Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek

Written in an extremely unique format, Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek tells the story of President Lincoln's forgotten childhood friend who saved his life when he was a young child.  Without the presence of Austin in Abe's life, it is likely that Abraham Lincoln could have never been president.  This story was published in 2008 by Deborah Hopkison and the illustrator, John Hendrix, also plays a huge role within the text as well. Whereas many children's books are written in a dialogue format, this story is written in third person as both the author and illustrator tell the tale from their point of view.  Various times throughout the story, both Deborah and John will address the reader by asking questions to keep the reader engaged. Specifically, at one point in the story the interpretation of how Abe Lincoln actually crossed the river was left up to the illustrator to decide to help the reader understand that often history is left up to perception as it happened so long ago. Personally, I was rather nervous prior to reading this story as i am not a huge fan of historical literature however hearing the story from an outsiders point of view made it rather humorous and engaging for readers at the same time.

Another key aspect that stood out in the story was the strong moral and lesson that was portrayed as the story continued.  History is often not given the time it deserves within the elementary curriculum as an emphasis is placed on language arts and math.  With that being said, this book would serve as a perfect measure to integrate a history lesson into a read aloud. By engaging readers and having them predict the outcome of the story, readers not only begin to see Abraham Lincoln as the 16th president of the United States but they also gauge an understanding of the importance of ones actions because although we may not all be famous and in history books, our actions still predict the future of the world.