It's Up to You, Abe Lincoln

Gr 4–8—In this fresh take on Abraham Lincoln, the past president's life is explored through 10 of his major decisions. The authors use second person point of view, setting the humorous tone in the first chapter: "How could a gangly, awkward, unschooled backwoods pauper achieve such dazzling feats?" The following chapters each focus on one choice, using the same format: provide a wealth of background information, offer multiple choices so readers can see the options Lincoln had and make the tough decisions themselves, and then examine the repercussions of Lincoln's actual choices. This structure creates a sense of immediacy and drama, and also humanizes an often mythic figure. While the writers keep things funny with pithy asides and irreverent images, they also manage to depict Lincoln's complexity, particularly in their sensitive exploration of the fact that he abhorred slavery but didn't support full social and political equality of the races. In addition to lists of suggested reading and websites, there are also addenda both enlightening and silly, such as "What Would Abe Think?" speculating Lincoln's likely reaction to topics like pizza and communism.