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Our Abe Lincoln
At last! A book about Lincoln for K-1-- by an award-winning and bestselling author and artist team!
Wise Abe Lincoln said, "No More!" to slavery,
"No More!" to slavery,
"No More!" to slavery,
Wise Abe Lincoln said, "No More!" to slavery,
Many brave days ago.
This simple song, sung to the tune of "The Old Grey Mare," was adapted from an actual campaign song for Lincoln during his run for the presidency.
Wise Abe Lincoln said, "No More!" to slavery,
"No More!" to slavery,
"No More!" to slavery,
Wise Abe Lincoln said, "No More!" to slavery,
Many brave days ago.
This simple song, sung to the tune of "The Old Grey Mare," was adapted from an actual campaign song for Lincoln during his run for the presidency.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
1 person is currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Jim Aylesworth
43 books32 followersJim Aylesworth was born in Jacksonville, Florida but as an infant moved from the state. He lived in many places during his childhood: Alabama, Indiana, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas... but by the time Aylesworth was 15 his family had settled in Hinsdale, Illinois and that is where he graduated from high school in 1961.
In 1965, he graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a B.A. in English. He returned to Hinsdale and began a career as a stockbroker. By 1970, however, Aylesworth was thinking about what he really wanted to do. After a series of assignments as a substitute teacher, Aylesworth ended up in a primary classroom. He began teaching first grade students in Oak Park, Illinois in 1971 and entered Concordia College in River Forest, Illinois, to earn a graduate degree in elementary education -- a goal he reached in 1978.
But it was his work with children that brought him the most reward. It was Aylesworth's experiences as a teacher that eventually led him to writing children's books.
In 1965, he graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a B.A. in English. He returned to Hinsdale and began a career as a stockbroker. By 1970, however, Aylesworth was thinking about what he really wanted to do. After a series of assignments as a substitute teacher, Aylesworth ended up in a primary classroom. He began teaching first grade students in Oak Park, Illinois in 1971 and entered Concordia College in River Forest, Illinois, to earn a graduate degree in elementary education -- a goal he reached in 1978.
But it was his work with children that brought him the most reward. It was Aylesworth's experiences as a teacher that eventually led him to writing children's books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
May 2, 2022
Great first 'Lincoln book' for young children. Always interesting to learn new things about history; about the things that really mattered to a group of people at a particular time and place. Reading this has made me appreciate Lincoln even more - how different American history would have been if he had lost!
February 1, 2018
Here's another song-turned-book haha. "Old Abe Lincoln Came Out of the Wilderness" was a popular song during Abraham Lincoln's campaigns for the presidency. It was sung to the tune of "The Old Grey Mare," and additional verses have been added since. Cute illustrations, sheet music for the song and a recipe for Mary Todd Lincoln's vanilla almond cake are included.
Ages: 4 - 8
Cleanliness: there is a picture of a couple dancing.
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar.
Ages: 4 - 8
Cleanliness: there is a picture of a couple dancing.
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar.
November 20, 2014
What is one of the best ways to teach young children about our nation's greatest leaders? Through a song to a tune they already know! This cute picture book is an easy read and gives a brief outline of Lincoln's life. The amazing illustrations portray all the characters as children acting out Lincoln's life, no matter how old or young he is. I think this aspect makes the book more interesting and realistic for young kids. I would have given this book a solid 5 stars if it included a CD with the song on it! Although the front and back pages show the melody line with some of the words, a CD is easier to play for children. Overall, it is an adorable book that teaches kids all they need to know about a very important man, Abraham Lincoln!
June 17, 2019
Our Abe Lincoln is a poetic book to show the important qualities and the life of Abraham Lincoln. This book introduces children to where Lincoln was born, how he became president, the difficult decisions he had to make while president, and how he died.
The repetition of phrases and the rhyming would seem to get the students excited to read the book. The repetition could also allow the students to read along with you, which motivates and engages the students. The poetic language of the book also allow students to remember the information more effectively than if it weren't in verse.
The repetition of phrases and the rhyming would seem to get the students excited to read the book. The repetition could also allow the students to read along with you, which motivates and engages the students. The poetic language of the book also allow students to remember the information more effectively than if it weren't in verse.
April 1, 2018
I chose this book as a way to introduce the biography of one of our presidents. There is also a classic song that the book goes along with that can be a fun way to incorporate music into the lesson. I liked the simplicity of the book which made it easy for young kids to follow, but also that there are facts at the back of the book that a lesson can be based on.
April 25, 2022
Genre: Poetry & Biography
Kindergarten-1st grade
This book can be sung as a song! It repeats itself and is simple, making it a great book for younger kids. While it was simple, I still learned some information about Abe Lincoln's life. The author's note in the back of the book inclided a time line and some good information. It was a good addition to the book.
Kindergarten-1st grade
This book can be sung as a song! It repeats itself and is simple, making it a great book for younger kids. While it was simple, I still learned some information about Abe Lincoln's life. The author's note in the back of the book inclided a time line and some good information. It was a good addition to the book.
December 11, 2018
This is a book you sing. One of the best thrift finds of my parenting years as I’ve never seen it in another setting. Hopefully you can get it online because your will want your own copy.
March 23, 2017
This book is a song that you can sing with your class. It teaches a little about Abe Lincoln to a catchy tune. I thought it was really adorable and if I was to teach younger grades this would be a good book. The artwork is really cute because it is a young boy as Abe Lincoln.
February 14, 2009
From the first line of “Our Abe Lincoln” to the last the book sings itself. Drawing upon the annals of Lincoln’s presidential campaign for material this song/book/historical record provides the perfect introduction for young children.
Teachers and children will have many opportunities for success with this book. It can be read, but why? Set to the tune of “The Old Gray Mare,” this book demands a sing-aloud by the reader. Anything less will just miss the point. And the point is that children can and should be taught in an engaging manner. That method is also emphasized by Barbara McClintock’s illustrations that suggest that children can recreate the scene in their own public performance donned in period attire.
This is one book that embeds a body of core knowledge into the hearts and minds of children in a way that will develop into a lifetime memory that can be shared and recalled again and again. Teachers of Pre-K and early elementary aged children will also find ample opportunities to pair movement with the lyrics and create their own interpretations of the work. Add this book with confidence to any collection, but be prepared to sing.
John Parker
Media Coordinator
Andrews High School
50 HS Drive
Andrews, NC 28901
www.slamguy.wordpress.com
Teachers and children will have many opportunities for success with this book. It can be read, but why? Set to the tune of “The Old Gray Mare,” this book demands a sing-aloud by the reader. Anything less will just miss the point. And the point is that children can and should be taught in an engaging manner. That method is also emphasized by Barbara McClintock’s illustrations that suggest that children can recreate the scene in their own public performance donned in period attire.
This is one book that embeds a body of core knowledge into the hearts and minds of children in a way that will develop into a lifetime memory that can be shared and recalled again and again. Teachers of Pre-K and early elementary aged children will also find ample opportunities to pair movement with the lyrics and create their own interpretations of the work. Add this book with confidence to any collection, but be prepared to sing.
John Parker
Media Coordinator
Andrews High School
50 HS Drive
Andrews, NC 28901
www.slamguy.wordpress.com
April 5, 2009
Our Abe Lincoln is a simple, yet factual picture book set to the tune of “The Old Grey Mare,” a traditional folk song that was used as a campaign tune for Lincoln. The book uses a uncomplicated refrain to convey important traits and facts about Lincoln and to teach young children about his life. The pictures that accompany the text show adorable, multicultural children acting out the words to the song for their school play. A complete author’s note explains each of the refrains, and fleshes out the facts with dates and clarifications. This title is extremely accessible for the 5-8 year-olds that this book is intended for. This would be an excellent book to use in a classroom or school library as an introduction to the life, work and tragedy of Abraham Lincoln. Each refrain could be used as a jumping off point for students to investigate more about Lincoln and his life. Students could reenact the play as presented in the book simply as a readers’ theater or more dramatically with costumes. A music teacher could use this as an introduction to folk songs. Older students could use this to begin an investigation into the tune “The Old Grey Mare” and how it was turned into a campaign ditty for Lincoln
February 26, 2013
Our Abe Lincoln is a story about Abraham Lincoln which is performed by a local elementary school in honor of his birthday. This delightful picture book uses an old campaign song “The Old Grey Mare” which was popular during Abraham Lincoln’s campaigns for the Presidency to tell the story of one of America’s most beloved presidents. As the curtain rises in a school auditorium, the audience waits with excited anticipation. Soon, a cast of spirited schoolchildren will portray the life of Abraham Lincoln through a simple, delightful, musical biography.
The illustrations are of the children in the school play as they act out the words on the correspondence page. The illustrations in the book are fun, vivid and delightful and the author at the end of the book explains the artwork in more detail.
I would recommend this book as a read aloud to children Prek – 3rd grade and can to be use in the classroom as an introduction about the life of Abraham Lincoln during February which is Abe Lincoln birthday month. The book will make learning American history, historical figure, and presidency a fun and enjoyable experience.
The illustrations are of the children in the school play as they act out the words on the correspondence page. The illustrations in the book are fun, vivid and delightful and the author at the end of the book explains the artwork in more detail.
I would recommend this book as a read aloud to children Prek – 3rd grade and can to be use in the classroom as an introduction about the life of Abraham Lincoln during February which is Abe Lincoln birthday month. The book will make learning American history, historical figure, and presidency a fun and enjoyable experience.
September 28, 2013
This picture book describes Abe’s life through song (tune of The Old Grey Mare) in verse. The children in a school are performing in front of an audience. Lincoln’s character qualities like honesty, smart, kind, etc., are described in verse. The illustrations show the child-actor as Abe during certain periods of his life. The first illustration shows the children getting ready for the performance, while the last illustration shows the actor Abe, bowing, with the rest of the cast, and the audience clapping. The illustrator was able to capture the emotions of the actors in each page and the drawings are rich with details of the era. This book is a clever rendition of Abraham Lincoln’s life that will delight the very young. The book even includes the music notes and words for The Old Grey Mare so that the reader can sing along.
July 21, 2016
Aylesworth has adapted a campaign song from the mid-1800's to create this joyful celebration of Abraham Lincoln's life. Each verse of the song is about a specific event or stage in Lincoln's history; McClintock's pen-and-ink drawings of children performing a school play illustrate the scenes. The sheet music to the original song (sung to the tune of The Old Grey Mare) is printed on the end papers. An appendix gives a little more information explaining the hisorical events behind the verses. Though it's a very basic biography sparse on details, this would work well in lower elementary classrooms as an introduction to the iconic American, and in upper grades as a springboard to creative student biography reports on other great Americans.
February 12, 2013
Our Abe Lincoln is a singable non-fiction story about America's 16th President. Aylesworth adapted the traditional folk song, "The Old Gray Mare." If the reader is unfamiliar with the tune, the opening splash pages share the musical notes and first stanza. This is a delightful way to learn about history. For young readers and learners, they can easily jump in and join the song (while learning). For older readers and creators, they can use this book as an idea to create their own non-fiction musical melodies.
Theme: Tall
Additional themes: Abraham Lincoln, singable books
Reviewed from a library copy.
Theme: Tall
Additional themes: Abraham Lincoln, singable books
Reviewed from a library copy.
November 14, 2013
This book purports to be a biography of Abraham Lincoln, but unfortunately it is short on real, quality information about this important figure in our nation's history. The cover art and illustrations make this book very enticing to children. The writing takes the form of a popular song from Licoln's campaign for presidency, but each verse is short and barely scrapes the surface in describing Lincoln. I did find in the back of the book an "Author's Note" that expands on some of the ideas from the verses of the song. This single page does contain quite a bit of interesting information, but could be easily overlooked by a typical reader.
October 3, 2010
This biography of Abe Lincoln is perfect for young children. The text is written as a song, and the illustrations are presented as children putting on a play. It's simplified version of his life is perfect for young readers to learn about this famous and important man! Music teachers or classroom teachers of young children could use this book to introduce children to Abe, as it doesn't have enough "meat" to teach specific biographical details of his life.
February 13, 2015
I honestly did not enjoyed this book a lot. But it's a really good book to teach children a little bit about Abraham Lincoln. I did enjoyed the illustration and how the pictures theme of the book a play. The play was from from kids. I guess reason I didn't like it is because you kind of have to sing with this book. This book is awesome for kids who learn by Musical/Rhythmic is really good for them.
March 23, 2015
In this book it starts off at a elementary school play setting. Then they give you the whole story of Abe Lincoln's life in a cute song format. It is very simple to understand and yet highlights all of the important aspects of his life. It covers his childhood, his presidency including him wanting to end slavery and the Gettysburg Address, and even his death. This is a really cute book for children that is also very factual.
October 27, 2009
Great tool for early elementaries and even pre-schoolers. Yes, this is a very basic list of facts, but it is set to a catchy tune--one that the young reader can pick up easily--and the pictures are perfect for the age.
A good choice for any time, but especially when trying to explain what President's Day is all about!
A good choice for any time, but especially when trying to explain what President's Day is all about!
April 3, 2011
This is a great book to read to students when beginning to learn about historical figures, specifically Abraham Lincoln. It provides content that students should know about him in a song format. Students will enjoy having a story give an overview about Abrahm Lincoln in a different way than simply reading a textbook.
April 22, 2013
This is a great introduction to Abraham Lincoln for young students because it is easy to read. Since the book is based on an actual campaign song from Abraham Lincoln's presidency, this could be used as an introduction to primary sources for upper elementary children. They could compare the two to see the difference between different types of sources.
September 1, 2016
It's unfortunate that this library book did not come with an audio cd since the entire book was a song that became popular during Lincoln's campaign for his second election; sung to the tune of The Old Grey Mare. This is a fun book/song to share with elementary age students, especially if the school hosts a "Morning Sing" at some point during the week.
December 14, 2015
This book would be great to do a presidents day lesson on. It would be great on using to explain who Abe Lincoln was and its a song that was sung during his time. This would be great to use for the anticipatory set of a lesson or even just a book students could read to discover more about Abe Lincoln. The pictures are well done in this book as well.
September 30, 2016
The cover of this book was the first thing to catch my attention and I am glad I picked it up. Both the fact that the characters in this book are children dressed up for a play about Abraham Lincoln and the fact that the book can be sung along with make it great for teaching kids. I think this would be a great book for teaching children about our past president.
Read
November 7, 2016Our Abe Lincoln was a very enjoyable story about the President. In this story the children put on a play about Abraham Lincoln. I thought the children look so cute dress up like adults in this story. This story can be sung or read to the children. I think this story is good for children ages 3 to 7. The pictures of the children are great it allow the readers to see them selves in the story.
April 23, 2009
Just in time for the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. This book is a fun way for children to be introduced to one of our most famous presidents. My favorite is how the author goes into more detail about the lyrics at the end of the book. I liked it I think kids will too.
May 10, 2009
I love singing this one. I read it to my 4 year old nephew and though he did not understand everything I think he really enjoyed it. I love that this is played out by kids and I think will be a great musical tool for teachers who teach history to use. Ages K+
January 18, 2010
Themes: poetry, history, Abe Lincoln, song, music, slavery, drama, play, recipe
Uses: small storytime, display,
Intro through CCPL Mock Caldecott, repetitive poetry, children portrayed as adults - story told through children's play/drama. Recipe on back for Vanilla Almond Cake
Uses: small storytime, display,
Intro through CCPL Mock Caldecott, repetitive poetry, children portrayed as adults - story told through children's play/drama. Recipe on back for Vanilla Almond Cake
April 12, 2011
Genre: Biography, picture book, young child
This is a delightful way to introduce children to a biography. The story gives us some facts about Abe Lincoln and can be sung which hleps a child to be more interested. The illustrations are very enjoyable and help tell the story.
This is a delightful way to introduce children to a biography. The story gives us some facts about Abe Lincoln and can be sung which hleps a child to be more interested. The illustrations are very enjoyable and help tell the story.
May 7, 2011
This is wonderful to sing along to. Children get some background information and character traits of Lincoln that can be build upon. The fact the illustrations are set to a school play makes it even more relatable for children.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews