Catching Up With Caldecott: 1940

The third book to be awarded the Caldecott Medal was also the first book with color illustrations: Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, published by Doubleday. It tells the story of our sixteenth President from birth through the American Civil War. It is full of lessons about the importance of hard work, education, and a sense of humor. There are stories of Lincoln's determination and kindness and what we would consider to be exciting adventures, but what Abe thought of as just necessary work.

Who were Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire?

Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire circa 1961

Ingri Mortensen and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire met in 1921 at art school in Munich, Germany. They married in Norway, moved to Paris, and dreamed of going to America. Using the payment they received after a small bus accident, Edgar moved to New York and worked as a book illustrator until he could afford to send for Ingri. After arriving in New York, Ingri started painting portraits and holding dinner parties. At one of these parties, the head librarian of the New York Public Library's juvenile department asked the couple why they didn't illustrate children's books.

Their first children's book was The Magic Rug, published by Doubleday in 1931. They then went on to write and illustrate three books based on the Scandinavian folklore from Ingri's childhood. Drawing from the history of their adopted country, they decided to do a series of books based on American heroes.

Columbus, 1955; Buffalo Bill, 1952; Benjamin Franklin, 1950;
George Washington, 1936; Pocahontas, 1946

But it was their 1939 biography of Abraham Lincoln that won them the Caldecott Medal.

For their illustrations, the d'Aulaires used stone lithography. It would take four slabs of Bavarian limestone to create a single four-color illustration. The limestone slabs could weigh up to two hundred pounds a piece and this format gave the illustrations a hand-drawn look.

The practice of stone lithography gained popularity in the 1800s but is still practiced by some artists to this day.

According to the website How Stuff Works:

The basic idea used in stone lithography is extremely simple:

The artist draws/paints on the stone with a greasy substance. For example, a litho crayon is a soft waxy/greasy crayon. There are also litho paints and pencils. The stone picks up this greasy substance and holds it
The stone is moistened with water. The parts of the stone not protected by the greasy paint soak up the water.
Oil-based ink is rolled onto the stone. The greasy parts of the stone pick up the ink, while the wet parts do not.
A piece of paper is pressed onto the stone, and the ink transfers from the stone to the paper.

Abraham Lincoln has a combination of black and white and color illustrations.

Young Abe

Abe's classroom

What I love about these illustrations is how detailed they are. The longer you study them, the more you see. Don't just flip through this book, take time to study each picture and you'll see fun little images.

Some of the silliness in the full page illustrations.

Abraham Lincoln is a long story. This is not a quick book to grab and read before bed, this is a thorough story filled with anecdotes and history. Which means the d'Aulaires used small black and white images to fill the spaces around paragraphs to keep the reader entertained.

Abe's family home; Mrs. Lincoln baking gingerbread men;
Mary Todd and Abe Lincoln; President Lincoln and a monkey

And many pages are framed with illustrations:

Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire is truly a beautifully illustrated biography. It is full of stories that will serve to bring our 16th President to life in the eyes of children.

It does end before Lincoln is assassinated and it does not mention the deaths of his sons Tad and Willie, but it does tell of his mother's passing and the death of Ann Rutledge, Lincoln's first love. It also broaches the subject of slavery with all the political correctness of a book written in 1939. I don't believe there is anything particularly offensive about what is written, but the wording wouldn't fly in a book published in 2014.

Long before I knew about this book or even learned the names Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, I recognized their artwork. Like most kids, I went through a phase of being fascinated by Greek mythology and the d'Aulairs are well known for D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths:

In total, the couple wrote and illustrated 27 childrens' books, many of which are still available. Click on a cover below to learn more about the title.