Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (and the Country)

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Krull, Kathleen and Paul Brewer. 2010. Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter saved the President (and the Country). Ill. by Stacy Innerst. Boston: Harcourt Children's Books. ISBN 9780152066390

This informational book is a biography of Abraham Lincoln and explains his love of humor throughout his life. The book describes the difficult life Lincoln had as a child on the frontier, including the loss of his mother at a young age. His hardships never seemed to cease and he soon realized humor was a way to find an escape, even as President of the Unites States.

Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter saved the President (and the Country), is a very well written and accurate informational book. Krull has a great reputation for providing factual information to young people. Krull includes her sources and does state that Lincoln's jokes were compiled by many people after his death. Some jokes were told third-hand or further. This book was reviewed by knowledgeable reviewers and all had positive remarks. 

The organization is very well done with a clear sequence of events, beginning with Lincoln as a child living on the frontier, in the middle as president, and ending with his death. The design of the book is also very well done. The acrylic artwork is very appealing and follows the text on each spread. The illustrations communicate the subject matter effectively. The style is very clear and interesting. Krull's passion for writing informational books definitely shows in her work. She uses appropriate vocabulary and provides just enough information about Lincoln's life that will educate and entice enquiring minds to read more about Abraham Lincoln. 

"I'd rather read, tell stories, crack jokes, talk, laugh." These were all great ways for Lincoln to overcome the harships in his life. From the loss of his mother, the difficult life on the frontier, politics, and life in the white house, Lincoln always found humor as a way to thrive and become one of the best presidents this country has ever known.

Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter saved the President (and the Country) was nominated for the Cybils Award for Nonfiction Picture Books in 2010. 

If you enjoy this title, you may also enjoy these works by Kathleen Krull: Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman, The Beatles Were Fab (and They Were Funny), and Louisa May's Battle: How the Civil War Led to Little Women.

If you are looking for more books written about Abraham Lincoln, you may enjoy: The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary by Fleming, Candace, Who Was Abraham Lincoln by Pascal, Janet, and Abraham Lincoln by Emerson, Judy. 

Booklist
"Laughter is not only good medicine. It can also be a political tool, human motivator, and saving grace, as the authors show in this upbeat overview of Lincoln's life...the text emphasizes how Lincoln coped with a joke on his tongue and a smile on his lips."

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 stresses of running the country."

Further activities for Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter saved the President (and the Country) can be found at:

http://www.alincoln-library.com/facts-about-abraham-lincoln.shtml

http://blog.richmond.edu/openwidelookinside/archives/author/bc5xm

http://norfolksamericanconnections.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/if-i-were-president-linkin-lincoln-and-norfolk.pdf