Kids book tells Abe tale

Detroit Free Press (MCT) - As an introduction to Abraham Lincoln's love of words, Jen Bryant's "Abe's Fish: A Boyhood Tale of Abraham Lincoln," illustrated by Amy June Bates, tells of an actual incident in Lincoln's boyhood during the War of 1812.

With his hungry family waiting at the cabin, young Abe went to a nearby creek to catch a fish for their dinner.

"'Fish-fish-fish' _ Abe turned the word over and over again in his mind. 'Fish-fish-fish,' he whispered to the water. Abe loved words. He loved speaking out loud. He loved writing them with a stick in the dirt. And on the days he went to school with Sarah (his sister), Abe loved reading them, too."

Walking home from the creek, he met a soldier. Abe, remembering that he had been told to be good to soldiers because they were fighting for freedom, gave him the fish.

Freedom. Later that night, young Abe "tried the word out in his mouth. It was a big word, Abe could tell. The next time he went to school, he would practice writing it."

He wrote it throughout his life.

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MORE FROM LINCOLN

"The Words of Abraham Lincoln," edited by Larry Shapiro ($12), is the latest in Newmarket Press' "Words Of" series. The Lincoln volume, coming out in March, is arranged chronologically, with topics including the Civil War era, Lincoln as a humorist and his thoughts about slavery.

"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God cannot long retain it."

"Can we, as a nation, continue together permanently _ forever _ half slave, and half free?"

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