Abe Lincoln's Hat is a light hearted story explaining the important decisions the man made as a lawyer and how he wanted to be fair to all.

When my wife and I vacation or go site-seeing we usually bring back a little something for our grand children. My wife and I were down to Washington DC recently for the Cherry Tree Festival. While there we gave a good look at the Lincoln Memorial on the Mall and also went to Ford's Theater where he was shot. In reliving some of his history that day and having read much about Lincoln over the years, we picked up a small book about Lincoln we could read to my grand daughters.

The children's book is Abe Lincoln's Hat by Martha Brenner. She takes a fanciful look at Lincoln as he finds his intellect solid but his filing of important paper work isn't.

He forgot where he put important papers.
A good lawyer cannot forget.
Abe wanted to be a good lawyer, but he was not a good paper-keeper.
What could he do?

The author uses Abe's Hat as the way to tell this story. She uses humour in Abe having fun with children playing practical jokes but then continues showing the difficulties he went through and the determination he had to become a successful lawyer. The author addresses Lincoln's desire to be fair in his dealing with people and how he used both intellect, compassion and common sense to do so.

At another trial two men argued over who owned a young horse.
Each said he owned the mother of the colt.
Abe led everyone outside. He put the two grown horses on one side of the lawn.
He held the colt on the other side.
Then he set the colt free.
It headed straight for its real mother

Through the use of Lincoln reading and responding to important papers filed in his hat, a number of other examples of being fair are also brought forth in an easy to understand manner for young ones. The book does get a bit heavier in subject matter when talking of how he proved an accused murdered was not guilty. Also important in this book is Lincoln's thoughts that all men black and white should be free. It's through one of Lincoln's cases, simply explained in the book that never again could any man be bought or sold in Illinois.

The Lincoln-Douglas debates are mention as is his eventual becoming president and helping to keep the states together. The book ends on an upbeat note mentioning that Lincoln continued to keep important papers in his hat.

This is a "Step into Reading" book that is made for children grades 1-3 to try and read themselves. The grand children I read the book to are younger, three and four. All the same they were very attentive to the story, laughed and smiled in appropriate places and understood Lincoln's down to earth thoughts on being fair.

My oldest grand daughter who is seven and in first grade read the book to me. She was excited to do so because her teacher had read it to her during Black History Month. Upon showing her the book she immediately started telling me some short stories she learned in it from her teachers reading. It brought her even more pleasure as she would finish one of the stories and relay a, "See grandpa! That's what I told you!"

She was able to read the book easy enough but a few words were above her immediate comprehension like "senate" and "trial". Brief and simple explanations from grandpa, put her on track.

The illustrations by Donald Cook on every page gave the children a very good picture of the goings on and helped give the text even more life. It was through the artists work that both the humour and serious aspects of the book are well re-enforced. I also use the pictures to show how people lived in days gone by noting dress and everyday items that we no longer use today.

The book closes by stating, All the stories in this book are true and all the people really lived, Here are some photos of some of them...

A few black and white photos are on the page including one with Lincoln standing with papers in his hand. I asked the children what the important papers might be. One said, "To remind people to be good to each other." That thought satisfied me.

I also thought this a good way to start my grand daughters to understand the changes that Lincoln brought forth in keeping our nation strong as one and allowing all people to be free. This I feel especially important in that two of my grand daughters are mixed black and white and will deal with issues pertaining to prejudice and freedom as they become older.

I strongly recommend this book for parents to read to children and learn history at the same time.




Lincoln Memorial Washington DC
Ford's Theater Where Lincoln was shot.
The Peterson House Where Lincoln Died.
Gettysburg National Military Park Site of Lincoln's memorable speech


Recommended: Yes