Review: Rebecca's Prayer for President Lincoln
Rebecca's Prayer for President Lincoln by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Laura Barella Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Arlene Schenker Buy at Bookshop.org Rebecca's Prayer for President Lincoln is based on a true story and vividly captures the emotion of the Jewish community in Washington, DC, following news of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Prolific children’s author Jane Yolen, once again, brings a story to life through her elegant and engaging language. The story centers on a Jewish family and takes place immediately after the Civil War. It is told in the voice of the younger of two sisters. She adopts her father’s strong disdain for slavery -- and reverence for Abraham Lincoln. Even though her father comes home from the war with a useless wooden hand, he never stops believing in the righteousness of the war. He tells his family, “We Jews who were once slaves in Egypt, we especially, should never let another huma