Nonfiction Monday

"This story is true. All the characters are real and were alive during the great manhunt of April 1965..."-from the jacket of Chasing Lincoln's Killer

A few weeks ago, my children and I went on the search for their summer reading books. My oldest son selected Chasing Lincoln's Killer  from his summer reading list.  They didn't have a copy in the store so we ordered it.  When the box of books arrived, I immediately began reading Chasing Lincoln's Killer.   Let's just say that I was hooked and I didn't want to put it down. It reads more like a fast paced novel than a nonfiction book. I found it fascinating that Booth's plan was so calculated and that it involved more than just assassinating Lincoln.

James Swanson does an excellent job of developing the main characters involved in Booths plan while leading us on the fast paced chase to track Booth down.  Swanson tells the reader that his interest in Lincoln's assassination began with a gift from his grandmother on his tenth birthday. The gift was and engraving of the Deringer pistol used to assassinate Lincoln and framed by newspaper article about the assassination that was incomplete. That incomplete newspaper article led him on a journey to find the rest of the story. Fortunately, he shared the rest of the story with us in Chasing Lincoln's Killer.

This would be a great book to pair with a study of the Civil War. I believe that 5th graders would even enjoy it. However, sensitive students should be cautioned of its graphic details.