Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Publishers Weekly

President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address 150 years ago, in late 1863; the text of that speech formed the basis for this picture book from Daugherty, a Newbery-winning illustrator, which was first published in 1947. The book opens with Daugherty’s original foreword, as well as the address in its entirety, before moving on to 15 paintings that depict muscled pioneers settling the American West, the bloody toll of the Civil War, and events well beyond Lincoln’s time, up through WWII. The images have the heroic feel of WPA posters, as people from all backgrounds and ethnicities join together to embrace the hope and promise embodied in Lincoln’s speech. An afterword by Civil War scholar Gabor Boritt is new to this edition, as are brief guides to each painting. All ages. (Feb.)

School Library Journal

Gr 3–7—"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent …." Thus begins the two-minute speech that Lincoln delivered in 1863. His words stirred the hearts of those gathered at the cemetery in Gettysburg on that November day. Daugherty's pictorial interpretation of the speech will stir the hearts of modern readers as it did when the book was first published in 1947. The majestic artwork is filled with movement and bold swirls of color, bringing to mind the paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Beginning with the Pilgrims in Plymouth and America's founding fathers of 1776, the artist takes readers through time, featuring historical figures, national symbols, and religious allusions as well as everyday people in portraits of key moments in American history. Lincoln appears in several of the illustrations. The speech is printed in an oversize, decorative font reflecting the importance of its timeless message of peace and unity. At the back of the book, the artist provides a brief interpretation of each painting. This updated edition includes a new afterword by Professor Gabor Boritt, Gettysburg College, setting the scene with background information about the day Lincoln delivered his address. History and art teachers will want this outstanding picture book in their collections.—Linda L. Walkins, Saint Joseph Preparatory High School, Boston, MA

Kirkus Reviews

Only a few presidential quotes or speeches have outlasted the test of time, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is probably the most famous and most significant. Originally published in 1947, this pictorial version has been updated with a new afterword by Gabor Boritt, a Civil War scholar, in time for the 150th anniversary of the speech. The original illustrations by Daugherty are brightly hued and hewn and dramatize the 15 sentences of Lincoln's speech with great vigor in a style evocative of Depression-era WPA murals. In another picture-book depiction, Michael McCurdy's black-and-white engravings (1995) contrast sharply and are forcefully composed, alternating between the action of battle and the quiet artifacts left behind. Daugherty's heroic tableaux attack the emotions with highly symbolic imagery. "A new nation conceived in liberty" depicts two men, black and white, raising a flag while another white man unshackles a beaten, scarred slave; on the right, a woman, her children and her frontiersman husband look on; above all, a bald eagle flies into the sun. The typeface accompanying Daugherty's art is large and stately, resembling chiseled letters and matching the text. In a valuable, additional feature following the afterword, 15 small-scale reproductions of Daugherty's interpretations appear above explanations of the imagery in each one. A vividly visual interpretation of a still-momentous speech. (reproduction of handwritten speech) (Picture book. 7 & up)