I was born in Illinois the Land of Lincoln, so naturally this president has a special place in my heart. We ended January discussing the Civil Rights movement in America and the life of Martin Luther King Jr., Penelope is 7 and it was interesting how much she could not fathom the idea of segregation. We live in Chicago, a large metropolitan city full of many ethnicities. Our friends are  people of all shades of skin color and ethnic backgrounds. “How did segregation come to be so?” she would ask, so naturally we went back into our country’s history, to the topic of slavery, the divided North and South, and Abraham Lincoln. Here are two books that told these stories in a simple, easy to understand way for a child of this age. We read many books, but these two were our favorite.

“Abe’s Honest Word’s” is a story of the life of Abraham Lincoln, from his time as a young man, to presidency. Full of powerful illustrations and prose, this book truly captures Lincoln’s passion for the abolishment of slavery, using very accessible language for young children. Abe’s Honest Words is a follow up to Martin’s Big Words a favorite book of ours, on the life of Martin Luther King Jr.

Underground Finding the Light to Freedom By Shane W. Evans. A captivating book about the journey to freedom on the Underground Railroad. A wonderful story for my early reading child to read herself, as the words were minimal, yet so well chosen that alongside the sketch like illustrations, the absorbing story captured the fear and the risk, these brave slaves experienced, on their difficult journey to freedom.

To lighten things up, today we have been telling jokes all day, in honor of Lincoln’s humor and in honor of laughter in general, which gets every single one of us through the darkest of times.

Here’s a political themed one for the road folks! (from our joke book “More Laugh out Loud Jokes for Kids By Rob Elliott) : Q: Where do polar bears go to vote? A: The North Poll! Get it?! Poll, Pole haaaa! So funny. I feel better already!

All images are copyright protected.