Rebecca’s Prayer for President Lincoln

Gr 1-4–This somber picture book tells the story of Rebecca, a Jewish girl living in New York at the time of the Civil War. Her dad joins the Union Army to make sure no one suffers slavery as the Jews did in Egypt. He returns home but has been wounded and lost his hand. The family learns during a Sabbath service that President Lincoln has been assassinated, and the congregation spontaneously recites the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead. The book is based on a historically documented fact, but the backstory may leave readers with more questions than answers about what Jewish life was like in New York in the 1860s. The artwork is oddly contemporary, with the characters appearing somewhat cartoonish, with overly large eyes and minimal shading for dimensionality. The clothes are appropriate to the era, but some details seem incongruent, such as the painting of Abraham Lincoln in the dining room or the father’s wooden hand. It tells a story about the Civil War from the Jewish perspective, which might be a useful tool for discussions of point of view.