Et cetera : Book Review: Lincoln and His Boys

Lincoln and His Boys

By Rosemary Wells

Junior Fiction

Reviewed By Connie Bennett

I'll bet you think you know all there is to know about Abraham Lincoln, don't you? Well, surprise! I was looking for a book highlighting Lincoln, since his birthday was this last Sunday, and I found this book for young people! Written by Rosemary Wells, this book includes beautiful illustrations by Irish artist P.J. Lynch, who visited the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois to create these authentic-looking pictures of Lincoln and his family from old photographs, tintypes and paintings.

Wells was actually studying old records while writing a historical novel about the Civil War, when she found part of a written page by Willie Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln. This became the basis for her book about the family during the presidency. As Andy Griffith told Opie once, regarding his unread History book, "There's all kinds of interesting stories hidin' in there amongst the history!" This book is told from the viewpoint of the youngsters, while they lived in the "President's House in Washington City." I found this copy in the Junior Fiction section at the Vinton Public Library, but it can also be accessed through other sources since it is a Children's Choice Award winner. It would be worth your time to read this thoroughly- documented tale, just to fill in the gaps in your knowledge of our sixteenth President. Happy reading!

Published 2009

Candlewick Press

Somerville, Mass.