Historical Fiction-2013 Summer Reading for Entering G 3-4

A warm, moving portrait of Abraham Lincoln told through the eyes of his children and captured in exquisite full-color illustrations.

Historians claim him as one of America's most revered presidents. But to his rambunctious sons, Abraham Lincoln was above all a playful and loving father. Here is Lincoln as seen by two of his boys: Willie, thrilled to be on his first train trip when Lincoln was deciding to run for president; Willie and Tad barging into Cabinet meetings to lift Lincoln's spirits in the early days of the Civil War, Tad accompanying him to Richmond just after the South's defeat. With the war raging and the Union under siege, we see history unfolding through Willie's eyes and then through Tad's -- and we see Lincoln rising above his own inborn sadness and personal tragedy through his devotion to his sons. With evocative and engaging illustrations by P.J. Lynch, Rosemary Wells offers a carefully researched biography that gives us a Lincoln not frozen in time but accessible and utterly real.

Celebrate the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, February 2009

Unlike his older brothers, thirteen-year-old Everett was "born in freedom," never knowing life as a slave. His most prized possession is the medal his father earned in the Civil War. Now, more than 125 years later, that treasure is kept in the Websters' attic with other "scraps of time," ready to be discovered by another generation eager to know its family history. The second novel in Patricia C. McKissack's family saga recounts a young Southern boy's dream of heading west to a new life and the way in which his journey teaches him the deeper meaning of the medal his father won.

When 10-year-old Allie learns that her family will be moving from a two-family home to their very own house, she's hesitant until she finds out they will be living on a street with the magical name of Strawberry Hill. That changes everything! But strawberries aren't the only things Allie will have to look for in her new neighborhood. As Allie struggles to find a new "best friend" and adjust to all of the changes she faces, she takes readers on her journey to make Strawberry Hill feel like home.

Strawberry Hill is a timeless story that will captivate readers, just as Mary Ann Hoberman's picture books and poems have for more than fifty years.