Abraham Lincoln

Mi Mini Biografía / My Itty-Bitty Bio

by Emma E. Haldy, Jeff Bane (Illustrations)

The My Itty-Bitty Bio series are biographies for the earliest readers. This book examines the life of Abraham Lincoln in a simple, age-appropriate way that will help children develop word recognition and reading skills. Includes a timeline and other informative backmatter.

24 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Alison Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like the idea of doing biographies of important historical figures for the "youngest readers" but I don't think that the "youngest readers" are incapable of understanding complex ideas - being young does not equal stupid. Its harder than most people think to take a complicated subject and boil it down to something that is both understandable and palatable - while not treating the reader like they are dumb. Often in this book it felt as if the author didn't trust its readers. The thought-provoking questions scattered through the book clearly imply that the reader is capable of complex thought but then the remaining text treats the reader like an idiot. The sentences were choppy, the choice of which facts to include was baffling, and the book could have provided more insight as to what makes President Lincoln so greatly admired. It would have been nice to see an original quote from one of America's greatest speechwriters, as well. The illustrations were primarily a collection of other people's artwork and Shutterfly frames. I appreciate the simple, modern organization but I found the overall book to be lacking.

[Sylvie Gold · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book claims to be "age-appropriate" for "the earliest readers," but I can't imagine who those readers would be. There is not enough information to teach anything new about Lincoln to newly independent readers (1st grade), and much of the little information that is included is inappropriate for preschoolers. For example, regarding Lincoln's marriage, the text reads: "I fell in love with Mary Todd. I married her. We had four sons. Only one lived to be an adult." In a book that gives barely any information at all about Lincoln's life, why in the world would the author want to mention the fact that he had 3 children that died before reaching adulthood?! Most longer children's books about Lincoln do not even mention this, and I see no reason for it to be included in a book for young children. Page 11 states, "I became a politician." Although the word, "politician" appears in bold and is defined in a glossary at the back, this is an unnecessarily difficult word for a book intended for "the earliest readers." Page 19 begins with the sentence, "As the war was ending, John Wilkes Booth killed me." What an utterly confusing and potentially upsetting sentence for young children! Questions embedded into the text, presumably to prompt discussion ("What would you like to teach yourself?" and "What would you like to ask me?") might be useful under the guidance of a skilled educator, but they mostly take up space without adding any information to a book with such sparse content.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a picture book biography of Abraham Lincoln.

This picture book introduces President Abraham Lincoln to young readers. Written at a level 1st graders can understand, it provides an overview of Abraham Lincoln’s life, told in the briefest and simplest possible way.

The book does use first person point of view, which creates an odd effect. I was taken aback at “John Wilkes Booth killed me.” But that really is how Lincoln’s life concluded, so what can you say? When I was in elementary school, a Lincoln impersonator have a convocation, and during the Q &A, the first question — asked by one of our class clowns — was ‘what was it like to be assassinated?’ This greatly embarrassed all the teachers, but the actor reassured them that this was the most common question from preteen boys.

The illustrations are a mix of photographs and cartoons. There is a timeline of Lincoln’s life, a glossary, and an index. Questions throughout the text invite readers to reflect upon their own thoughts and experiences.

[Sierra Kemme]

I really liked how this book offered 1st-grade reading level an opportunity to read a biography about an important figure in history. It uses a first-person narrative to give our youngest readers an inside look into Abraham Lincoln's life. I really like how it uses a timeline within the book to show students when events happened. I would use this book in my classroom in the classroom library so that students could read it during independent reading, but I would also pull it out to talk about timelines and first-person narratives.