When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, the country grieved for the courageous president who had guided them through the Civil War. Over the course of thirteen somber days, people paid homage as Lincoln's funeral train made its way from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Illinois. In moving prose and stunning paintings, a young boy experiences the deep feelings evoked by the death of a major historical figure, during a time of great change in the country. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gr 1 4 Following Lincoln's death, his body was taken back to Illinois for burial. Burleigh focuses on one boy's perceptions as he and his father travel through the night by horse-drawn carriage to see the funeral train pass. Full-spread images capture the cool night and the hot bonfires, the solemnity of the locals, and the grandness of the train. Both artist and writer researched the trains, engines, and events surrounding Lincoln's final journey; they use an original image of the paper flags waved at mourning processions for endpapers and offer more information and additional resources on the title-page verso. Minor's gouache watercolors capture the prairie as well as multiple perspectives of the train, while Burleigh's prose is almost poetic: "Past speeches and silence. Past black drapes, heaped roses, archways of green leaves, and the sound of muffled drums." The result is sensuous with sounds, sights, and the emotion of the event. Lincoln is ennobled in this historical picture book. Janet S. Thompson, Chicago Public Library Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Told through the viewpoint of a child who watches Lincoln's funeral train carry his body home to Springfield, Illinois, this moving picture book describes the nation's sorrow with spare, lyrical words and beautiful, double-page paintings in gouache and watercolor. The country boy is thrilled by the train: the harsh roar of iron on iron, the wonder of the immense machine, and the sense of its long journey through cities and towns, "past speeches and silence," as it steams across the prairie. Along with the big views of the countryside, there are scenes in which the boy imagines himself meeting Lincoln, the sad-faced hero, and one portrait of his vision shows the boy and president, face-to-face. The story also shows the boy's quiet family bonds: for the first time he sees his father cry. An afterword and a map fill in more detail, but the history is present on every page, from the horses pulling buggies through the night to the small group of mourners that gathers by the tracks. Rochman, Hazel. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.