True Stories about Abraham Lincoln

by Ruth Belov Gross, Charles Turzak (Illustrator)

Twenty-two stories covering the entire life of Abraham Lincoln.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Biography Memoir, Chapter Books, Presidents, American History

Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Born in Philadelphia and raised in Florida, Ruth Belov Gross has lived in New York City ever since graduating from the University of Miami in 1950. Although her first job out of college was as an editorial assistant for a children's publishing house, Gross never planned to write for children herself. Instead she went on to a successful career as a medical writer, where she became adept at thorough and meticulous research and translating complex medical information into nontechnical language.

Such skills served her well when she wrote her first children's book, What Do Animals Eat?, in 1970, and though she initially assumed she would return to medical writing, she never did. “I was finally doing what I had always wanted to do — without knowing that it was what I had always wanted to do.”

Since then, Gross has written numerous books for children, specializing in nonfiction and re-tellings of traditional tales. She welcomes questions and comments from children, and often uses their input to make her work more thorough. When they are not working, Gross and her husband enjoy cooking, gardening, and vacationing in Vermont, where they have a tiny A-frame house in the woods.

Reviews

[Christine Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is a biography about Abraham Lincoln but with a twist. It included multiple one-page entries about Abraham Lincoln's entire life. It goes into more detail about his childhood that most biographies may not include. Although each story was only a page long, it talked about many of the things that often would not be mentioned, such as Abraham Lincoln's cousin visiting him when Lincoln was just a newborn baby. Each page talked about a little component in Lincoln's life and went into as much detail that was gathered during the time.

This was a nice book to read because I was able to find out some details that happened in Abraham Lincoln's life that I was not aware of. For example, I was not aware of the story of Abraham Lincoln's cousin visiting the family when Abraham Lincoln was just born. It went into more detail of Abraham Lincoln's childhood in terms of him hanging out with his family or his journey of living on his own and how he became senate and soon president. The text was all on one side of the story and the illustration was on the other page. Each story was numbered with a total of 22 different stories. Overall, I thought that this was a unique way to show Abraham Lincoln's life story.

[Dawn Laws · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a biography about Abraham Lincoln's life from birth until he is shot. It has 22 events about his life outlines with a table of content.

I rated this book 5/5 because it is a good book with short stories about events in Lincoln's life. The book is written in red which makes the words stand out and there are neat illustrations.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for my younger elementary students. The pictures are lovely.

[McKenna Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nonfiction short chapter book of sorts. It is made up of many short stories detailing the life of Abraham Lincoln from the day he was born to the day he was shot. I really liked this book. I even feel like I learned a lot from reading it. It tells stories that explain some of the common ideas about him such as why people call him "Honest Abe." I would use this book to teach about the presidents, the war between the north and the south, or I could use it as a research resource for my students.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Text is organized into 22 chapters, each of which tells a story about a specific time or event in Lincoln's life. Each story is one page long and is accompanied by a colorful illustration that helps the reader visualize the text. The combined stories cover Lincoln's life from birth through death providing insight into his personality, character, family life, and political convictions. Recommended for grades 1-4.

[Jenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't think I realized how young the audience this book was meant for when I picked it up to read as my nonfiction book for my YA literature class. There are enough words to separate it from the children's book section, however, it was definitely written for younger ages and is great for that group of readers. It is essentially a biography of Lincoln that gives both broad facts and specific details about his life and personality complete with a picture of every "chapter."

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not the most visually stunning picture book for kids, (more like a very small chapter book) it was extremely informative and delivered in an easy to follow way for young readers without being "too much." This is a great book for educators to share with their students about key events in Abraham Lincoln's life.

[Theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

retelling of how a man of nothing from nothing can learn, teach himself and better his situation

[Khayla]

He dies......lol

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super educational book

[biutifulbella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed. Easy read for kids. Enjoyed very much.

[Jose M · Rating 4 out of 5]

tihs book was so god it tells you lots of informatyon