Lincoln Tells a joke: How Laughter saved the President(and the country)

Krull, Kathleen, Paul Brewer, and Stacy Innerst. Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (and the Country). Boston [Mass.: Harcourt Children's /Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. Print.


Plot Summary
The biography begins by telling all the reasons why Lincoln was sad growing up. He had a rough childhood and grew up very poor. However Lincoln loved to make fun of himself and read jokes to his family and friends.  His story is told in sequence and details his life but it uses humor to describe how Lincoln coped with life's disappointments. The story shows how Lincoln used humor as a young boy every day. He even used humor as he did chores. The story shows how  laughter and humor helped him make it through the loss of many of his loved ones like his mother, sister and two of his sons He always looked for the opportunity to write. The book used many one-liners and nonsense poems to paint a more humanistic portrait of a great president who tried to remain positive in spite of his circumstances. In the book Lincoln states " My father taught me how to work, but not love it, and he later said " I'd rather read,tell stories, crack jokes,talk,laugh".

Critical Analysis:

This is an easy read aloud for students. The words are easy to read and illustrations are funny and colorful.This book could show others how in the midst of  overwhelming obstacles and problems one can still keep their sanity and work through it. The book shows the character of Abraham Lincoln in an engaging way that the reader can relate too. The author writes from Abraham Lincolns point of view which adds more to the way I view him. Most people have respected Abraham Lincoln for his contributions to the history of America but this book will make you laugh and like him even more.

Review Excerpts:

Kirkus Reviews

Not many biographies of the 16th U.S. president begin "Poor Abraham Lincoln." This one does and goes on to list the reasons why the man's life was "hardly fun," but then it gets right to the titular theme: "But Lincoln had his own way of dealing with life. Not many people remember it today. It was all about laughing." (In a lovely acrylic painting of the famous Lincoln log cabin, an escaping plume of "HaHaHaHas" mirrors the chimney smoke.) ....

School Library Journal

The legends that endure about Lincoln are many: his log-cabin childhood, his honesty, his eloquence. What is less often discussed is how he used humor to diffuse tense political situations, disarm critics , and undo the stressess of running the country. His  love of words in general and jokes and humor more specifically, helped him throughout his life when things were difficult, uncomfortable and down right dire....

Connections:
1.This book could be used for President's Day studies or the Civil War.
2. It could also be used in middle or high school as a quick read to build a discussion and brainstorm the culture of America at this time in history.