Mr. Lincoln's Way

     One of the first things I noticed about this story was how the cover illustrations created one large picture when you opened the book up all the way. The illustrations give the reader a better sense of each character's personality and better developed the plot line by showing more than what the words on the page described. Patricia Polacco's illustrations typically appear to be realistic and this allows for the readers to match the characters of the story to the people in the pictures on the pages. Her illustrations also take up majority of each page, leaving little spaces for the words of the text to be placed. I think this is great to talk about when sharing in the classroom, because the students can begin to develop an understanding of how connecting the words of the story to the pictures can be used for future stories with less illustrations involved (chapter books). 
      This book would be a great resource for discussing diversity, bullying, discrimination, misjudging, and more. There is a second underlying message present and that includes respecting authority figures and those older than you. I feel this would be excellent to use during staff appreciation week or in preparation for a classroom visit from the principal. Students need to be introduced to the principal at an early age to better grasp what his/her purpose is and how they are involved within the schools.

Mr. Lincoln's Way
By: Patricia Polacco
Published in 2001