ABE LINCOLN CROSSES A CREEK
By Deborah Hopkinson & John Hendrix
(Schwartz & Wade, 2008)
Category: Picture book fiction
This is an interesting picture book, and if that children’s literature book circle I dream about existed—the one where a group of interested adults get together to read and discuss children’s literature over wine and chocolate—I would definitely choose this as a book to explore.
Firstly, is it really fiction? I mean, yes, there is made-up dialog, and that is typically a deal-breaker as far as biography goes. But the author uses a unique format to tell this story from Abe Lincoln’s childhood—a format that makes it very obvious to the reader that some of the details of the story have been lost to history. It is clear from the Author’s Note that the account is as historically accurate as is possible. Hmmm. I might maybe would have let this one be called a picture book biography. Might. Maybe.
Secondly, about that interesting presentation style. What do you think? Because I just can’t make up my mind. I love that the book makes readers think about history and how it slips away. I love how the author uses the format to both show and tell. And I think books that address the reader have an energy that is hard to achieve when that pesky fourth wall is intact. And yet … I found myself wondering if the style got in the way of the story.
Lastly, my favorite line:
“Remember Austin Gollaher, because what we do matters, even if we don’t end up in history books.”
It’s an especially great line, I think, when you read it in the context of the rest of the book; here, alone on the page like that, it doesn’t work as well. (Which, in itself, speaks again to the power of the author’s unique presentation style.)
Now, who’d like another piece of chocolate?