History for Kids: The Illustrated Life of Mary Todd Lincoln

*Perfect for ages 7-10

*Includes pictures of Mary and important people, places, and events in her life.

*Includes a Table of Contents. 


In Charles River Editors’ History for Kids series, your children can learn about history’s most important people and events in an easy, entertaining, and educational way. Pictures help bring the story to life, and the concise but comprehensive book will keep your kid’s attention all the way to the end. 


It’s possible that the world would have remembered Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882) if only because she was the wife of one of America’s greatest presidents and present for his shocking assassination. But Mary was one of the most unique women to ever be First Lady, and she was in the White House during the country’s most trying time. That ensured she would have a legacy, but history hasn’t exactly been kind. 


Mary was dealt a tough hand that might have made it impossible for her to ever be popular. The Civil War erupted a month after her husband, Abraham Lincoln, became president, and Mary was a native Southerner who had relatives fighting for the Confederacy. Making matters worse, Mary seemed out of touch with the times, organizing lavish balls at a time when the country was literally coming apart at the seams. As if the external pressure wasn’t trying enough, young Willie Lincoln died in the White House in 1862, sending Mary into fits of grief that she might have never fully recovered from even before her husband’s assassination and the death of her son Tad in 1881. 


Unfortunately, one of the things most associated with Mary is insanity. Having dealt with so much death, and already a superstitious woman to begin with, Mary was eventually institutionalized by her eldest son Robert, the only Lincoln child to reach adulthood. With her death in 1882, the perception of her as a generally out of touch, troubled woman was set. 


History for Kids: The Illustrated Life of Mary Todd Lincoln looks at Mary’s turbulent life and the tragedies she was forced to endure, but it also humanizes her in an attempt to portray a more objective and comprehensive picture. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, your kids will learn about the famous first lady like never before.