When Abraham Talked to the Trees - Hardcover

Van Steenwyk, Eliza

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802519164 ISBN 13: 9780802519160

Publisher: Eerdmans, William B.@publishin

Synopsis

When Abraham Lincoln's ma died, she left him a book and the wish to read it every day. The words were hard to figure sometimes, but he tried again and again when chores were finished and the quiet had come.Abraham Lincoln's love for words the reading, writing, and speaking of them began when he was young. Though his early years were filled with hardship and loss, he had a hunger for learning and persisted in his determination to develop the skills he would need later in his life.When Abraham Talked to the Trees offers young readers an inspiring glimpse of a historical giant who at their own age had to struggle against the odds to learn the skills that they, too, are working to develop. Author Elizabeth Van Steenwyk's anecdotal story reveals the character of the boy who grew up to be an American president known for his brilliance, wit, and humanity; while Bill Farnsworth's warm oil paintings beautifully capture the time, place, and circumstances of young Abraham's life.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

The creators of My Name Is York here shape an amiable portrait of a young Abraham Lincoln as an aspiring scholar and orator: "Reading took last place in Abraham's day, but it was always first place in his heart." Farnsworth bathes the young Lincoln's world in a golden suffused light; sundappled trees offer shade to the boy while he delves into his books. As the hard-working lad labors by day in the fields, he recalls and savors the words he read the previous night. Aesop, the dictionary and the Bible are staples of Abraham's reading list; the latter "nourished and filled him as much as the vittles on the table." The youth also practices his skills as an orator, repeating sermons he has heard while standing on a tree stump in front of his extended family, until they wander away and "nobody was left but the trees." The oil paintings effectively convey the tale's rustic period setting, while emitting an agreeable romanticism (Lincoln is made out to be a good deal better-looking than most historical depictions). This volume treats readers to a narrow though satisfying slice of an oft-documented life. Ages 6-12. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 5-8. When American schoolchildren think of Abraham Lincoln, they often envision him as a young boy reading by a fire. This picture-book biography, which actually contains this very image, serves its audience well by extending the cliche into something more authentic. Van Steenwyk focuses on the kinds of books Lincoln probably read, most notably the Bible and Webster's dictionary, and how he benefited from what he learned. She reveals his love for storytelling, and she describes him standing in the woods, practicing orations, with family and friends gathered around listening to sermons they had already heard, word for word. The warm oil paintings, bathed in light, set the mood for this simple, anecdotal text, which is filled with gentle humor. They show Lincoln at various stages of his youth, working in fields, felling trees, scratching words in the snow, and, of course, reading. Shelley Townsend-Hudson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Eerdmans, William B.@publishin
• ISBN 10: 0802519164
• ISBN 13: 9780802519160
• Binding: Hardcover