Grace's Gumption Is Rewarded in Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers

I'm rather fond of writing letters to famous people. I've written to authors, actors, musicians and even a U.S. President. But the President I really would have loved to write predated me by more than a century. I didn't get that chance, but 11-year-old Grace Bedell did, and the brief correspondence between this Westfield, NY, girl and soon-to-be-elected Abraham Lincoln encourages children to express their ideas and not to let anyone convince them their thoughts are of little importance.

In Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers, Karen B. Winnick depicts Grace as a young woman passionate about politics. After her father returns from a trip and brings her a poster of Lincoln, she studies his picture and decides that he would look much better with a beard. Having heard one of her brothers putting Lincoln down, she wants to do what she can to assist with his campaign, so she writes to him suggesting he adopt facial hair. Not only does she receive a response, she has the opportunity to see Lincoln when his train heading from Springfield, IL, to Washington, D.C. stops in Westfield, and he has a surprise in store for her...

Winnick's oil paintings are realistic and full of details of life in 1860. I especially like the painting of Mr. Bedell's horse-drawn carriage standing in the shadow of autumn trees and of Grace snuggling under a patchwork quilt, a little doll on her bed and a big dog underneath it. The best picture, however, is saved for last, when Grace actually meets almost-President Lincoln and savors the feel of his newly grown "whiskers" as he kisses her on the cheek.

This book includes the entire text of Lincoln's response to Grace, most notably the playful and misleading, "As to the whiskers, having never worn any, do you not think people would call it a piece of silly affection if I were to begin it now?" Grace's letter is slightly abridged, with details that have no relevance to the book omitted. Copies of both letters are included in the back of the book, so readers can puzzle over both Bedell and Lincoln's handwriting.

In subsequent years, Lincoln's beard would become a physical characteristic as striking as his height. Like William Riker, the second-in-command on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Abraham Lincoln gained a much more authoritative look when he had a few whiskers to flesh out his face. They didn't make him a better president, but they did make him seem more distinguished.

Winnick tells her story in short paragraphs set in white text boxes against the full-page illustrations. Most of the tale is told in dialogue as Grace discusses the upcoming election and its aftermath with her parents and brothers. Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers would be a great book to read to a grade school class as part of a study on Lincoln or a letter-writing project. Who knows what impact those children's words might have?