Grade Focus: K-5
Abraham Lincoln Loved to Read
Lincoln loved to read. His mother Nancy taught him his letters. After his mother died of milk sickness when he was 9,
his stepmother, Sarah, helped him learn to read even better. Lincoln borrowed books from others. He wanted to continue to
read as much as possible.
We can go to the public or school library to find books we want to read. We can also read newspapers, magazines and
nonfiction as well as fiction books. No matter the type of reading material, it helps us enjoy more about the world around us.
See the list of books below about Abraham Lincoln to find some you might like to read. (For additional books at the middlegrade and more adult reading levels, see page 18.)
On another piece of paper, write a report or a short book report about Lincoln, covering some topic about him that you
researched. Remember to give the title, author and illustrator’s names. Write the beginning, middle and end of your report so
everyone understands. Tell where you got your information. Even if you research on the Internet, you must credit the articles
you read that added to your ideas.
Books for Beginning Readers
Biographies written for primary and preschool children usually are well-illustrated in color, have about 32
pages and focus on the childhood and main accomplishments of the subject.
A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln, by David Adler. A colorful biography, mostly in pictures,
covering the basic facts of Lincoln’s life that will be appreciated by children 4-8.
Cornerstones of Freedom Books about Lincoln explore important events in United States
history. They are designed to make children 8-12 feel they are on the scene as history is being
made.
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln by Brendan January. This book explores the details of
events before and after Lincoln’s death at Ford’s Theatre and includes a glossary and timeline.
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates by Brendan January. This book gives young readers the historical
context for the debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas.
The Rookie Biography series, by Carol Greene, is for students who have learned a little
reading. Abraham Lincoln: President of a Divided Country is 48 pages.
Just a Few Words Mr. Lincoln: The Story of the Gettysburg
Address by Jean Fritz is a Level 3 book in the All Aboard Reading
Series, just right for grades 2-3.
Abe Lincoln’s Hat, by Martha Brenner. This is a Step 2 book, for
grades 1-3 in the Step into Reading Series for early readers.
Abraham Lincoln, by Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire, is a Caldecott
Medal winner. The text is double-spaced, which a third grader should
be able to read.
Abraham Lincoln: Lawyer, Leader, Legend by Justin and Ron
Fontes, Dorling Kindersley Readers. This book combines stunning
photographs with eye-friendly text to attract children who are just
beginning to read.
Meet Abraham Lincoln, by Barbara Cary, designed for children ready
to take the next step beyond picture books, has 72 easy-to-read
pages.
Books for the Middle Grades
eagerly read by children 8 and up.
Abe Lincoln Grows Up by Carl Sandburg. Illustrated
by James Daugherty. This book is made from the
first 27 chapters of Sandburg’s famous two-volume
biography of Lincoln for adults.
If You Grew Up with Abraham Lincoln, by Ann
McGovern, illustrated by Brinton Turkle
Abraham Lincoln, by Margaret Davidson, ill. by Robert
Shore. A biography of Abraham Lincoln from childhood
to adult, including a chart of important events in his
life. Scholastic Book Services, 1976. Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman, tells
the story of Lincoln’s life from a photographer’s point
of view.
Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to White House, a Landmark
Book by Sterling North. Trade paper, 150 pages. Third
grade and up. Abraham Lincoln for Kids: His Life and Times with
21 Activities by Janis Herbert. For ages 9 and up.
Includes timeline of the period when Abraham Lincoln
lived, Web sites to visit, a list of historical places to visit
related to Lincoln’s life, a bibliography and index.
The Boys’ Life of Abraham Lincoln, by Helen Nicolay
The Death of Lincoln by Leroy Hayman, is a picture
history of the assassination aimed at those fourth
grade and above.
Mary Todd Lincoln: Girl of the Bluegrass by
Katharine E. Wilke. A fictionalized biography that will be
eagerly read by children 8 and up.
History in the Headlines: The Day Lincoln Was Shot
by Douglas M. Rife. Good Apple, 1999. For grades 6-8.
Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator, by
Augusta Stevenson. Part of The Childhood of Famous
Americans Series. A fictionalized biography that will be
Source: http://www.barbsbooks.com/abelinc.html, BOOKS
FOR CHILDREN, EDUCATION, AND HOMESCHOOLING, Home of
Barb’s People Builders
Background for Teachers:
Symptoms in humans range from nausea and
vomiting to coma and death. The disease is rarely a
problem today, but in early 19th century Indiana, “the
milksick” was the scourge of frontier settlements.
According to reports, more than half the deaths that
occurred at the time in Dubois County, Ind., resulted
from milk sickness.
In the fall of 1818 milk sickness broke out in the
Little Pigeon Creek settlement. Several of the Lincolns’
“The Milksick”
Milk sickness occurs when cattle graze on the white
snakeroot (Eupatoirium rugosum), a shade-loving plant
that grows throughout the Ohio River Valley. The plant
contains the toxin tremetol, poison to animals – and
to humans who consume the milk products or meat of
those animals.
Books for teens and adults
Abraham Lincoln: Lawyer, Leader, Legend by Justine
Korman, Justine Fontes, Ron Fontes
Commander in Chief: Abraham Lincoln and the
Civil War by Albert Marrin, Dutton Children’s Books
Lincoln’s Little Girl by Fred Trump, Salina, KS: Heritage
Books, (1977)
Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years (2 volumes) by
Carl Sandburg. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co. (1926)
Lincoln on the River Queen by Page, Lawrence Elwin,
Concord, NH: By Order of the House of Representatives
Lincoln: A Foreigner’s Quest by Jan Morris. New York:
Simon & Schuster
The Story of the Only Home Abraham Lincoln Ever
Owned, Eighth and Jackson Streets, Springfield,
Illinois by Thomas J. Dyba, (Lisle, IL): Illinois
Benedictine College (1977)
neighbors succumbed to the disease, and in late
September Nancy Hanks Lincoln feIl ill. She died on
Oct. 5 and was buried on a wooded knoll one-quarter
mile south of their cabin.
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial Indiana
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/ebooks/records/
eep7832.htm
Abraham Lincoln Loved to Read
Common Core Standards
Standard 10
Reading Informational Text
• Grade K: Actively engage in group reading activities
with purpose and understanding.
Standard 1
• Grade K: With prompting and support, ask and
answer questions about key details in a text.
• Grade 1: Ask and answer questions about key
details in a text.
• Grade 2. Ask and answer such questions as who,
what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate
understanding of key details in a text.
• Grade 3. Ask and answer questions to demonstrate
understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text
as the basis for the answers.
• Grade 4: Refer to details and examples in a text
when explaining what the text says explicitly and when
drawing inferences from the text.
• Grade 5: Quote accurately from a text when
explaining what the text says explicitly and when
drawing inferences from the text.
Standard 2
• Grade K: With prompting and support, identify the
main topic and retell key details of a text.
• Grade 1: Identify the main topic and retell key details
of a text.
• Grade 2: Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph
text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within
the text.
• Grade 3: Determine the main idea of a text; recount
the key details and explain how they support the main
idea.
• Grade 4: Determine the main idea of a text and
explain how it is supported by key details; summarize
the text.
• Grade 5: Determine two or more main ideas of a
text and explain how they are supported by key details;
summarize the text.
Adaptations:
Grades 3-5
Write a short report giving examples of how people, like
Lincoln, events and developments brought important
changes to the regions of Indiana and Illinois. Compare
housing, transportation, foods, traditions and settlement
patterns as well.
• Grade 1: With prompting and support, read
informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1.
• Grade 2: With prompting and support, read
informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1.
• Grade 3: By the end of the year, read and
comprehend informational texts, including history/
social studies, science, and technical texts, at the
high end of the grades 2–3 text complexity band
independently and proficiently.
• Grade 4: By the end of year, read and comprehend
informational texts, including history/social studies,
science, and technical texts, in the grades 4–5 text
complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as
needed at the high end of the range.
• Grade 5: By the end of the year, read and
comprehend informational texts, including history/
social studies, science, and technical texts, at the
high end of the grades 4–5 text complexity band
independently and proficiently.
Writing
Standard 1: Write arguments to support claims in
an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid
reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
• Grade K: Use a combination of drawing, dictating,
and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they
tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are
writing about and state an opinion or preference about
the topic or book (e.g., My favorite book is . . .).
• Grade 1: Write opinion pieces in which they
introduce the topic or name the book they are writing
about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion,
and provide some sense of closure.
• Grade 2: Write opinion pieces in which they
introduce the topic or book they are writing about,
state an opinion, supply reasons that support the
opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to
Grades 6-8
Trace specific individuals, beliefs and events that
represent various political ideologies during the 19th
and 20th centuries, using several different sources.
Compile a brief chart outlining these. Present these to
your class.
connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding
statement or section.
• Grade 3: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts,
supporting a point of view with reasons.
• Grade 4: Write opinion pieces on topics or
texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and
information.
• Grade 5: Write opinion pieces on topics or
texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and
information.
Standard 2: Write informative/explanatory texts to
examine and convey complex ideas and information
clearly and accurately through the effective selection,
organization, and analysis of content.
• Grade K: Use a combination of drawing, dictating,
and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts
in which they name what they are writing about and
supply some information about the topic.
• Grade 1: Write opinion pieces in which they
introduce the topic or name the book they are writing
about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion,
and provide some sense of closure.
• Grade 2: Write opinion pieces in which they
introduce the topic or book they are writing about,
state an opinion, supply reasons that support the
opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to
connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding
statement or section..
• Grade 3: Write informative/explanatory texts to
examine a topic and convey ideas and information
clearly.
• Grade 4: Write informative/explanatory texts to
examine a topic and convey ideas and information
clearly.
• Grade 5: Write informative/explanatory texts to
examine a topic and convey ideas and information
clearly.
Grades 9-12
After reading several sources on the topic, describe
controversies pertaining to slavery, abolitionism, Dred
Scott v. Sanford (1856) and social reform movements in
an oral report to your class.