ABRAHAM'S BATTLE

With a large scope to belie its length, a novella that paints in simple scenes of the battle of Gettysburg the essential sorrow and causes of the entire Civil War. Banks (Under the Shadow of Wings, 1997, etc.) introduces Abraham Small, an ex-slave whose humble life near Gettysburg is interrupted when he meets Lamar, an innocent young Confederate soldier who is without racial prejudices. They spend a pleasant afternoon together and part as friends, but Abraham realizes that he must fight against slavery in the coming battle. Banks follows the fates of her characters, including a meeting of Abraham Small and Abraham Lincoln, through succinct scenes that effortlessly include facts and statistics of the battle. While some transitions are too abrupt, the author places the lives of the characters within a context of real history, and gives readers an understanding of the soaring words and effect of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. This is a poignant and effective introduction to the Civil War, to use alongside Gary Paulsen’s Soldier’s Heart (1998). (Fiction. 9-13)