Looking at Lincoln

I'm a total sucker for Maira Kalman. Here she weaves poignant intimacy into a seemingly exhausted topic: the life of Abraham Lincoln. Painted still-life examinations coupled with her signature, handwritten thoughts allow the reader to stop for a moment, and wonder with the author: "He wrote many not......more

What I especially love about this book is how accessible the account is for kids learning about Lincoln and his time in history. It certainly makes history and the man come alive. I usually have problems with books such as this, one that mixes non-fiction with speculation/fiction, but I was okay wit......more

Kalman has given us a beautifully simple introduction to our 16th President (and my personal Presidential hero) that focuses on who he was as a person as much as the important events of his time in office. She tells us that he loved vanilla cake best but sometimes he was so busy thinking he would fo......more

What a fantastic book! I love Lincoln, and this book captures what he stood for in a beautiful way. The young girl's fascination with him personalizes this biography. The pictures are vivid, and even the font adds to the greatness of the book. This book is on the Texas Bluebonnet List for next year, an......more

It is rare that settling a coffee shop tab is the jumping off point for a biographical sketch, but then Maria Kalman’s work rarely takes us where we expect to go. Looking at Lincoln deftly integrates Kalman’s admiration for Lincoln with research prompted by a realization she has passed a man in the......more