Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

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.)