Starred Review Ben, tall and skinny, shares his birth date with Abraham Lincoln. In this picture book for an audience slightly older than the preschool crowd, Ben muses about that connection and about A. Lincoln (who didn't like to be called Abe). Borden's text, which has the lilt of poetry, does a good job of mixing the boy's thoughts about himself (Sometimes I have big, clumsy feet) with commentary about Lincoln (Half the nation once called Lincoln many names . . . like gorilla and baboon and backwoods hick). Occasionally, she stretches her point about the boy's interest in his birthday partner a bit too far (I think about Lincoln when I'm reading good books and I don't want them to end). Yet overall, the text should pique the interest of primary-grade kids. An even bigger spark of interest will spring from Lewin's imaginative and, as always, expertly executed artwork. The narrator and his friends, teacher, and brother are painted in watercolors that glow with reality. These pictures are juxtaposed against background pencil sketches of Lincoln: the first spread has 28 head views of him at various ages--bearded and not, smiling and pensive. Later, the poses of Lincoln become even stronger as he appears in statues and on the head of a penny. Lincoln is not just an icon here. The cornerstone of the story is the way a modern-day child can relate to a man who happened to be president. (Reviewed November 15, 1999)

In an unusual approach to celebrating the individuality of all humans and fostering understanding of a larger-than-life historical figure, a boy who shares Abraham Lincoln's birthday draws parallels between his own personality and abilities and that of the revered American president. Full-color paintings depict action in the present while charcoal sketches depict Mr. Lincoln himself.