My new picture book, ABE LINCOLN CROSSES A CREEK, illustrated by John Hendrix, comes out this week. This is a simple story – a retelling of an incident in Lincoln’s childhood that took place in Kentucky, in 1816, when Abraham Lincoln was seven years old and was rescued from Knob Creek by his friend, Austin Gollaher.

But the book is also my attempt to urge even the youngest readers to begin thinking about history not just facts to be memorized, but a process of asking questions, solving mysteries, and discovering fascinating stories and people.

I write book reviews myself, so I’m aware of how depressing a review can make an author feel! Of course, the very best book reviewers are young readers themselves -- and, based on the letters I've gotten over the years, kids have no problems expressing strong opinions about where an author went wrong! But since ABE hasn’t yet reached young readers yet, here’s a sampling of reviews to date.

Hopkinson has created a lively, participatory tale that will surely stand out among the many titles published to honor the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth…
* Starred Review, School Library Journal


Abe Lincoln, a storyteller of great repute, would be hard-pressed to beat Hopkinson’s considerable skills in recounting this incident from childhood, in which Lincoln’s friend Austin Gollaher saved him from drowning in the rushing waters of Kentucky’s Knob Creek…
Horn Book Magazine

…just how do you handle a legend? Deborah Hopkinson has found a way, and it’s a winner….By the time Hopkinson is done with the account, it’s a full-blown adventure, fraught with derring-do, loyal friendship, raging rapids, a nation’s future saved by a hair, and even a moral. (Or two). But isn’t that (gasp!) brazen embroidery? Doesn’t it involve (horrors!) imagined dialogue? Aren’t the details (oh, woe!) unverifiable? Sure. The fun and illumination come in when Hopkinson and Hendrix let readers in on the entire tale-making process, demonstrating how the tellers’ craft turns observation and rumor into story…
* Starred Review, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books


Deborah
deborahhopkinson@yahoo.com

I spent last Thursday with students at Bryant Elementary in Lake Oswego, Oregon. It's always a special pleasure to present to small numbers of students in the library.

The 5th and 6th graders and I did two writing workshops as well, focused on writing a letter to a "Person of the Past." They had all read APPLES TO OREGON so I gave them the option of writing to one of the characters in the story: Delicious, her mom or dad, even Baby Albert!

When asked to come up with a few sentences to finish the sentence: "You would be most surprised to find," I myself was surprised at how many of these 10-12 year-olds said, "That we use cars now but the price of gas is $4.00 a gallon so we might have to go back to horses and wagons like in your day!"

I should not have been surprised, though. These young people not only listen to their parents' worries and fears, but have their own ideas and concerns about energy and the environment.

Thoughts on the International Reading Association

This last week I had the chance to meet teachers, educators, librarians, and literacy coaches at the International Reading Association in Atlanta, Georgia. I've attended several over the past few years and this one felt, somehow, more optimistic.

Perhaps I shouldn't be optimistic about children's literature, especially the books I write which don't usually end up in chain bookstores. After all, this evening I received word from Chauni Haslet that All for Kids Bookstore in Seattle will definitely close on June 30, which is a sad loss. (I feel fortunate to be able to visit A Children's Place here in the Portland area.)

Still, I met many teachers and literacy coaches including veterans and those starting their careers who were using trade books in the classroom, in spite of slashed school and library budgets and the testing restraints imposed by No Child Left Behind.

We all need story. Yes, we need evidence-based teaching practices to help children learn to read, but most of all we need stories.

Upcoming Appearances and Signings
International Reading Association, Atlanta, Georgia

Monday, May 5
1pm-2pm Libraries Unlimited Booth, #1749
Deborah Hopkinson and You

2pm-3pm Simon and Schuster Booth, #3046
Apples to Oregon

Tuesday, May 6
12pm - 1pm Scholastic Booth, #2745
Up Before Daybreak, Cotton and People in America
Carter G. Woodson Award Honor Book

2 pm -4:45pm Omni Hotel
Symposium
Beyond the Basics:
Using the Lincoln Bicentennial to Encourage Historical Inquiry and Literacy

Wednesday, May 7
10am-11am Peachtree Publishers, Booth 2666

Sweet Land of Liberty
IRA Teachers' Choice

11am-12pm Random House, Booth 2647
Into the Firestorm, A Novel of San Francisco, 1906
Sky Boys: How They Build the Empire State Building
Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award