Abe’s Honest Words:
The Life of Abraham Lincoln

Illustrated by Kadir Nelson;
Hyperion Books, 2008.

“This collaboration between Rappaport and Nelson provides a sweeping arc of Lincoln’s life, jumping from his humble beginnings and his early political career through his struggles to preserve the union and to help abolish slavery. Rappaport writes in a very free verse, and on each page echoes her narrative with prescient samplings of Lincoln’s words.. This exceptional art, along with Rappaport’s and Lincoln’s words, makes this a fine celebration of a man who needs little introduction.” Booklist

“ With language as lean as our sixteenth president, Rappaport brings to light the major influences on and turning points in Lincoln's life...Some of Nelson's handsome portraits glow with background light and luminous skin tones, evoking the remote majesty of the statue at the Lincoln Memorial. At other times, he lets Lincoln walk down those stairs and portrays an unassuming man reading under a tree or cajoling political leaders with a story or two.” The Horn Book