I really enjoyed this picture book about a real incidence of Lincoln doing something unethical and then having to come up with a way to deal with the consequences and make it right. (He wrote a fake letter to the paper criticizing a political rival but things snowballed and he had to admit he was the writer. The rival challenged him to a duel.)

This was a surprisingly cute story with a great message that even really good people sometimes do bad things and that they can fix them.

Our family does a lot of historic reenacting as part of our homeschooling and as a way to volunteer together for great organizations (here are a couple of blog posts from two of our reenacting adventures https://magicandmayhemhomeschool.word... and https://magicandmayhemhomeschool.word...). Our youngest daughter, Fiona, has done so much reenacting that when she was very young she considered Abraham Lincoln to be one of her best friends. :) He has always been her favorite president, not just because of who he was and what he did, but because she's always felt like she "knew" him.

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I'm planning on reading this to her today and know she'll enjoy it as much as I did.

This was an interesting book that provided a different view of the life of Abraham Lincoln and many of the words that he spoke over his long life. It shows the president in a different light and how one can learn from their mistakes - he almost gets into a duel because of harsh words with a political rival. It is a story that makes history alive and believable. It gives a good understanding of an basically unknown event in history. Books like this make history more open and realistic - there is more than just the regular Presidential information.

I love how little gems of history come alive in books like these! This is a part of history that most people don't know about our 16th President, and it shows him as a person who made a mistake (he was human) and recovered from that mistake. This book helps round out knowledge about Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln's Dueling Words is a delightfully illustrated tale about a lesser known incident in Lincoln's life as a barrister. In response to tax changes that would affect the poorer folk rather harshly, Lincoln wrote a letter to the newspaper under the name 'Aunt Rebecca’, which also called out rival James Shields. Two other 'Aunt Rebecca’ letters turned up, written by people other than Lincoln.

These letters steamed Shields up, and he demanded to know who was behind it. He then challenged Lincoln to a duel. In an attempt to protect both people, and force it to be called off, Lincoln chose swords, and set very clear guidelines that would favour his height and reach. This gives the seconds the opportunity to step in and defuse things, satisfying the honour of both. At the end, there's a section explaining more historical facts regarding the events surrounding Lincoln's duel.

With brilliant illustrations and clear language, Bowman and Schindler bring to life this little known tale, making Lincoln into more a person than a symbol of ideal. He's got a playful sense of humour, and bit of an impetuous nature. It was neat to see Lincoln in a trickster light! My cubs all enjoyed reading this book!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Myrick Marketing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is one of the most interesting books about Lincoln this reader has ever perused. And that is saying something from someone who lives in the Land of Lincoln, and looks out on his capitol every day. Did you know Lincoln almost dueled another politician. We often think of Lincoln as this do no wrong, make everything right man. But he was a human. He did things he wasn’t proud of, including writing “fake news” as letters in the local paper under a different name. It was mean spirited and caused the subject to challenge Lincoln to a duel. This is a part of Lincoln history that is not heard, but is an important lesson that is well laid out, and a fun read. The illustrations help keep the story light, and the reader engrossed.

A colorful presentation of a significant event in Lincoln's early career. Written more for a young adult audience, I hope it encourages anyone with an interest in the subject to explore it further.

I wish that the cover of “Abraham Lincoln’s Dueling Words” was more eye-catching, because I really enjoyed the book. I had no idea about any of it! My only complaint is that the end of the book doesn’t explain more about Shield’s and Lincoln’s working relationship throughout their lives.

It's a pleasant surprise to read a picture book that details a largely unknown event in the life of Abraham Lincoln. When Lincoln engaged in mudslinging against his political rival James Shields, the two almost ended up fighting a duel. While this clearly doesn't show Lincoln at his finest, it does show how he learned from his mistakes and was able to avoid fighting. The illustrations give readers a sense of time and place and the text makes the story believable. Back matter adds even more information. Teachers and librarians might well ask children why this story is hardly known to people today.