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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Six in a row for Janis Herbert, June 27, 2007
This review is from: Abraham Lincoln for Kids: His Life and Times with 21 Activities (For Kids series) (Paperback)
I have all of the books written by Janis Herbert in this "... for Kids" series ("Leonardo da Vinci...," "Lewis & Clark...," "Civil War...," "Marco Polo..." and "American Revolution..."). Each of these books is excellent, so I had high expectations when I learned that a new one was coming out. And I was not disappointed in the least!
"Abraham Lincoln for Kids" is interesting, informative, entertaining, well-written and beautifully illustrated. And I can't imagine that there is any limit to the audience for this book. Clearly, it will be useful for classroom teachers, homeschoolers, and parents looking for a book for their children to read and/or to provide them with educational activities. But Janis Herbert's particular gift is that the content of her books and her writing style are totally accessible to and fun for children, but sophisticated enough to engage and enlighten adults as well -- and even those without children!
The timing of the publication of this book is also fortuitous. 2009 is the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, and there will certainly be much discussion of, and numerous events celebrating, him, his life and his accomplishments before and during that Bicentennial year. Reading this book now will enable you and/or your children to enjoy fully and participate informedly in these discussions and events.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Buy the paper edition, not the e-book, December 22, 2010
This three-star review applies to the Kindle edition only, viewed on a PC. I have no dispute with anyone who rates the actual book five stars; I wish I had bought the physical book and would probably have rated it higher.
The book did not seem to work well with my PC, which is running Windows 7 and the Kindle for PC program. The first time I read through the book, most of the photographs and ilustrations refused to show up on the screen, so I felt that I had paid full price and only gotten 50-60% of the book. I also seemed to have more problems navigating through this book then with some others; it would balk when I wanted to move back to sections I had previously read. That is why I only rate it three stars. However, I just went back to check something for this review and suddenly the illustrations are there, although the page numbers still don't show up in the index. (Perhaps because the Kindle does not use them.)
As far as the content of the book, I am an adult but I use children's books as resources for teaching. The book was well-written but did not meet my needs. I had purchased it hoping to come up with activities for classroom use, and I did not find anything that I wanted to use (other than possibly holding debates). The book told me several things about Lincoln that I did not know before, but I was disappointed that it lacked footnotes to identify the sources of information; there was instead a general bibliography in the back of the book. I realize that footnotes are rare in children's books, but there has been so much written about Lincoln, some of it disputed or contradictory, that footnotes would have been helpful.
I do think the book would be a good source for a student studying Lincoln's life, and if I had bought a paper copy I would probably have loaned it out or given it away; that is not possible with the e-book. So unless you need it immediately on a Sunday evening (like I did), I recommend that you buy the paper edition instead.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Activity-rich History of Lincoln's Life, December 24, 2007
This review is from: Abraham Lincoln for Kids: His Life and Times with 21 Activities (For Kids series) (Paperback)
This book - like Janis Herbert's previous works - strongly recognizes the "learn by doing" educational method. The activities, while simple and straightforward, challenge, teach and provide a fun-filled approach to appreciating this great American president.
The Civil War for Kids: A History with 21 Activities (For Kids series)
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