Lincoln Clears a Path

Abraham Lincoln's Agricultural Legacy

Illustrated by Stacy Innerst
Look inside
Throughout his life, Abraham Lincoln tried to make life easier for others. Then during the darkest days of the Civil War, when everyone needed hope, President Lincoln cleared a path for all Americans to a better future.

As a boy, Abraham Lincoln helped his family break through the wilderness and struggle on a frontier farm. When Lincoln was a young man, friends made it easier for him to get a better education and become a lawyer, so as a politician he paved the way for better schools and roads. President Lincoln cleared a path to better farming, improved transportation, accessible education, and most importantly, freedom. Author Peggy Thomas uncovers Abraham Lincoln's passion for agriculture and his country while illustrator Stacy Innerst cleverly provides a clear look as President Lincoln strives for positive change.
Peggy Thomas is the author of Farmer George Plants a Nation, an award-winning history and science picture book biography of George Washington, as well as more than a dozen other books for children. She lives in Middleport, New York, not far from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. View titles by Peggy Thomas
© Michael Santiago
Stacy Innerst is a painter, children's book artist, and educator. His books have received a host of starred reviews and have been honored with The New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Books Award, the SCBWI Golden Kite for Picture Book Illustration as well as several Gold Medals from the Parents' Choice Awards. His recent books for Calkins Creek include SAVING LADY LIBERTY and LINCOLN CLEARS A PATH. Illustrator site: stacyinnerst.com View titles by Stacy Innerst
★ "Why have another book about Abe Lincoln in your library collection? Because this one is special. [It] provides an excellent backdrop for studying various policies in the U.S. government that exist today. It is an impeccable book to introduce the figure of Abraham Lincoln and initiate more research into his life and legacy." —School Library Connection, starred review

"Beginning with his family’s creation of a farm out of woodland when he was 7 and ending with the Emancipation Proclamation, the narrative follows Lincoln’s life experiences as farmer, entrepreneur, and self-educated statesman, all the way to the presidency. Innerst creates engaging, sepia-toned scenes with watercolor-based artwork, and the design of the spreads, with dark paper and handwritten lettering for quotations from Lincoln’s writings, gives the feel of old documents." —Kirkus Reviews 

"A great non-fiction picture book choice for elementary through high school. Whether an introduction to Lincoln as president, or a unit starter for a government class – so many ways to use it.  And I love the on-going thread of “Clearing a path”.  The subtitle may be about an agricultural legacy, but his legacy is much deeper." Kiss the Book

Behind the Books: Executive Editor Carolyn Yoder on LINCOLN CLEARS A PATH

About

Throughout his life, Abraham Lincoln tried to make life easier for others. Then during the darkest days of the Civil War, when everyone needed hope, President Lincoln cleared a path for all Americans to a better future.

As a boy, Abraham Lincoln helped his family break through the wilderness and struggle on a frontier farm. When Lincoln was a young man, friends made it easier for him to get a better education and become a lawyer, so as a politician he paved the way for better schools and roads. President Lincoln cleared a path to better farming, improved transportation, accessible education, and most importantly, freedom. Author Peggy Thomas uncovers Abraham Lincoln's passion for agriculture and his country while illustrator Stacy Innerst cleverly provides a clear look as President Lincoln strives for positive change.

Author

Peggy Thomas is the author of Farmer George Plants a Nation, an award-winning history and science picture book biography of George Washington, as well as more than a dozen other books for children. She lives in Middleport, New York, not far from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. View titles by Peggy Thomas
© Michael Santiago
Stacy Innerst is a painter, children's book artist, and educator. His books have received a host of starred reviews and have been honored with The New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Books Award, the SCBWI Golden Kite for Picture Book Illustration as well as several Gold Medals from the Parents' Choice Awards. His recent books for Calkins Creek include SAVING LADY LIBERTY and LINCOLN CLEARS A PATH. Illustrator site: stacyinnerst.com View titles by Stacy Innerst

Praise

★ "Why have another book about Abe Lincoln in your library collection? Because this one is special. [It] provides an excellent backdrop for studying various policies in the U.S. government that exist today. It is an impeccable book to introduce the figure of Abraham Lincoln and initiate more research into his life and legacy." —School Library Connection, starred review

"Beginning with his family’s creation of a farm out of woodland when he was 7 and ending with the Emancipation Proclamation, the narrative follows Lincoln’s life experiences as farmer, entrepreneur, and self-educated statesman, all the way to the presidency. Innerst creates engaging, sepia-toned scenes with watercolor-based artwork, and the design of the spreads, with dark paper and handwritten lettering for quotations from Lincoln’s writings, gives the feel of old documents." —Kirkus Reviews 

"A great non-fiction picture book choice for elementary through high school. Whether an introduction to Lincoln as president, or a unit starter for a government class – so many ways to use it.  And I love the on-going thread of “Clearing a path”.  The subtitle may be about an agricultural legacy, but his legacy is much deeper." Kiss the Book

Media

Behind the Books: Executive Editor Carolyn Yoder on LINCOLN CLEARS A PATH

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more

PRH Education Classroom Libraries

“Books are a students’ passport to entering and actively participating in a global society with the empathy, compassion, and knowledge it takes to become the problem solvers the world needs.” –Laura Robb   Research shows that reading and literacy directly impacts students’ academic success and personal growth. To help promote the importance of daily independent

Read more