Why are those soldiers' uniforms gray?
Why is their flag different?
What is slavery?
Is slavery bad?
Was Abraham Lincoln nice to kids?
Was he sad when his mom died?
Why are there footprints on the ceiling?

Is there slavery today?

Some of the questions that our latest Caldecott-winnning read, 1940's Abraham Lincoln has sparked.

Two children reading Caldecott winner "Abraham Lincoln" under a tree in the forest

This has been the most popular book so far with both the children. Unlike Animals of the Bible (great illustrations, but stiff prose straight from King James) and Mei Li (great illustrations and interesting, but confusing plot), Abraham Lincoln is a simple, richly-detailed introductory biography about an inestimable leader and gentleman of integrity.

At 17 months, he has consistently dragged the hardcover, well-worn library copy over to me, plopped it in my lap, and demanded in his squeaky grunt that I read.

Now!

Dad reading Caldecott winner "Abraham Lincoln" with his young son under a tree in the forest

It is packed with colourful illustrations; he especially loved pointing out all the details on each page (lots of pigs, horses, various animals, flags, etc.) Our four-year old has had a bottomless supply of questions, primarily about slavery, and why people let it happen.

Young girl reading Caldecott winner "Abraham Lincoln" under a tree in the forest

This has been a wonderful conversation starter. She and I have been talking a lot about injustice, and about sticking up for people. I do not always have the best answers.

How do you balance the confusing paradox of

A) war is bad; don't fight with B) sometimes you have to fight in order to stand up for what's right?

These are things that adults don't have figured out.

Spoiler alert: the book ends before his ill-fated trip to the theater. Good or bad, it lets his story end on a more upbeat note that leaves out the assassination.

Highly recommend this for both illustrations and text. Informative, thought-provoking and conversation-starting for 4+, visually rich and detailed for younger. And enjoyable reminder of what a good guy Mr. Lincoln was.

He would certainly be a good guy to have around today.