Abe Lincoln crosses a creek

Abe Lincoln crosses a creek : a tall, thin tale (introducing his forgotten frontier friend) / Deborah Hopkinson ; pictures by John Hendrix. -- New York : Schwartz & Wade Books, c2008.
[32] p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 25 x 30 cm.
ISBN: 9780375937682 (reinforced)

1. Best friends – Fiction. 2. Friendship – Fiction.. 3. Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 – Childhood and youth – Fiction.. 4. Rescues – Fiction.

813.54

When he was seven-years-old Abraham Lincoln fell into the flooded Knob Creek near his home in Kentucky, and would probably have drowned but for the quick action of his friend Austin Gollaher who fished him out. This 1816 historical incident is the basis for the tale Hopkinson tells the reader and the illustrator. She imagines, as if she were recalling the story out loud, what the scene might have looked like and wondering what history would be like if young Abe had drowned then. Did Austin use a fishing pole or a branch to save his friend, or does he just dive in? “…that’s the thing about history—if you weren’t there, you can’t know for sure,” she says. Hendrix’s water-colored ink illustrations complement the playful speculative tone of the book.