Exciting New Children's Book On The Way

[L Verge]

The old school teacher in me is showing through, but I just had the opportunity to review what I hope will become a welcomed addition to the small field of children's books related to the Lincoln assassination.

A member of this forum, brtmichl, has produced a great comic book on the subject. There have been a few other comic books done, but this one can serve as a textbook in classrooms also because it is very curriculum-based reader friendly. I say this because, as you turn the pages, the comic book scenario appears on the right-hand page with corresponding full text for that on the left-hand page. Smart teachers will recognize that the lower level students in reading will gravitate to the comic portion and get their history while upper level readers will take in the easy to read, well-condensed text on the left also.

brtmichl produced the drawings as well as the text. The drawings are colorful and geared towards images that attract kids' eyes. Likewise, the text is done in a font that is not standard and jumps out at you.

Teachers will also appreciate the fact that he has included a glossary of terms in the back. This is a standard requirement in most curriculum that I am familiar with. He has also included references to websites, books, and even travel sites to enhance the children's experiences.

I had two of my "youngsters" on staff peruse the book also because they give most of the school tours. They loved it. The only major suggestion we all made was to change the color on the front cover from black to something more eye-catching and to use a crazier font on the front cover's lettering.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, this book is very good - and grandparents on this forum should think Christmas presents, if they have grandchildren in the grades 4-7 range.

I hope that brtmichl will chime in with author's comments and purchasing details when the publication is ready. I know that the Surratt gift shop will be selling it. I also want him to encourage posting a trivia question here on one of the words in the glossary. He is the only other person that I know that realizes this particular word does really have a definition.