Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Doreen Rappaport, Kadir Nelson (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

From the time he was a young boy roaming the forests of the unsettled Midwest, Abraham Lincoln knew in his heart that slavery was deeply wrong.  A voracious reader, Lincoln spent every spare moment of his days filling his mind with knowledge, from history to literature to mathematics, preparing himself to one day lead the country he loved towards greater equality and prosperity. 

Despite the obstacles he faced as a self-educated man from the back woods, Lincoln persevered in his political career, and his compassion and honesty gradually earned him the trust of many Americans.  As  president, he guided the nation through a long and bitter civil war and penned the document that would lead to the end of slavery in the United States.

The passion for humanity that defined Lincoln's life shines through in this momentous follow-up to Martin's Big Words and John's Secret Dreams.  Told in Doreen Rappaport's accessible, absorbing prose, and brought to life in powerful illustrations by Kadir Nelson, Abe's Honest Words is an epic portrait of a truly great American president.

Children's Literature

Intertwining a simplified biography of the life and times of Abraham Lincoln with words from his speeches and writings, this book gives an overview of an American president who many believe is the greatest the nation has known. From his early words, which demonstrate his love of books to the legacy of the words of the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's character shines forth through his own words. The author is able to reduce the complexities of the times and the issues of slavery and civil war to the sparse prose of a picture book and the powerful and arresting illustrations further illuminate Lincoln's life. The illustrations are stark and realistic and this realism offers a glimpse at the look of the pre-Civil War and Civil War period of America's past. The book also includes a listing of important dates in Lincoln's life, a bibliography of 10 books about Lincoln for those who wish to read more, some research sources, and the complete text of the Gettysburg Address. Reviewer: Lesley Moore Vossen

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6

Written in prose as elegant and spare as that of its subject, this distinguished book takes readers from Abe's backwoods boyhood in Kentucky to his first harrowing witnessing of slavery in New Orleans, on to the Illinois legislature and the presidency. Each half-page of generously spaced text appears against a white background. Rappaport's carefully chosen words are both accessible and effective: "The war dragged on./Lincoln grew sadder and sadder/as more men died." Until, "The South finally surrendered./The job of healing the nation began./But Lincoln was not there to help./An assassin's bullet ended his life." Corresponding quotes from Lincoln appear in italics, e.g., "The moment came when I felt that slavery must die that the nation might live!" Handsome, larger-than-life paintings fill the remaining page and a half of each spread with powerful images-of Abe as a strong, lanky youth with a book or oar in hand, then later as a lawyer with unkempt hair, feather pen, and midnight candles burning. Readers see the somber, resigned faces of slaves-young and old-first in chains, then picking cotton under a blazing sun, and later the proud faces of an all-black regiment of the Union Army. From Lincoln's striking countenance on the cover-scruffy dark hair tinged with gray, big ears, bright eyes, and benevolent face, lined with worry and age-to the end, this is one Lincoln book that all libraries will want to have.-Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools

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