Books

“Abraham Lincoln: Defender of the Union”

This book is a biography of Abraham Lincoln. It begins by introducing Lincoln’s childhood. The book details his life growing up on the farm and the struggles he had to face. Next, the book talks about the marriage of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd and the struggles they faced together as a family. The book further talks about his family life by talking about each of his children. Abraham Lincoln had a strong stance on slavery. The book explains the stands against slavery that begin to occur. Lincolns view on slavery is clearly stated and expanded upon. The book then expresses the various factors that lead to the Civil War. Lincoln ran for Presidency against Douglas. The book details his election and through his presidency. The book ends with the assassination of the President. This book is full of pictures and fun facts that will keep the readers attention. There is also a map of the country that clearly shows the Union and Confederate states. The map depicts the various battlefields and important cities. the timeline in the back of the book lays out the events of the civil war with pictures, dates and short descriptions. The table of contents in the front of the book is useful for finding the particular part of Abraham’s life you wish to learn of. The back of the book contains a glossary for unknown words and an index to find certain words in context.  **Reading level:** Ages 9-12  **Hardcover:** 48 pages  **Publisher:** Cobblestone (November 29, 2005)  **Language:** English  **ISBN-10:** 0812679024  **ISBN-13:** 978-0812679021

“Ulysses S. Grant” by Billy Aroson This is a biography about Ulysses s. Grant. The table of contents breaks down the parts of his life. It begins with his childhood and his outgoing personality that showed at a young age. It goes on to talk about how he ended up marrying Julia Dent. The book goes through the stages of how he became a general. The next chapter goes through his experiences with war, beginning with his very first experience in the Mexican War. Grant’s leadership abilities grew through his experiences in war. Chapter three is titled, “Becoming a General”. This chapter talks about the beginning of the conflict between the north and the south and the role Ulysses S. Grant played in that. It was not easy being a general during war. He was called many names and had to win over favor with the people. Chapter five talks about Grant’s presidency and the Reconstruction. It details the major issues grants had to face during his time as President. Grant’s second term as President was marked with scandal. After his Presidency, Grant and his family went off to see the world. The end of his life was a struggle but he captured his experiences in his Civil War memoirs.  **Reading level:** Young Adult  **Library Binding:** 96 pages  **Publisher:** Marshall Cavendish Children's Books; 1 edition (September 2007)  **Language:** English  **ISBN-10:** 076142430X  **ISBN-13:** 978-0761424307

“The Civil War” by Matt Doeden

This book is an interactive history book, which allows students to make choices as they read. The book begins by introducing the Civil War. It talks about the main issues behind the war. It also discusses the main people involved in the war. Readers then get to choose if they would like to join the Union army, the Confederate Army or live as a civilian. The reader is then placed into this setting. Great detail explain where the reader is, what the reader hears, smells and feels. This allows the reader to truly feel as though they are a person in this piece of history. Each choice is filled with information and important people from the war. As you continue to read, you come across carious choices that people in these elements may have had to make. You continue to make choices until your story ends. Once your story ends, there is a conclusion in the back of the book. The conclusion brings the various elements of the war to a conclusion. It explains the outcomes of specific battles and of important people. It also mentions Robert E. Lee’s surrender to the Union. After the conclusion, the book contains a timeline,. glossary, bibliography and index.  **Reading level:** Ages 9-12  **Paperback:** 112 pages  **Publisher:** You Choose Books (September 2009)  **Language:** English  **ISBN-10:** 1429639105  **ISBN-13:** 978-1429639101

“The Terrible Awful Civil War” by Kay Olson

The first page of the book contains a map of the country. It shows important cities during the Civil War and the location of important battles. Next to the map is a timeline of important events during the Civil War. The book is split into eleven chapters. The first chapter introduces the war to readers. The next ten chapters go into detail about the conditions of the war. It explains what it was really like to be a soldier in the Civil War. It explains sleeping conditions, food, germs, and the horrors of the prisons. It goes into great detail so that the reader truly germs a realistic picture of the gruesome conditions soldiers had to faced during this time. Within the book, there are various random interesting facts that will capture the reader’s attention. The picture contain great detail and they all have captions as well. The book even contains real photographs to help students get a better idea. The vocabulary words are highlighted in the text and have definitions on the same page. This way, if a student does not know a word, they do not have to go to the back of the book to find the definition. The back of the book contains a glossary, related book suggestions and an index.  **Reading level:** Ages 9-12  **Paperback:** 32 pages  **Publisher:** Capstone Press (January 2, 2011)  **Language:** English  **ISBN-10:** 1429663499  **ISBN-13:** 978-1429663496

“Voices from the Civil War: Northerners” By John Dunn

This book gives readers an idea of what it was like to live in the North at the time of the Civil War. The table of contents breaks up each chapter so students can find what information they are looking for. The first chapter introduces what life in the North was like. After the first chapter, the is a detailed timeline of the major events of the war. The book goes on to hit major events of the war and describes them from a Northerners perspective. It discusses the pressure to enlist in the army and the riots that took place of the drafts. It also touches on how some northerners felts that the south should be allow to secede because it was only hurting them as a nation. Each chapter has its own glossary with the definition of challenging words. The book is filled with pictures and maps with captions to describe them. The book ends with the tragic death of Lincoln. The back of the book contains additional books and internet websites as well as an index.  **Reading level:** Ages 9-12  **Library Binding:** 32 pages  **Publisher:** Blackbirch Press (May 30, 2003)  **Language:** English  **ISBN-10:** 1567117910  **ISBN-13:** 978-1567117912

“Just in Time Abraham Lincoln” by Patricia Polacco

This story begins with two boys going on a trip with their grandmother to Harpers Ferry, Virginia. She does not allow them to bring any electronics with them because she wants them to learn about a piece of American history. The boys seem very uninterested at first. The grandmother then introduces the boys to her good friend who has a collection of Civil War uniforms and various other things form the Civil War” The boys looked through the photos and various other pieces of the collection and still were not intrigued. Then they found the uniforms. The boys found them to be very interesting. They were able to try on the uniforms. Then Mr. Portufoy, the owner of the collection, told the boys that there was a game they could participate in. The boys entered a strange door and found themselves in the Civil War. The boys then stumbled upon Abraham Lincoln and got to travel with him to the remains of Antietam. The boys began to understand the sadness and pain of war as they saw it through Lincoln. They tried to comfort Lincoln as best they could. When the boys returned home, they informed their grandmother of their adventure. Their grandmother told them that they were just in a reenactment of the war and they did not really travel back in time. The boys were still convinced and while sitting in the museum café, they found a photograph of Abraham Lincoln from Antietam and they could clearly see their faces in the background.

 **Reading level:** Ages 4-8  **Hardcover:** 48 pages  **Publisher:** Putnam Juvenile (January 6, 2011)  **Language:** English  **ISBN-10:** 0399254714  **ISBN-13:** 978-0399254710

Additional Books:
 * The Battle of Gettysburg: Would you Lead the Fight? What would you do? By Elaine Landau
 * The Big Book of the Civil War: Fascinating Facts about the Civil War by Joanne Mattern
 * The Civil War: A Nation Divided by Time McNeese
 * The Union Soldier by Renee Rebman
 * Behind the Blue and Gray: The Soldier's Life in the Civil War by Delia Ray