Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln: The Story of the Gettysburg Address (Penguin Young Readers, Level 4) - Softcover

Fritz, Jean

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0448401703 ISBN 13: 9780448401706

Publisher: Penguin Young Readers, 1993

Synopsis

Abraham Lincoln was one busy man. He had a country to run. And a war to win. And a family to care for. But when it came time to honor all the soldiers who had died in the great battle of Gettysburg, President Lincoln still took time to say a few words. Two hundred and seventy-one to be exact. Here is a true story about a great man and his famous speech.

About this title

About the Author:

Jean Fritz, the Newbery Honor-winning author of Homesick, is best known for her engaging and enlightening nonfiction for young readers, including What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?, And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?, and Shh! We're Writing the Constitution. She was honored with the Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature by the New York State Library Association, and won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for her career contribution to American children's literature.

From Publishers Weekly:

The All Aboard Reading series adds another of Fritz's ( The Double Life of Pocahantas ; Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? ) lively titles illuminating an episode in American history. Here Fritz explains that President Lincoln had two "big jobs": he had to free the slaves and he had to win the Civil War. She focuses on the year 1863 when, after 23,000 Union soldiers were killed in the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln was asked to speak at a ceremony honoring the fallen troops. Dispelling traditional lore that the President scratched out his speech on the back of an envelope during the train ride to Gettysburg, Fritz explains that it was prepared in advance, needing only a last-minute "lick." Making history tangible in a delightfully down-to-earth way, the author writes that Lincoln's address was very brief; after uttering a mere 271 words, "he was finished. It took longer to boil an egg." Featuring typeface, vocabulary and themes carefully geared to her intended audience, the text informally yet ably conveys the significance of Lincoln's eloquent speech, which is reprinted on the book's final page. Interspersed among Robinson's subdued, well-populated drawings are several period photos. Ages 7-9.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Young Readers
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0448401703
• ISBN 13: 9780448401706
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Robinson Charles