Book Review: Lincoln Tells a Joke; How Laughter Saved the President (and the Country)
Age Range: 5+
Author: Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer
Illustrator: Stacy Innerst
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Boston, New York
2010
ISBN: 978-0-544-66828-7
This biography of Abraham Lincoln geared for children takes a unique approach by highlighting Lincoln’s sense of humor throughout his life.
The biography is complete in terms of addressing Lincoln’s life from birth to death. Throughout the book, the authors use his quotes to show the way in which Lincoln was able to breath a bit of humor into nearly any situation. This is really doubly impressive when considering the difficulties and serious situations he dealt with throughout his life.
The acrylic illustrations are somewhat whimsical and different from what is typically found in children’s books. They are also interesting and compliment the story well.
Expect young readers to learn something about the 16thpresident from this book, but also a sense of the importance that humor can play in life, especially when the going gets hard.