Pick of the Day: Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty

SLJ — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:00:03 +0000

BOLDEN, Tonya. Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty. 120p. bibliog. chron. glossary. illus. index. notes. photos. reprods. Abrams. Jan. 2013. RTE $24.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0390-4. LC 2012000845.
Gr 5-9–After a dramatic opening description of abolitionists waiting for word that the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed, this title reviews the events that led up to the Civil War, examines Lincoln’s reasons for writing it, and details the role of abolitionists. Bolden makes excellent use of primary sources; the pages are filled with archival photos, engravings, letters, posters, maps, newspaper articles, and other period documents. Detailed captions and a glossary interpret them for today’s readers. Quotations from both Lincoln’s contemporaries and modern scholars also break up the text. All the visual elements combine to give pages the look of a scrapbook, making the title a pleasure to browse as well as a source of research material. Bolden has chosen to tell the story in a personal voice, from the perspective of African Americans and abolitionists, “who were pledged to universal liberty.” While this narrative technique makes for riveting reading and gives readers a greater understanding of the viewpoint of these groups, they won’t find much information here on the Unionist Democrats, moderate Republicans, or those who opposed the Emancipation Proclamation. Pair this with another title, such as Charles W. Carey Jr.’s The Emancipation Proclamation (The Child’s World, 2009) to gain that perspective.–Jackie Partch, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR

News Bites: Help Hurricane Sandy’s Victims

Phyllis Levy Mandell — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:57:31 +0000

Books for devastated libraries: Hurricane Sandy devastated scores of schools and libraries across the East Coast. You can help provide books for these libraries and children in need by making a tax deductible donation of at least $2.50 to First Book. Every $2.50 you donate will buy one book. First Book’s publishing partners—Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Abrams Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Macmillan, Candlewick, Sterling, Hachette, and others—will match each contribution by donating an additional book.

Founded in 1992, First Book provides new books to children in need. To date, the organization has distributed more than 90 million free and low cost books in thousands of communities.

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Pick of the Day: Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty

News Bites: Help Hurricane Sandy’s Victims