The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fleming, Candace. 2008. The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary. New York, NY: Schwartz& Wade Books. ISBN 978-0-375-93618-0

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Acclaimed author Candace Fleming has brought together her love of storytelling and history to bring the lives of Abraham and Mary Lincoln to life in a unique, spectacular way. Starting from Abraham’s and then Mary’s childhood, the scrapbook chronicles their lives as youth and then as a married couple, ending with Mary’s death. Filled with details about their social and private lives, as well as the effects of politics and the Civil War, this book makes history personal and highly readable.

3.      CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Candace Fleming displays her passion for telling a good story and for history. She combines her skill in research and writing to produce a wonderful book about the Lincolns, the likes of which have not been produced before. The book is typeset in Old Times American, based on typefaces from the 1800’s to give it an authentic old time feel. Fleming gives a detailed timeline of Abraham and Mary’s lives at the beginning of the book, each one’s events indicated by a different typeset. Being historically accurate, Fleming purposefully uses the names Abraham, as she states that he despised the name Abe, and Mary Lincoln, as she never used her maiden name of Todd once she was married. The scrapbook style with its short entries enables quick reading and browsing. Although entries are brief and concise, the details provided are astounding, such as excerpts from their love letters, the details of White House meals, and advice given to a “difficult daughter-in-law,” altogether providing an intimate look into the lives of the Lincolns. Well placed black-and-white photographs, political cartoons, maps, and facsimiles of letters and newspapers add immensely to the words, allowing the reader to visualize the person or place being discussed, providing a frame of reference. The choice of unique, one-of-a-kind illustrations is as amazing as the entries, with examples such as the earliest known photograph of Willie, a political cartoon of Lincoln and the Presidential election of 1860,  drawings for “Abraham’s Best Pair of Boots” and the  hanging of the those suspected in the murder of Abraham. There are illustrations or photographs on every page, making the book highly readable and making the history of the 1800’s accessible and understandable to today’s readers, especially those aged 10 and up. As a reflection of the highly personal nature of the entries, there is an extensive Notes section, providing the citation for every quote in the book and a detailed Index to aid in student research. Fleming also provides a bibliography of books for further reading and websites for further research into the lives of the Lincolns. The author devotes two pages to explaining her research process and how she found source material. Her acknowledgements thank a number of Lincoln scholars for their assistance in her research. In all, her engaging examination of the lives of Abraham and Mary Lincoln takes biographies to a whole new level.

4. AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Boston Globe Horn Book Award for Nonfiction 2009
Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for Nonfiction 2009, Bank Street School of Education
Kirkus Reviews Best Book for Young Adults
Los Angeles Times Literary Book Prize 2009, Finalist
NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book

Starred review from School Library Journal: “Using her signature scrapbook approach, Fleming lays out the answer in a biography that gives equal emphasis to Abraham and Mary Lincoln for an insightful portrait of their lives. Her scholarship over five years pays off with a rich account that is personal and concrete... Presented in period typefaces, the boxed bits of text, sidebars, and numerous running heads and subheads add detail. From portraits to pets, the book contains a wide variety of graphics, including written and visual primary documents that enrich every spread. Notes, resources, and source notes are exemplary. It's hard to imagine a more engaging or well-told biography of the Lincolns.”   

Starred review from Booklist: “Fleming offers another standout biographical title, this time twining accounts of two lives—Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln—into one fascinating whole. On spreads that combine well-chosen visuals with blocks of headlined text, Fleming gives a full, birth-to-death view of the “inextricably bound” Lincolns. Once again, Fleming humanizes her subjects and offers a broader perspective on their times with cleverly juxtaposed facts, anecdotes, and images... Fleming’s writing, filled with quotes and personal details, is just as lively as the assortment of images, and an extensive time line, suggested resources, and source notes round out the text. Starting with her personal introduction, this exemplary resource will prompt readers to consider how an individual’s life story, and a country’s history, are constructed.” 

Starred Review from Kirkus Reviews: “The scrapbook technique . . . remains fresh and lively, a great way to provide a huge amount of information in a format that invites both browsing and in-depth study." 

Starred Review from Horn Book Magazine: “Fleming is able to compare and contrast the president with his first lady, giving us not only greater insight into each of them but also a fuller picture of the world in which they lived."

5. CONNECTIONS

*Have kids prepare a scrapbook of their own lives, modeled after the book.

*Have kids select one particular item from the book, such as an aspect of: family life, the Lincoln family, the White House, period clothing or food, political cartoons, or the Civil War, and investigate it further, creating a poster, report, or PowerPoint over the area of interest.

*Other books about the Lincolns:

Denenberg, Barry. Lincoln Shot!: A President’s Life Remembered. ISBN 9780312370138

Freedman, Russell. Lincoln: A Photobiography. ISBN 0395518482

Holzer, Frank. Father Abraham: Lincoln and His Sons. ISBN 9781590783030

Jones, Lynda. Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker: The Unlikely Friendship of Elizabeth Keckley and Mary Todd Lincoln. ISBN 1426303777

Kunhardt III, Philip. Lincoln Life-Size. ISBN 0307270815