What Lincoln Said by Sarah L. Thomsom; illustrated by James E. Ransome

A short, easy, picture book biography of Abraham Lincoln. Using his own words as inspiration for the text, the author shows Lincoln as a boy, a young lawyer and eventually President. The majority of the book covers Lincoln's own views of slavery, the outbreak of the civil war, and his signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Picture books about historical events are always hard to present to our youngest readers because they haven't yet developed a sense of themselves in the larger world and in history. That said, this is a good and simple view of one of our most important historical figures.

Home on the Range: John A. Lomax and His Cowboy Song

Hopkinson, Deborah. Home on the Range: John A. Lomax and His Cowboy Song. Schindler, S.D., Illustrator. The Penguin Group: G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN: 978-0-399-23996-0.

Home on the Range is a historical fiction account of a man who loved cowboys songs, decided to preserve them, and shared them with the world. The story tells Lomax's story through narrative, song and captivating illustrations that all capture the cowboy spirit and the essense of each setting. The story builds to a climax when Lomax records the famous cowboy song "Home on the Range" to share with the world. Reminesent of Snowflake Bentley and his story, Lomax shows how one man's passion can ignite intrege and passion in others. End notes discuss important points about fact, fiction and the research the author did. Read specifically for this blog because of the publication year, Home on the Range proved to be a delightful illustration of the importance of music to culture and the importance of individual contributions.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly

Kelly, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Henry Holt, May 2009. ISBN 978-0-8050-8841-0. Ages 9-13.

Calpurnia Tate is the only girl in a family of seven children living outside Lockhart, Texas in 1899. Against her mother's wishes that she become a proper, marriagiable young lady, twelve-year-old Calpurnia has ambitions to become a scientist and answer the many questions she poses in the notebook her oldest brother, Harry, gives to her.
Calpurnia finds a kindred spirit in her Granddaddy, who spends his retirement studying Central Texas wildlife and flora when he's not trying to distill pecans into some sort of drinkable whisky. Calpurnia learns about the Scientific Method, reads The Origin of Species, and becomes acquainted with Dickens under her grandfather's tutelage.
The book takes a little while to get going, with a serious lack of dialogue for several chapters. Soon, though, Calpurnia's character begins to blossom and it's easy enough for the reader to become engrossed in Calpurnia's life. The book is episodic, with the characters driving the book more than a strong plot. It's an easy book to come back to and enjoy in several sittings without losing pace with the action. I would have appreciated a little more development of Granddaddy and some of the other secondary characters, but overall I thought this was a nice debut novel.

Den of Thieves

Golding, Julia. Den of Thieves. Roaring Brook, May 2009. ISBN 978-1-59643-444-8. Ages 10-14.

Third volume of the Cat Royal Adventure series. Mr. Sheridan has decided to close the Drury Lane theater, meaning that Cat is now homeless. After a harrowing spell of living on the streets of London and being taken hostage by an evil bookseller, Cat is "saved" by Sheridan and sent on a spy mission to Paris during the French Revolution. Familiar characters from the previous books play pivotal parts and add to the drama and intrigue, including Johnny, Pedro, Billy "Boil" Shepherd, and the Avon royal family. As usual, Cat uses her wits and luck to save the day while writing of her adventures in the style of the theater.