Lincoln and Douglass: An American Friendship by Nikki Giovanni, illustrated by Bryan Collier.

At a reception celebrating his second inauguration, President Abraham Lincoln scans the crowds for his friend Frederick Douglass.  Though one man was black and the other white, one a slave and the other free, their lives parallel one another in remarkable ways.  Both men found themselves at the heart of the abolitionist movement in America.  The book documents the youth of both men in alternating pages, emphasizing their commonalities.  It also provides information on other figures in the abolitionist movement, including John Brown and Mammy Pleasant. 

Reprising their partnership in Rosa, Giovanni and Collier once again shed light upon American history through a picture book.  Giovanni’s writing is easily digested and using a remarkably small amount of text sheds light on complicated historical events.  Collier’s cut-paper collage illustrations are remarkable.  The double-spread of Lincoln in the grove of trees is moving and gut-wrenching.  The bark of the trees is formed from African-American faces, evoking lynching, containment, and yet growth and freedom too.  All of which are dynamics at work in the history and the book as a whole.

Highly recommended as an accessible entry to these difficult subjects.  Appropriate for ages 8-10.