Why read Abe's Fish?

Book cover of Abe's Fish: A Boyhood Tale of Abraham Lincoln

Book description

Here is the perfect book for celebrating Lincoln’s 200th birthdayand a unique way to illuminate our 16th president for today’s young readers. Based on an actual incident that occurred when Lincoln was just a boy, it shows that he, like so many children, wished he were taller (and it came…

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Historical fiction

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Why read it?

1 author picked Abe's Fish as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Jonathan W. White

Author

This is my favorite full-color illustrated kids’ book about Abraham Lincoln, and I have read dozens of them. It tells a true story about Abe during the War of 1812 when he was probably only about 5 or 6 years old.

One day, he caught a fish and gave it to a hungry soldier who was walking home on the road because, he later said, he had always been taught to be good to soldiers.

The story points forward to some major themes in Lincoln’s adult life, and the illustrations are absolutely wonderful.

From Jonathan's list on children’s books about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.