ALA Booklist (Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2014)

Practically any school-age child can tell you that John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln while he watched a play. Few of them, however, are probably familiar with the names of Booth's coconspirators or the fact that the assassination was only part of a much larger plan that included other assassinations. Nor do they likely know about the manhunt to find Booth, the details of his ultimate demise, or the poignant train ride that carried Lincoln's body back to Springfield, Illinois, during which nearly a quarter of the nation paid their respects, including hundreds of African Americans. Brown, a prolific writer of history books for children, lays out the overarching story vividly but soberly, offering salient details that give human qualities to the facts of the past. His dramatic art, painted in historically evocative colors, is as effective in conveying the terror of Lewis Powell's attack on the bedridden Secretary of State William Seward as it is in showing the sorrow of those gathered around Lincoln's deathbed. An excellent and accessible way into history for young readers.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

The fifth book in the Actual Times series is a sober account of the assassination of President Lincoln. Booth -believed that robbing the Union of the president-s leadership would cripple the North and save the South,- writes Brown; the assassination takes place early on, and the brunt of the book follows Booth-s attempted flight, Lincoln-s death, and the -relentless, sweeping investigation- to find Booth and his conspirators. Brown-s shadowy pencil-and-watercolor images mitigate some of the horror of events that included multiple shootings, stabbings, and the eventual hanging of four involved with the assassination plot. Even so, a sense of the nation-s loss reverberates through this harrowing recounting. Ages 6-9. (Apr.)

Horn Book (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Brown introduces both major actors, Lincoln and Booth, and then begins the tricky task of chronologically following each man to his death. He does so successfully, switching back and forth with impeccable transitions. The text is matter-of-fact and detailed, and the illustrations, in Browns slightly impressionistic style and rendered in somber shades of brown, blue, and gray, create drama. Bib.

School Library Journal (Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2014)

Gr 3-6 On this fateful day, Lincoln planned a carriage ride in the park and an evening at the theater with his wife. At the same time, John Wilkes Booth planned to kill the president. Here, Brown tells the story of that day and its aftermath, with a clear and engaging narrative style, covering not only the assassination but also other attacks planned by Booth and his friends: the stabbing of Secretary of State William Seward and a planned attack on Vice President Andrew Johnson, which never came to fruition. The narrative continues with the story of Booth's flight and capture, Lincoln's death, Seward's recovery, and the fate of Booth's coconspirators. The narrative reads like fiction, though Brown is careful to stick closely to his source material, and only when a person's words are known does he include the quotations as dialogue. The book's end matter consists of a brief bibliography, though sources for specific quotations are not cited. Brown's muted but action-filled illustrations add visual interest and occasionally help convey information, such as showing the layout of Lincoln's box at Ford's Theatre. Most libraries will find this a useful addition to their collections as the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's death draws near. This should be an interesting and illuminating title that serves as a good introduction to the topic for young people, and some readers may wish to move on to James L. Swanson's Chasing Lincoln's Killer (Scholastic, 2009) for more in-depth coverage of the subject. Misti Tidman, Licking County Library, Newark, OH

Kirkus Reviews

Traditional journalistic questions are applied to Abraham Lincoln's assassination and funeral, as well as the roundup and executions of John Wilkes Booth and his associates. Facing the title page is a drawing of John Wilkes Booth, smoking gun in hand, with a speech bubble: "I do not repent the blow I struck." On the first text page is a watercolor cartoon of Lincoln and the sentence, "It was a rare, cheerful day for President Abraham Lincoln." Next, the Confederate flag hangs in defeat, as text explains both Lincoln's satisfaction with the Civil War's results and how this filled John Wilkes Booth "with seething rage." Readers then learn about Booth's failed kidnapping scheme, his cadre of supporters, and the bungled attempts by his cohorts to kill the vice president and secretary of state, which are contrasted with Booth's successful mission. The text includes often underreported facts about the era's political climate, such as the possibly hundreds of people killed if "caught gloating over the murder." Details such as having to lay out the long-bodied Lincoln diagonally on his deathbed and the clues used to track down the escaped Booth are integrated in fast-paced, accessible language. The atmospheric illustrations are void of some of the text's gorier details, but the topic's general handling, which assumes considerable historical knowledge, suggests an older audience than the publisher's recommended 6-10. Sadly, there are no child-friendly suggestions for further reading. Suitable for avid younger historians and older reluctant readers. (bibliography) (Nonfiction. 9-12)