INFORMATIONAL BOOKS

The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look and Abraham and Mary

written by Candace Fleming

Schwartz & Wade Books

New York, NY

1996

SUMMARY

The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary begins with an extensive timeline, detailing events from the lives of these two historical figures from birth to death.  As Fleming takes readers through their lives, she creates small snippets, in chronological order, moving easily through their lives.  The details from Abraham’s poor beginnings and Mary’s life of privilege to the political highs and lows of Abraham’s career to Mary’s death after many years of mental instability, Candace Fleming has written in a style that makes readers feel they are listening to a friend.  Although daunting in appearance, Fleming has created a book that is difficult to put down.

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The accuracy of details appear substantiated through Fleming’s close work with Dr. John Sellers, an American Civil War specialist and curator at the Library of Congress; Thomas Schwartz, a state historian and interim executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum; Jason Emerson, a Mary Lincoln scholar; and Keya Morgan, a scholar of Lincoln photography.  Candace Fleming also enlisted the assistance of Dr. Herbert Lasky, a retired professor of history at Eastern Illinois University, to verify all the facts in this book. 

Fleming included a timeline at the beginning, listing all events related to Abraham in normal font, those details pertaining to Mary in italics, and everything that involved the two of them in bold italicized font.  She also included an index at the end, which enables readers to find specific details quickly.  A “Notes” section near the end cites the primary sources of all quotes found in the text.  The use of primary documents lends credence to the facts Fleming has included in this book.  Some of the pictures are small and dark, but sticking with original photos make it difficult to present modern day quality.

Candace Fleming designed this book to look like a true scrapbook, including pictures with short stories detailing the events, people, or places.  She chose to use a font type reminiscent of the time period and left everything black and white to preserve the time period.  Fleming’s love of everything Lincoln shines through her writing.  She has created stories that evoke emotion (sadness to laughing aloud) in the reader.

 

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Kirkus Review: "The scrapbook technique . . . remains fresh and lively, a great way to provide a huge amount of information in a format that invites both browsing and in-depth study."


Booklist: "Fleming offers another standout biographical title, this time twining accounts of two lives—Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln—into one fascinating whole."


School Library Journal: "It's hard to imagine a more engaging or well-told biography of the Lincolns."


Horn Book Magazine: "Fleming is able to compare and contrast the president with his first lady, giving us not only greater insight into each of them but also a fuller picture of the world in which they lived."


New York Times Book Review: "The format of 'The Lincolns' may be aimed at young readers, but, given Candace Fleming's unerring eye for the dramatic quotation (with the Lincolns, there were a lot of those), this birth-to-death biography of Mary and Abraham is hard to put down even for readers who know the story."

 

CONNECTIONS

Students could read other books about Abraham and Mary Lincoln:

• Freedman, R., & Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana (Library of Congress). (1987). Lincoln: A photobiography. New York, N.Y: Clarion Books.
• Phillips, E. B. (2007). Abraham Lincoln: From pioneer to president. New York: Sterling Pub. Co.
• Pascal, J. B., & O'Brien, J. (2008). Who was Abraham Lincoln?. New York: Grosset &     Dunlap.
• Osborne, M. P., & Murdocca, S. (2011). Abe Lincoln at last!. New York: Random House.
• Foster, G. (1944). Abraham Lincoln's world, 1809-1865. New York: Scribner.
• Stevenson, A., & Robinson, J. (1986). Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator. New York: Aladdin Books.
• Winnick, K. B. (1996). Mr. Lincoln's whiskers. Honesdale, Pa: Boyds Mills Press.

Some of these are fiction, some are nonfiction.  Students might look for more information     about a particular story they found intriguing.  If they are reading a fictionalized account, they could verify details in the fiction book with those details found in The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary.

 

AWARDS

2008 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
2008 Booklist Children's Editors' Choice
2008 Horn Book Fanfare
2008 Kid's Indie Next List "Inspired Recommendations for Kids from Indie Booksellers"
2008 Book Links Lasting Connection
2008 L.A. Times Book Prize
2009 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
2009 Great Lakes Book Award
Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices
ALA Notable Children's Book
IRA Teachers' Choices
New Jersey Garden State Teen Book Award
Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award



Fleming, C. (2008). The Lincolns: A scrapbook look at Abraham and Mary. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.