Kazumi Reads

Plot Summary:
Unlike most of the Presidents of the United States, Abraham Lincoln was the tallest and skinniest of them all who said "howdy" to his guests and called his wife "mother." Born in a log cabin in Hogenville, Kentucky, Lincoln spent his youth in the backwoods, chopping wood and working on the family farm. When he wasn't doing chores, or working odd jobs, Lincoln always had a nose in a book. After his father, Thomas, moved him and the family to Indiana, tragedy struck the Lincoln household. After losing his mother, Nancy, to "milk fever," Lincoln helped his father craft her coffin and bury her, which left him little time to grieve. When his father brought home his new mother home, Sarah Bush Lincoln, Lincoln and his sister were fortunate to have someone who loved them dearly. When he was 17, he traveled to the glorious city of New Orleans, which was filled with wonder and horror. During his short stay, Lincoln saw slavery for the first time, which not only struck a chord in his own life, but challenged every belief he had. Eventually, when Lincoln was 21, he got a job in a general store in Illinois, where he learned to better himself by reading and learning. Although he wasn't expecting this responsibility,  he ended up as a captain of the militia when Black Hawk decided to invade the territory. Although his service only lasted a few months, Lincoln immediately ran for the state legislature, but wasn't elected. At the same time, he and a business partner tried to open a shop, which failed, and left him with $1100 in debt. In order to pay back his debts, Lincoln held all sorts of odd jobs and then decided to become a lawyer. Although his early beginnings, as a lawyer, were not glamorous, people started to see the passion and the conviction in Lincoln's eyes when he talked about anything and everything. Eventually, he made friends with Mary Todd's sister and husband who introduced her to him. Although Lincoln was strongly attracted the Mary, he courted and proposed to only break it off. However, after overcoming a dark depression, he eventually married Mary a year later who gave birth to their first son nine months after. Now as a father and husband, his political career, and law practice, took off. Despite his success, the issue of slavery had invaded his mind and soul, which pushed him to run for the presidency. Despite the criticism and threats, Lincoln never wavered from his stance and when he won the election, we all know what happened then: the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Battle at Antietam, the Gettysburg Address, and his untimely demise. In this book, readers will learn about Lincoln the man, the politician, and the heroic figure we all have grown to respect and admire.

Critical Evaluation:
In this brilliant account of the most beloved President of the United States, Freedman provides readers with am enthralling narrative. Abraham Lincoln lived an extraordinary life in a time where the our growing country was being invaded by injustice. Although we all learn a little about Lincoln's youth in this short, but informative, biography, it also provides plenty of quotes, facts, and stories of how this amazing man became the 16th President of the United States. I will admit that I only knew a few things about Lincoln, prior to reading this, and that he was the author of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address. We all know that those two documents were definitive points of the Civil War, but we will always know the reason behind this devastating war: Slavery. From the moment he saw it in Louisiana, Lincoln had always known that it was immoral and unconstitutional; slavery was was about denying people their inalienable rights that our forefather's died for and Lincoln, himself, knew the burden of being bound to a master because of the laws that were imposed on him as an adolescent; if he took on a job and made money, it would go directly to his father, who didn't appreciate him. What I enjoyed about this work is that Freedman conveys to readers that Lincoln, was in fact, a simple and ordinary human who persevered through personal tragedies to become the leader who united a country. Another great aspect of this book is the collection of photos. I cannot express how powerful and evocative the Civic War images are; when we read, and see the pictures, not only does this provoke our senses, but it drives home the point of the story. One of my favorite attractions at Disneyland is stopping by the theater that is home to Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. It's sometimes hard to believe that that the Civil War actually happened and, when I hear, and see, the snippets of Lincoln's speeches. I admit, I cry every time I see the photos of dead soldiers, especially the one of the two brothers: one was a Union soldier the other Confederate.This was a volatile time to live in because if Lincoln didn't do what he did, who knows where this country would be today. There are a lot of things to think about in the end, but we also have to make a moment and realize just how beautiful freedom really is.
 
Information about the Author:
According to Scholastic's Publishing's website:

Russell Freedman is the award-winning author of 47 books, some of which have been translated into a diverse number of languages, including Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish, Flemish, Arabic and Bengali. But Freedman wasn't always a children's book writer. He grew up in San Francisco and attended the University of California, Berkeley, and then worked as a reporter and editor for the Associated Press and as a publicity writer. In these jobs, Freedman did lots of research and provided important information to the public. Since becoming an author, he has done the same thing but now he gets to focus on topics that he is personally interested in and wants to learn more about. His nonfiction books range in subject from the lives and behaviors of animals to people in history whose impact is still felt today. Freeedman's work has earned him several awards, including a Newbery Medal in [1988] for Lincoln: a Photobiography, a Newbery Honor each for Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery in 1994 and The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane in 1992, and a Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal.

Freedman has traveled extensively throughout the world to gather information and inspiration for his books. His latest book, Confucius: The Golden Rule was inspired by his extensive travels through Mainland China, where he visited Confucius' hometown in modern day QuFu, in the Shantung Province.

Russell Freedman now lives in New York City.

Genre:
All Ages

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 4 & up

Books Similar to Lincoln: A Photbiography:

• Children of the Dust Bowl by Jerry Stanley
• The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Place by Russell Freeman

Awards & Recognition:

• 1988 Newbery Award Winner
• 1998 Laure Ingalls Wilder Award Winner
• 2007 National Humanities Award Winner

Plot Summary:
When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the President of the United States issued Executive Order 9066 stating that all person of Japanese Ancestry were to relocate to interment camps. In other words, Japanese Americans, along with their families, had less than three days to gather their belongings and take of their affairs before the government shipped them off to the unknown. For seven-year-old Jeanne Wakatsuki, she and her family were uprooted from the home in Long Beach and sent to live in ghettos and barracks for being Japanese. In this tale, Wakatsuki tells us about her experience in Manzanar, an internment camp, where she and her family had to start all over again in the barren desert, knowing that they have done nothing wrong. More importantly, Wakatsuki enlightens readers with accounts of daily life in the camp, the conditions they had to endure, the shame and anger that hung in the air, family dynamics, violence within the camp, and the sheer injustice of having their civil rights stripped.
 

Critical Evaluation:
In this riveting biography, readers will experience life during on the darkest times in American History. Not only were American citizens unlawfully imprisoned, this story shows the power of the human spirit during war time. Unfortunately, the Japanese Internment has yet to be fully covered in every curriculum across the country, this book is extremely important. As a young person, Jeanne Wakatsuki uncovers very heavy issues that most tween and teens will not experience, but provide readers with legitimate answers to difficult questions such as: "What does it mean to be an American" and "How could something like this happen?" Young people, today, are fortunate enough to live in an age where prejudice and fear, although they still does exist, cannot, whatsoever, strip them of their constitutional rights as American citizens. Although this happened almost 70 years ago, it still is an issue that activists and lawmakers will never, ever forget. As the granddaughter of an internee, I cannot express how angry this made me. When my grandmother would tell me her story, I was taken aback about the lack of anger that was in her tone. Ultimately, like Jeanne Wakatsuki, she and my family had no choice but to endure because it is not in our nature to just give up. The Japanese Americans are an extraordinarily group of people who don't roll over and die; they resumed their daily lives behind the barbed wire, which will impress readers and convey that even in the worst of times, there is always hope. This is a touching story and one that we should never, ever forget.   

Information about the Author:
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston was born on September 26, 1964 in Ingelwood California. She was the youngest of nine children. She and her family were evacuated from their Long Beach home in 1942 and were interned at the Manzanar Relocation Camp. According to a Wikipedia article:

Several years after leaving the camp in 1945, Jeanne went to San Jose St. College where she studied sociology and journalism. She met her husband James, there and they married in 1957. Jeanne later decided to tell her story about the time she spent in Manzanar in Farewell to Manzanar, co-authored with her husband, James D. Houston in 1972. Ten years later, in 1967, Jeanne gave birth to twins, Joshua and Gabriel. A third child was born years later. In an effort to educate Californians about the experiences of Japanese Americans who were imprisoned during World War II, the book and the movie were distributed in 2002 as a part of kit to approximately 8,500 public elementary and secondary schools and 1,500 public libraries in California.

Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston continues to write and speak about the Japanese American experience at Manzanar and Asian American issues.

Genre:
American History

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 7 & up

Books Similar to Farewell to Manzanar:

• Dear Miss Breed:true stories of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II and a librarian who made a difference by Joann Oppenheim
• Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata
  

Awards & Recognition:
 "A poignant memoir from a Japanese American. . . . Told without bitterness, her story reflects the triumph of the human spirit during an extraordinary episode in American history." ~ Library Journal

"[Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston] describes vividly the life in the camp and the humiliations suffered by the detainees... A sober and moving personal account." ~Publishers Weekly