Un-Forgettable Friday: Finding Lincoln by Ann Malaspina

Library of Congress photo (Believe Collective www.flickr.com)

Finding Lincoln
By: Ann Malaspina
Illustrated by: Colin Bootman
(Paintings by Coretta Scott King Honor artist)
Albert Whitman and Company, 2009.

This book is based on a true story. It is about an African-American boy who wants to get a book out of the main library in Alabama about young Abraham Lincoln.

The setting for this book is the 1950s Alabama where only white people were allowed into the main library. But Louis wasn’t going to put up with that reality. He mustered up as much courage as he could and walked straight into the main library, with people staring. Ultimately, one of the librarians had to escort him out to keep the peace within the library. But before she did, the librarian quietly took him aside and asked him to come back to the library the next day after 5 p.m. Louis did, and she made sure that he got the book he wanted and she even gave him a temporary library card.

At the end of the story, there is an informative note for the reader about how blacks were segregated until the 1960s in Alabama. There is also an informative sidebar that is full of facts about Abraham Lincoln and a reference list for further reading. It is truly a wonderful book that most kids will enjoy reading. The paintings are very vivid and realistic for the time portrayed by the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Discussion Questions For Educators and Teachers

• 1. Write a short account about Louis’s courage. Would you be that
  courageous in similar circumstances? Why?
• 2. Write a short account about the life of Abraham Lincoln and
  his incredible perspicacity in abolishing slavery.
• 3. Read one or two books on the reading list and talk about what
  you learned about Abraham Lincoln.

Reviewed by Irene S. Roth

For more about Irene Roth, please visit her blogs at: www.adolescentgirlsblog.wordpress.com and www.irenesroth.wordpress.com.