A Kindness Repaid

Each time assistance is supplied to those unable to help themselves, the soul of the world beats a bit stronger.  We do this when water is given to birds in winter when natural water is frozen or in the summer heat with weeks of no rain.  We do this when flowers and trees are planted which benefit insects and the planet.  We do this when someone short or older can't reach something in a store and we climb the shelves to get it for them.  We do this when we place books in Little Free Libraries.  We do this every day in ways we can't remember.  It's a state of mind.  It is no accident that many religions and cultures practice some form of The Golden Rule.

For those who extend kindness to animals, wild and domestic, as children, it is often reflected in their actions as adults. Honey: The Dog Who Saved Abe Lincoln (Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, January 14, 2020) written by Shari Swanson with illustrations by Chuck Groenink shares with readers a childhood event; an event which builds an unbreakable bond.  The love of a dog is a gift, a gift enjoyed every day of their lives.

Young Abraham Lincoln was kneeling deep in the woods when three shrill blasts of a whistle cut through the quiet.

These three whistles signaled his ground corn at the mill needed to be taken home.  Abraham had to hurry but he didn't regret saving a frog from the mouth of a snake.  Thanking Mr. John Hodgen, the miller, he started home hoping to arrive before dark.  Close to their log cabin along Knob Creek, Abe suddenly stopped.  What was that sound?

The boy discovered a dog with a broken front leg.  Relying on knowledge gained from working on his family's farm, Abe splinted the leg using materials from the woods and his clothing. His mother, Nancy, was worried sick when he got home but nevertheless, he was allowed to keep the dog.  Honey, the name Abe gave him, followed the boy everywhere.  They were inseparable.

It was known by the miller that Abe was usually late arriving and leaving the mill with his corn.  Abe was easily distracted by all there was to see.  One day waiting for the corn to be ground, Abraham and Honey wandered into one of the many caves found in Kentucky.  Abraham got stuck between two rocks.  It got darker and darker outside.  Honey knew he had to leave his boy.

A group had gathered at the mill to search for Abe.  His mother was the first to see and hear Honey.  Loyalty and love lead the group to rescue our future president.  Loyalty and love of a dog for their human never falters.


In her debut as a picture book author, Shari Swanson brings a story to readers about Abraham Lincoln sure to find a permanent place in their hearts.  His kinship with the natural world, his appreciation for all living things, is revealed in an expressive narrative woven with facts and through realistically depicted conversations with other people in his life.  Readers will understand the significance of Abe's perceptions in the wild.  What if he had not heard Honey?  Readers will also marvel at the astuteness of Abraham at only seven years old.  Shari Swanson ties the finding of the dog to his helping of Abraham with the slightly altered repetition of a phrase which will have readers nodding knowingly.  Here is a passage.

Abe's father was asleep by the fire when Abe got home, but his mother was waiting up. "Oh, Abraham, where have you been off to this time?"  Didn't you know I would be worried?"
"I found a real honey of a dog.  His leg is broken," Abe whispered.

"Please let me keep him."
Abe looked up at his mother.
"He'll do lots of good things for me," he told her.  "You just watch and see."


Beginning with the open and matching dust jacket and book case, the illustrations for this title were created by Chuck Groenink digitally in Photoshop.  Using a full color palette with attention to detail, readers can readily sense the warmth and affection between Abraham Lincoln and his dog, Honey.  Both the images, the one on the front, right, and the one on the back, left, on the jacket and case show Abe and Honey in one of Abraham's preferred settings, outdoors.  With Honey leaning into Abraham on the front, it's a dog's way of hugging.  By wrapping a single arm around Honey, Abraham is recognizing the dog's love.

On the back, a partial interior illustration is used.  It's the scene in the evening of Abraham walking home after finding Honey.  The dog with a splint on his leg is following along the path behind Abraham.  The boy is looking back at the dog. They are enveloped by the darkening of the grass, shrubs, and trees against a purple and pale peach sky.

In rustic golden-brown hues on the opening and closing endpapers is

A map of the area around
HODGEN'S MILL
where Abe grew up
(Kentucky, Circa 1816).

Specific areas of importance are labeled, and some are highlighted in a much lighter color to draw our attention.  On the title page Abraham and Honey are moving toward readers through a field on a partly sunny day, looking ahead.  On the verso and dedication pages smaller images of Abe and Honey are placed on crisp white paper.

The illustrations by Chuck Groenink alternate in size between double-page pictures, smaller images and full-page pictures.  They complement the pacing of the narrative. The letter L has been placed on the bag of ground corn Abraham carries.  I wonder if the G on other bags refers to the illustrator's name.  In most of the images outside, creatures are inserted into an appropriate place.

I was curious about one image when Abraham arrives home after finding Honey.  I wanted to see if the interior of the cabin was historically accurate. It is from photographs I was able to find.  I was also curious about Nancy Lincoln looking back at her husband as she kneels in front of her son and his new dog.  This lead me, as I hope it does others, to do some research about Thomas Lincoln, Abe's father.

Several of my many, many favorite images are clustered on a single page.  In these pictures we see Abraham and Honey together.  The text reads:

Everywhere Abraham went, Honey went.

Three small pictures are placed on white.  The first is of Honey treeing a squirrel with Abraham close behind him.  In the second one, Abraham looks to be placing a smaller bird back on a branch with Honey watching.  In the third one Honey sits behind Abraham with porcupine quills in his nose.  Abraham kneels behind a trap.  He has released the porcupine, now walking away, from its confines.


When collaborators bring a story to light about a historical figure, it is a happy day for readers.  Honey: The Dog Who Saved Abe Lincoln written by Shari Swanson with illustrations by Chuck Groenink is a book, based on a true tale, readers will remember.  At the close of the book is a Timeline of Abraham Lincoln and His Animal Encounters.  Here readers will find other little-known facts about this amazing man.  A one page Author's Note concludes the book.  I highly recommend (as does Mulan) this title for your professional and personal book collections.

To learn more about Shari Swanson and Chuck Groenink and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Shari Swanson has additional resources for this book on her website.  Shari Swanson has accounts on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.  Chuck Groenink maintains accounts on Instagram and Twitter. You can view interior images at the publisher's website.

She Gave Him Joy

A lot of people have playlists of music they prefer.  Some will have multiple playlists; one for exercise, one for creativity, one for concentration or relaxation.  Different music speaks to different people at different times.  Conversely a certain song or musician can connect and has connected with thousands of people during human history.

In the United States of America, for four years (and truthfully for some time before and after), this nation was torn by the Civil War from April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865.  In December of 1853, on a different continent, a baby girl was born.  Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreno Played The Piano For President Lincoln (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, August 27, 2019) written by Margarita Engle with illustrations by Rafael Lopez is the story of this musically gifted child who helped heal a grieving parent and national leader and his family.  One person can and will continue to make a difference. 

WHEN TERESA was a little girl
in Venezuela, Mama sang lullabies
while Papa showed Teresita how
to let her happy hands dance
across all the beautiful
dark and light keys
of a piano.

In making melodies on the piano, Teresa learned several things.  She was able to make sounds which imitated those inhabitants in the natural world.  Playing the piano was hard and took a lot of work but it was a way to soften her sadness and share her joy with others.  By the time she was six she could write her own songs.  A year later she performed in a small space within a cathedral.  Isn't this amazing?

At eight years old her life changed drastically.  She and her parents had to flee their country due to war, leaving everything she knew and loved behind her.  Their ship after sailing on stormy seas landed in New York.  The people and the language they spoke did little to make her feel welcome plus the United States was engaged in the Civil War.

Playing on a new piano saved this child.  She practiced and practiced.  Music of all kinds filled the air in her home.  She was soon given a new nickname, the Piano Girl.  Something wonderful happened to Teresa.  People loved her music and she was soon performing on stage with other musicians.

Perhaps she was wondering if her life could get any better than playing piano music for people and traveling to other cities.  It did get better.  She received a request to play for President Abraham Lincoln and his family at the White House!  She was ten years old.

What could she do during a war with streets in Washington DC lined with soldiers and exhausted nurses?  What could she do to lift the sadness filling the Lincoln family's hearts? An accomplished artist and statesman found their way to common ground.


With a mind and heart focused on poetic expression, Margarita Engle pens a biography both captivating and factual.  She supplies us with exquisite imagery of the land and wildlife in Venezuela, the travels aboard the ship to the United States, a scene from the Civil War and the memorable event of playing for the Lincoln family.  A repetition of a descriptive phrase for the piano keys creates a flawless flow from one section of the story to the next portion.  Here are two passages from a three-passage page.

Without a new piano,
Teresa would have felt even more lonely,
but soon she discovered that wherever one is,
some people are friendly, drawn together
by songs.

Musicians came to her home,
playing along while they listened
to the dazzling notes
of her dancing hands.


The image seen on the front of the matching dust jacket and book case is a stunning portrait of Teresa's ability to part the darkness of war and death with her remarkable piano music.  The flowers and birds reflect not only the particular piece she is playing but her ability to bring the cheer and charm of her native land with her wherever she goes.  The scene on the front extends to the left edge of the jacket flap.  The dark cloud blooms for most of the back, parts for a small space and continues.  White tents for soldiers dot the hillside outside of a small community shown on the far-left bottom.

Certain elements of the front and back of the jacket and case are replicated on the opening and closing endpapers.  The first offers a countryside at war with a single tiny bird flying in the sky.  On the second a historical note occupies a large portion on the left, then Teresa's piano has sheets of music taking wing mixed in with flowers and a brightly colored bird. (This bird appears several times throughout the book.) The dark clouds are moving away on the right and on the left.

The illustrations for this book were rendered in mixed media (acrylic on wood board, using sticks and other tools to paint; watercolor; construction paper; pen; and ink), and then assembled digitally

by Rafael Lopez.  Apart from two full-page pictures, all the images are double-page visuals.  Each one not only depicts a specific moment but conveys strong emotions.  Color choices supply us with joy, fright, sadness, and worry.  We are wrapped in Teresa's world.

Details reflect place and historical context.  All the people are fully animated according to the scene.  These illustrations are guaranteed to invite discussions and further research.

One of my many, many favorite pictures is of the family fleeing their home in Venezuela.  It captures these moments with sincere clarity.  Dark clouds scallop across the top of two pages.  Rain beats down diagonally on the right, across the gutter and on a portion of the left.  On the hills on the left, buildings are on fire and smoking.  In the foreground barrels drift in the ocean on the left due to the storm.  On the right a schooner is trying to ride out the horrific weather.  Beneath the ship and filling the lower half of the right side is a portrait of Teresa.  Her head is bowed, and her eyes are closed.  It's a breathtaking representation.  We see a side of her face, as she is facing right.


This book, Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreno Played The Piano For President Lincoln written by Margarita Engle with illustrations by Rafael Lopez, is the kind of nonfiction sure to excite and encourage readers.  If one ten-year-old child can bring contentment to a grieving family with her music, think what you or I or everyone else can do with our combined talents.  I highly recommend this title for your personal and professional collections.

To learn more about Margarita Engle and Rafael Lopez and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.  Margarita Engle has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Rafael Lopez has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  At the publisher's website you can view interior images.


Please be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the other titles selected this week by participants in the 2019 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.

Digging Deep For More Truth

As much as we like to think we know the truth, the whole truth, about a person, place, thing or event, do we ever know everything?  Certainly there is one tiny detail, one hidden fact, which changes our perceptions . . . or reinforces what we already believe to be true.  It's a little bit tricky when dealing with the past but a diligent detective, a meticulous researcher, can uncover new information.

Our presidents in the United States have had their lives examined with scrutiny.  This will continue as long as people are curious about these American political leaders.  A deeply respected United States President is Abraham Lincoln.  It's safe to say the events described in Abraham Lincoln's Dueling Words (Peachtree Publishers, April 1, 2018) written by Donna Janell Bowman with illustrations by S. D. Schindler have not been the topic of discussion in many classrooms.  The word duel is not typically associated with this man.

See those two fellows in the boat, looking all grim and serious?
Maybe you recognize one of them from your history books.
Yep, that's Abraham Lincoln, Springfield's favorite joke-telling, story-spinning, honest-to-the-bone lawyer.

The other man is James Shields.  This boat is on its way to Bloody Island.  Usually, one party does not return from this dueling land unless the seconds (assistants to duelers) can resolve the conflict.  These two men, Lincoln and Shields, have lead similar adult lives but in personality and politics they are opposites.

In the summer of 1842 James Shields worked in the Illinois government as its auditor.  He was a Democrat.  Due to the fact the state was in financial trouble Shields issued a proclamation demanding people pay their taxes in gold or silver.  Paper dollars from banks were no longer acceptable.  Of course, Lincoln, a staunch Whig, decided this was making unreal demands on people already suffering from poverty.

His plan was to write a letter about everything wrong with the proclamation and James Shields and sign it Aunt Rebecca.  He did it.  So did others.  Shields was furious.  He demanded the editor of the paper reveal the writer.  Lincoln told the editor to give out only his name.  For a while the two dueled with words and then Shields decided a more deadly form was necessary.

As the man challenged to duel, Lincoln was allowed to make up the terms of the contest.  No one expected the weapons he chose.  No one expected the layout of the dueling area he proposed.  And no one expected a lie would change the course of history.

It's hard not to believe we are not reading an account of these happenings in a local newspaper in 1842.  Donna Janell Bowman writes in a style reminiscent of this particular era.  Each paragraph is designed to draw us into Springfield, Illinois as citizens.

Her technique of beginning with the men on the boat headed toward Bloody Island, then stepping back in time to describe both Lincoln and Shields, the proclamation and subsequent incidents and back to the duel is excellent.  This is how storytellers involve their audience.  When she weaves facts and quotes into the narrative we are spellbound.  Here is a passage.

Back in Springfield, folks knew Lincoln for his top-hatted head full of smarts, but also for his friendliness and knee-slapping tales.  Any little ol' thing could start a story spinning in his mind.  Even in court, which should have been quiet and businesslike, something might tickle his funny bone.

"That brings to mind a story," he would begin.  Often, his homespun tale would sway the jury to his side.  Sometimes, the judge even busted out laughing.

"If I did not laugh," Lincoln said, "I would die."


The matching dust jacket and book case leave no doubt in readers' minds about the current mood of the two men, one President Lincoln, with their backs to each other.  What we don't know is who the other man is.  What we don't know is why dueling is in the title.  It's a mystery and that is what makes us want to open this book.

To the left, on the back, a quotation

"I cannot submit to
answer your note any further
until your accusation
is withdrawn."

is placed between the two men, writing at their respective desks.  The red used in the title text covers the opening and closing endpapers. Two title pages with crisp white backgrounds only show the vivid title text.  In fact, throughout the book, white frames many of the illustrations.  These pictures span two pages, single pages, single images crossing the gutter and groupings of smaller visuals.  All supply stellar pacing.

These images rendered in watercolor and ink by S. D. Schindler accurately depict a true-to-life historical perspective.  The characters are animated.  The details invite us to pause and study each picture.  On the boat headed toward Bloody Island a long hook lying on the deck, a dueling pistol held by Shields and a curved blotter on Lincoln's desk, ready for use, reference this time period.  S. D. Schindler also includes small bits of humor.  You need to notice the eyes in the portrait in the room when Lincoln is speaking at a gathering.

One of my many favorite illustrations is of Lincoln pacing in front of his desk as he reads the proclamation.  His frustration is evident in his body posture and the position of his one arm and hand behind his head.  He is also deep in thought.  A dog sits next to the desk watching Lincoln.  (Lincoln is well-known for his fondness of animals.)


After reading this book, Abraham Lincoln's Dueling Words written by Donna Janell Bowman with illustrations by S. D. Schindler, you find yourself excited to share this information with the first person you meet.  You want to, at the very least, make sure this is something enjoyed in classrooms.  At the close of the book the words SANGAMO JOURNAL are the heading for a two page author's note about the duel, mudslinging in the written word, Aunt Rebecca letters, James Shields and the Illinois Banking Crisis.  Donna Janell further speaks about writing this title and provides sources with a link for a more extensive list of resources on the last page.

To learn more about Donna Janell Bowman and S. D. Schindler and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites.  Donna Janell Bowman has several pages dedicated to this title; some are here and here.  At the publisher's website you can read an excerpt, use a teacher's guide and view questions and answers with the author.  Donna Janell Bowman is interviewed by Deborah Kalb.  Enjoy the book trailer.



I hope you will stop by Kid Lit Frenzy hosted by educator Alyson Beecher to view the titles selected this week by others participating in the 2018 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.