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43rd out of 93 books
—
205 voters
Looking at Lincoln
by
Maira Kalman
Abraham Lincoln is one of the first giants of history children are introduced to, and now Maira Kalman brings him to life with her trademark style and enthusiasm. Lincoln's legacy is everywhere - there he is on your penny and five-dollar bill. And we are still the United States because Lincoln helped hold them together.
But who was he, really? The little girl in this book...more
But who was he, really? The little girl in this book...more
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published
January 5th 2012
by Nancy Paulsen Books
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I've loved Maira Kalman's absurd style since Nancy bought Chicken Soup, Boots! back in the 90s.
Because this book is presented as a look at Lincoln's image and its saturation in popular culture, I find it a fine postmodern picturebook. Her trademark illustration style pays little homage to the photo realism we expect in informational text [Hi, Stacy!]. The framing and 'photo album' composition is consistent with the title--throughout the book I am looking in.
Free association and coincidence pro...more
Because this book is presented as a look at Lincoln's image and its saturation in popular culture, I find it a fine postmodern picturebook. Her trademark illustration style pays little homage to the photo realism we expect in informational text [Hi, Stacy!]. The framing and 'photo album' composition is consistent with the title--throughout the book I am looking in.
Free association and coincidence pro...more
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Abraham Lincoln is one of the first giants of history children are introduced to, and now Maira Kalman brings him to life with her trademark style and enthusiasm. Lincoln's legacy is everywhere - there he is on your penny and five-dollar bill. And we are still the United States because Lincoln helped hold them together. But who was he, really? The little girl in this book wants to find out. Among the many other things, she discovers our sixteenth president was a man who believed in freedom for a...more
Oct 09, 2012
Erin Mccall
added it
Released just in time for Presidents Day, Maira Kalman’s latest children’s book treads the line between fiction and nonfiction by imposing a narrator into a factual account of Abraham Lincoln’s life. A young girl’s uncanny street side glimpse of an Abraham Lincoln doppelganger stirs an impassioned interest in finding out more about his life and accomplishments. The result is a brief, didactic account of Lincoln’s most curious deeds, annotated throughout with commentary from our young comic narr...more
On April 15, 1865 President Lincoln was declared dead at 7:22 in the morning, having been shot the night before at Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth. It is hard not to be fascinated by the persona of Lincoln, and there are those who even fall in love with him a bit, such as Maira Kalman.
I am a big fan of the art of Maira Kalman. Her style is unmistakable – she is a cartoon artist, painter, writer, and journalist who is at once whimsical, colorful, and witty, and a delight for both the eye and...more
I am a big fan of the art of Maira Kalman. Her style is unmistakable – she is a cartoon artist, painter, writer, and journalist who is at once whimsical, colorful, and witty, and a delight for both the eye and...more
Audience: The audience for this book would be primary grades. Students from kindergarten through third grade will be able to understand and enjoy this book. Ultimately I think this book would be best appropriate for second or third grade, because it deals with slavery, poverty, and assassination- concepts that might be risky to teach to younger students in school.
Appeal: This book is appealing to students in the primary grades, because they can relate to Abraham Lincoln. In the text it describe...more
Appeal: This book is appealing to students in the primary grades, because they can relate to Abraham Lincoln. In the text it describe...more
Looking at Lincoln by Maira Kalman is a very informative biography for children. This biography is on the sixteenth president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. The story line of the biography is about a little girl who sees a man that looks very familiar and reminds her of someone. Then when her family goes out to dinner she realizes the person who she saw previously reminded her of Lincoln. After figuring out who the mystery man was, the little girl was curious and wanted to learn more abo...more
Main Characters: Abraham Lincoln
First Point of View: A girl who describes Lincoln’s life.
Setting: Washington, D. C.
Genre: Biography
Lexile level: not available – Primary Grades
Plot: “Looking at Lincoln” can be described as a picture book biography of Abraham Lincoln. In the beginning, the girl sees a very tall man who reminded her of someone. After paying her breakfast with one Lincoln ($5) and two Washingtons ($1), she remembered that the man she had seen looked exactly like Abraham Lincoln....more
First Point of View: A girl who describes Lincoln’s life.
Setting: Washington, D. C.
Genre: Biography
Lexile level: not available – Primary Grades
Plot: “Looking at Lincoln” can be described as a picture book biography of Abraham Lincoln. In the beginning, the girl sees a very tall man who reminded her of someone. After paying her breakfast with one Lincoln ($5) and two Washingtons ($1), she remembered that the man she had seen looked exactly like Abraham Lincoln....more
May 20, 2012
Dolly
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
parents reading with their children
Shelves:
2012,
biography,
childrens,
other-usa,
washington-dc,
education-school,
cooking-recipes,
birthday,
pets,
poetry-song-music,
military,
library
This is a wonderful book that shows the things that one young girl learns about Abraham Lincoln. It is a biography wrapped inside a story, and we all learned a little something new about President Lincoln.
I like that the details shared include ones that children might be interested in, like the fact that he loved to eat an apple everyday, he loved listening to Mozart, and that his dog was named Fido. I am not a big fan of the illustrations, but I will admit that they give the impression of the...more
I like that the details shared include ones that children might be interested in, like the fact that he loved to eat an apple everyday, he loved listening to Mozart, and that his dog was named Fido. I am not a big fan of the illustrations, but I will admit that they give the impression of the...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 park that looked just like him. The book begins with handwritten personal reflections, in a large font accessible to young readers. Once Kalman has visited the library, facts are rendered in simple ty...more
From the endpapers with the Gettsyburg Address all the way through the book's concluding page at the Lincoln Memorial, this picture book is a treat and a visually appealing tribute to Abraham Lincoln, the nation's sixteenth president. It starts in an unusual way when the narrator happens to see a tall man who reminds her of someone. Later, after she uses a $5 bill with Lincoln's visage on it, she realizes the connection between the tall man who caught her eye and Lincoln. A visit to the library...more
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 notes and stuffed them inside his hat. What was he thinking about?" "I wonder if Mary and Abraham had nicknames for each other. Did she call him Linky? Did he call her Little Plumpy? Maybe." Consideratio...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 forget to eat. She tells us he was seven feet tall when he wore his stovepipe hat, and that he stuffed the inside of his hat with notes and notes and more notes. She tells us he loved his dog, Fido, mus...more
Jan 22, 2012
Jess
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People
Recommended to Jess by:
Kalman's And the Pursuit of Happiness
Kalman invites us to take a look at Lincoln.
Oh, I just love her books so much. Fair warning, you're reading the review of a total Kalman fangirl.
It's hopeful. I like that. When you read about a great person, it should inspire you to positive things. That isn't always the case. Yes, she has the sorrow for his death, but then there's an invitation to meet him in Washington D.C. and cherry blossoms and you just start to believe.
The illustrations are fantastic, as always. I love the tidbit details...more
Oh, I just love her books so much. Fair warning, you're reading the review of a total Kalman fangirl.
It's hopeful. I like that. When you read about a great person, it should inspire you to positive things. That isn't always the case. Yes, she has the sorrow for his death, but then there's an invitation to meet him in Washington D.C. and cherry blossoms and you just start to believe.
The illustrations are fantastic, as always. I love the tidbit details...more
There are so many books written about Lincoln (18,000 according to a passage in this very book!) that I honestly wasn't much looking forward to reading this one. I was very pleasantly surprised, however. While many books focus on his political agendas (and this one includes them), Looking at Lincoln instead focuses on Lincoln as a person who was born, grew up, had a family and a career, died, and also includes information about his legacy. What struck me the most about this book, however, wasn't...more
Dec 04, 2012
Jamala Alkeshi
added it
This is such a great childrens book about Abraham Lincoln, one of the things that grabbed my attention from the beginning is the fact that it is written from the perspective of this child, its not just the book telling you facts. This little girl goes to the library to reasearch about him then she tells us the readers all about him in a captivating way, I think this makes this book so fun for children. Firstly because you are getting all the important facts, but then you also get her funny littl...more
I'm always on the lookout for informational texts that interest students, rather than just dumping out a lot of facts, and this book does that. I will admit, I was distracted by little comments, like - "I wonder if Mary and Abraham had nicknames for each other. Did she call him Linky? Did he call her Little Plumpy?" It just seemed so arbitrary, but I guess it was the author's attempt to portrait Lincoln as a regular person. OK - one more complaint. Didn't like the font used in portions of the bo...more
I thought this history book for children was very appealing. The story starts off with a little girl spotting a man that reminded her of the President Abraham Lincoln. It included short sentences (author uses fun font) and illustrations to go with the facts. The images were sort of like oil paint and vibrant colors were used. The little goes on to discover things about Abraham from where he is located, what he likes (ex. food and reading), what he does (for the Civil War; slavery), and many more...more
Looking at Lincoln, by Maira Kalman, is an amazing depiction of Abraham Lincoln with magnificent colored pictures and not only factual information, but the "thinking" about Lincoln by a small girl who is looking at his statue in the Lincoln Monument. As she "wonders" about Lincoln, some factual answers are provided. This was the first book that my not-so-much beginner ELL student wanted to read in English. History is powerful, and if it is told in this way, it is accessible to all students. I ma...more
A picture book biography about the 16th president of the United States of America. A girl becomes inspired to research Lincoln after she sees a man who resembles him on the sidewalk. Facts are presented in a child’s voice with commentary on each fact. The art is done in gouache and is brightly colored and mimics a child’s style making this a very fresh look at history. Not a good read aloud (the facts and commentary make for disjointed reading), but a great book for dialing into a kid’s thought...more
I admit it. I'm a Maira Kalman fan. When I saw she was coming to the Texas Book Festival last year, I purposefully walked out of another great session early just to ensure an upfront seat at her talk. I was so thrilled to listen to her share bits of her life and her writing with us that I never got around to taking a photo.
So, I'm a Maira Kalman fan, but, even if you don't know her work, try one of her books and I promise that she will captivate you.
Looking at Lincoln is a great Kalman book. Ka...more
So, I'm a Maira Kalman fan, but, even if you don't know her work, try one of her books and I promise that she will captivate you.
Looking at Lincoln is a great Kalman book. Ka...more
Looking at Lincoln is a very clever book that approaches the topic of presidential history in a way that is fun and quite imaginative. The book itself is about a young child who decides to start researching about Abraham Lincoln, and the beauty of the book is that it is told entirely through the eyes of a child. There is a lot of good information in this book, yet it is told and displayed in a way that is very easy to understand. The illustrations are also a lot of fun, as is the way the narrato...more
Feb 07, 2013
Warnie B.
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Warnie B. by:
Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee 2013
Um...I'm not sure how this happened, but I found myself totally tearing up at the end of this book! I must be super emotional lately...
So, this is the story of Abraham Lincoln as told by a child who sees a man who looks like him one day in the park and decides to do some research. I kind of love that concept, of bringing the reader along for the ride while the narrator delves into history and gives her thoughts about what she's learning. The illustrations are perfect as well--bold and bright and...more
So, this is the story of Abraham Lincoln as told by a child who sees a man who looks like him one day in the park and decides to do some research. I kind of love that concept, of bringing the reader along for the ride while the narrator delves into history and gives her thoughts about what she's learning. The illustrations are perfect as well--bold and bright and...more
This was great picture book for young readers. It does a wonderful job in highlighting Lincoln's most important accomplishments and events in his life. It does not go into too much detail; therefore it will not confuse the reader. It does however talk about a lot of different aspects in Lincoln's life. It gives a great sequence of events and embraces his best qualities.
I think young readers will appreciate how the book starts with a younger student wanting to learn more about Lincoln. Students c...more
I think young readers will appreciate how the book starts with a younger student wanting to learn more about Lincoln. Students c...more
Oct 22, 2012
Carissa M
added it
Looking at Lincoln is a great book for children because it brings our sixteenth president to life. All the the things he stood for, like freedom. His legacy still stays with us today we can see his face on our penny and five dollar bill, without Lincoln our country would have fallen apart. The South would have seceded and we would probably still have slavery today. The United States would have been divided between the North and South. In the book the main character who happens to be a little gir...more
Looking at Lincoln takes both a fun look at who Abe Lincoln was growing up and a serious, though palatable for young kids, look at his presidency, the Civil War, and how he died. It also leaves the reader focusing on Lincoln’s inspiring legacy: “But a great man is never really gone. Abraham Lincoln will live forever.”
The book also highlights important historical figures such as Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass as well as the Emancipation Proclamation. Though some of the history that’s cove...more
The book also highlights important historical figures such as Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass as well as the Emancipation Proclamation. Though some of the history that’s cove...more
The narrator of this book about Abraham Lincoln is fascinated by his face. She wants to learn as much as she can about Lincoln. She learns the well-known facts such as his poverty as a child, his honesty and the difficulties of his presidency. Whimsy also has a place. She imagines that on the day Lincoln was elected president his wife made him his favorite vanilla cake. She wonders if Lincoln and his wife had nicknames for each other. While Lincoln was thinking deep thoughts about the United Sta...more
Feb 22, 2012
Vj
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
teachers of elementary grades
Shelves:
children-s-books
The author states that "there are over 16,000 books written about [Lincoln]," and I think this is a really good one for children to read. Written from a young girl's point of view, the book has just enough factual information to be informative for a child and the accompanying questions and comments would be of interest to children. I especially like the use of two typefaces, one for the facts and one for the wonderings and comments of the child. Illustrations are attractive and appealing too. I...more
k-4
Sometimes Maira Kalman's art feels too busy with color and layout. This book's compositions are less busy, streamlining the storytelling while still allowing for a playful feeling. The information is interesting. What hooked me and made me want to pause was the way it ended - asking us to pause and look into Lincoln's eyes. This feels like a really powerful way to make a connection between the reader and the subject of A. Lincoln. A fact I'm curious about - this book suggests that Lincoln dec...more
Sometimes Maira Kalman's art feels too busy with color and layout. This book's compositions are less busy, streamlining the storytelling while still allowing for a playful feeling. The information is interesting. What hooked me and made me want to pause was the way it ended - asking us to pause and look into Lincoln's eyes. This feels like a really powerful way to make a connection between the reader and the subject of A. Lincoln. A fact I'm curious about - this book suggests that Lincoln dec...more
With colorful illustrations and simple, straightforward text, Maria Kalman shares her love and admiration for Abraham Lincoln. She includes notes about important people and events as well as extensive source notes.
This is a wonderful biography to use as a read aloud for students in elementary school. Though there is a lot of factual information, it would be a bit difficult for students to use as a source for a traditional research report.
Kalman also created an online column for the New York Ti...more
This is a wonderful biography to use as a read aloud for students in elementary school. Though there is a lot of factual information, it would be a bit difficult for students to use as a source for a traditional research report.
Kalman also created an online column for the New York Ti...more
In this picture book biography of Abraham Lincoln, the author has set an unusual tone in the narrative - she describes his life with how she feels about him as an historical figure - how he resonants in her mind. Accompanied by Kalman's signature paintings, which often use unusual colors like pink for sidewalks or blue for hair, it shows readers a way to connect with someone in history they admire. Backmatter adds more facts and a list of sources; report writers will need another source for fact...more
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Maira Kalman was born in Tel Aviv and moved to New York with her family at the age of four. She has worked as a designer, author, illustrator and artist for more than thirty years without formal training. Her work is a narrative journal of her life and all its absurdities. She has written and illustrated twelve children's books including Ooh-la-la- Max in Love, What Pete Ate, and Swami on Rye . Sh...more
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