Book Review
The Eye that Never Sleeps: How Detective Pinkerton Saved President Lincoln
Written by Marissa Moss
Illustrated by Jeremy Holmes
Published November 6, 2018
Why we chose this book:
I knew a minimal amount about the Pinkerton detectives, this sounded fascinating and looked cool, and I thought it would be fun and informative for us both. Abrams Books provided a review copy.
Mom's Review
An exciting and fact-filled introduction to Pinkerton and a thwarted assassination attempt on Lincoln.
Bold graphics, cartoon-style characters, and a spotlight emanating from Pinkerton's eyes all draw young readers' attention to a topic that otherwise might not intrigue. Then, the narrative style retains readers' interest and imparts a fascinating tale. Readers will learn that Pinkerton, an immigrant fleeing arrest, used his powers of observation and deduction to catch counterfeiters who were working on the island where he harvested lumber for his cooperage (I learned that a cooperage is a barrel business). This ultimately led to his career as a detective, which led him to rumors of an assassination plot against Lincoln before his inauguration, which led him to thwart the plot, which led Lincoln to employ him in the new Secret Service. Fast forward to 1999, and Securitas acquired the still-successful Pinkerton business. Back matter provides further detailed biographical and company history.
With many inset pictures, captions, and eye catching fonts, Moss and Holmes intrigue, inform, and inspire further learning. An incredible find for any young reader (or their adult)!
Son's Review
(Age: FOUR!!!)
While reading:
Mom: What would you do if you came across a campfire in a strange place?
Son: I would hide in the woods looking for years and years and days.
Mom: Why do you think there might be a campfire here?
Son: Because somebody is camping there.
Mom: I would be curious...Why do you think they were doing it late at night, hidden?
Son: Me too... Making pretend money.
Mom: Did you remember that from last time, or did you use the picture clues?
Son: Used the picture clues.
________________________________
Son: Did he really save him? Is this a true story?
Mom: Yes. And I'm glad you asked that. Pinkerton did stop the plan. Some different people did kill President Lincoln later though. Let's see how Pinkerton does it.
Son: Yeah, let's.
Mom: Do you have any questions so far?
Son, pointing to a train conductor: One question - why was he sending a present to this one?
Mom: I don't know. I think we'd better read. Do you have any guesses?
Son: No.
After reading:
Mom: What questions do you have about this book?
Son: Pretty much no.
Mom: What's the most interesting thing you learned? I learned a lot. I knew Pinkerton was a detective, but I didn't know he protected the president.
Son: Me neither!
Mom: What's your favorite thing you learned?
Son: That President Plinkin is true!
Mom: Yeah. President Lincoln is true...Pinkerton saved President Lincoln when people wanted to hurt him. What would you do if you found out someone wanted to hurt another person?
Son: I would save them. I would dress all in black and then I would grab a shield and a sword and put on a bunch of armor and paint it black and I would go out to save the other person.
Mom: Oh wow! I would probably try to warn the person. How did you feel when we were reading?
Son: I felt nervous. That's why I want to read it always.
Mom: If you could meet Pinkerton, what would you say to him?
Son: I would say, "Why did they want to kill President Pl- Lincoln?"
(We discussed this in detail.)
Mom: What's the most important thing to know about this book?
Son: That I like it.
Mom: If you could meet one person from this book, who would it be? Why?
Son: The conductor of the train. To ask him why he got a purple present.
(This is explained in the book.)
Mom: When is it a good time to read The Eye that Never Sleeps? Why?
Son: Each day...because everyone likes it.
 |
| T's favorite detail |
Comments
Post a Comment