 plus years old album in the Keya Morgan collection.

CONNECTIONS:

*This book can begin the study of the presidents of the United States.

*It can also be interesting to study the President’s wives.  This book can begin a unit about the presidents and their wives.

* Ben Franklin's Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life

By Candace Fleming

* Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt's Remarkable Life

By Candace Fleming

REVIEW:

What did this backwoods boy and this bluegrass girl have in common? Using her signature scrapbook approach, Fleming lays out the answer in a biography that gives equal emphasis to Abraham and Mary Lincoln for an insightful portrait of their lives.

School Library Journal

Fleming’s writing, filled with quotes and personal details, is just as lively as the assortment of images, and an extensive time line, suggested resources, and source notes round out the text. Starting with her personal introduction, this exemplary resource will prompt readers to consider how an individual’s life story, and a country’s history, are constructed.

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