Written by Delores MaloneIllustrated by Stephen Costanza

It was clean up time in Ms. Grant’s second grade class. Noah and Maya were putting away the big map of the United States. Suddenly, there was the worst ripping sound.

Everyone looked at Noah and Maya. The map was torn into two pieces.

“Look what you did!” said Noah.“Me?” said Maya. “You’re wrong! It’s not my fault!”

Ms. Grant stepped in. “Please stop,” she said. “I don’t think either of you is at fault. We can fix that.” They held up the two pieces of the map.

“Look! Our country has been torn in two. We need Abraham Lincoln!”

“Abraham Lincoln?” asked Noah. “You mean the President Lincoln from long ago?”

“Yes,” said Ms. Grant. “I’ll tell you about Abraham Lincoln and how he worked with other people to put our country back together.”

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in Kentucky. His family lived in a log cabin that had only one room. When Abraham Lincoln was a boy, everyone called him “Abe.”

Abe and his family moved to Indiana in 1816. He was seven years old. Abe worked very hard on the farm.

One of his jobs was cutting wood. Wood was used for cooking and for heat. Wood was also used to make fences. When Abe grabbed the handle of his ax, a big log soon became firewood or fence rails.

Abe also plowed fields and planted corn. Young Abe carried a book with him wherever he went. Whenever he had time to rest, Abe took the book from his pocket and read.

As a young man, Abe worked in a store in New Salem, Illinois. One day a woman bought some things in the store. After she left, Abe noticed that he hadn’t given enough money back to the woman. Abe walked many miles to give her the money. When his friends heard this story, they called him “Honest Abe.”

Abe loved to read, tell stories, and make people laugh. Abe studied hard and passed a test to become a lawyer. In 1837, he opened a law office in Springfield, Illinois. Now people called him “Mr. Lincoln.”

Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States on November 6, 1860. Now he was called “President Lincoln.”

President Lincoln had a very big problem. People in the North wanted to end slavery. The people in the South wanted to form their own country and keep slavery. President Lincoln wanted to keep the country together.

The Civil War began on April 12, 1861. The armies of the North and the South fought each other. Many people died. President Lincoln had to find a way to stop the fighting.

The Civil War finally ended, on April 9, 1865. Abraham Lincoln worked very hard with many others to put our country back together. To this day, many people call Abraham Lincoln “America’s Great President.”

When Ms. Grant finished her story, Maya smiled at Noah and said, “Do you think we could put our country back together again?”

Noah nodded. “We certainly can.”

When they finished, Maya and Noah held up the map for the class to see.

“Thank you,” said Ms. Grant. “You did a terrific job. Now you have something in common with Abraham Lincoln. You worked together and you put our country back together.”

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