AdLit.org is a national multimedia project offering information and resources to the parents and educators of struggling adolescent readers and writers. AdLit.org is an educational initiative of WETA, the flagship public television and radio station in the nation's capital, and is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and by the Ann B. and Thomas L. Friedman Family Foundation.
The Era of Abraham Lincoln, Slavery, and the Civil War
Fiction, non-fiction, poetry and photography vividly depict Civil War battles, the Underground Railroad, and Lincoln's tumultuous presidential term. See Our White House for additional resources.
Lincoln Through the Lens
Age Level: 12-14
Lincoln was among the first presidents to be photographed. As his presidency matured, so did the art of photography.
When Johnny Went Marching: Young Americans Fight the Civil War
Age Level: 12-14
Personal accounts and photographs of boys too young to fight but who enlisted as drummers, hospital aides, and more.
Mr. Lincoln's Camera Man: Matthew B. Brady
Age Level: 16-18
Over 300 photographs by the man who captured the war on film (with written commentary) shows the figures and the horror of the period.
Freedom Roads: Searching for the Underground Railroad
Age Level: 12-14
Before the Civil War ended, enslaved African Americans sought ways north to freedom; explores how historians continue to dig up and learn more about the difficult trek to freedom.
The Brothers' War: Civil War Voices in Verse
Age Level: 12-14
With speeches of Civil War leaders, this book shows the human toll in verse and photographs.
A Light in the Storm: the Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin
Age Level: 12-14
A lighthouse keeper's daughter on Fenwick Island, Delaware, chronicles the confusion brought on by the War.
Red Moon at Sharpsburg
Age Level: 12-14
A girl from the Shenandoah Mountains witnesses the devastation of war as a daughter and emerging scientist.
Across Five Aprils
Age Level: 12-14
The sons of one family fight on different sides while the youngest tries to make sense of the war.
Elijah of Buxton
Age Level: 9-12
Eleven-year-old Elijah was born in Buxton, a Canadian settlement that was the final stop on the Underground Railroad. The free child of slaves, Elijah reveals his growing awareness of the horrors of slavery on his journey to young adulthood. Vivid characters and a strong sense of place create both humor and horror in this moving novel.
Good Brother, Bad Brother: The Story of Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth
Age Level: 12-14
Many students know of John Wilkes Booth as Abraham Lincoln's assassin, but few know that before he committed this infamous crime, he was a member of a family of accomplished actors, including his well-known brother, Edwin.
