Abe Lincoln At Least is the 47th book in the Magic Tree House Book Series.
Summary[]
The magic tree house whisks Jack and Annie to Washington, D.C. in the 1860s where they meet Abraham Lincoln and collect a feather that will help break a magic spell.
Chapters[]
- The Third Thing
- Pirate Captain
- Hide! Hide!
- Willie!
- Leave Now!
- Trust the Magic
- Sam's Farm
- Into the Rough
- Corn Bread and Molasses
- Readin' and Writin'
- Abe Lincoln at Last!
- The Feather of Hope
Plot[]
Jack and Annie left their house early in the morning, before school, and headed to the magic tree house in the woods. They already found two items to free Penny from a petrification spell: a green jewel and a white and yellow flower. Teddy and Kathleen had left them a magic potion and a book about Abraham Lincoln. The book contained a riddle, explaining that they needed to retrieve a feather from Lincoln and offer him the hope necessary to heal his nation.
The third thing to break the spell
is a single feather from a hero's hand.
Use it wisely to give him hope-
the hope he needs to heal his land.
Using the potion, Jack and Annie made a wish to be transported to the White House as depicted in the book. Their tree house landed on the White House lawn in 1861, and they were dressed in period-appropriate clothes like that time on the prairie with the schoolhouse and when they helped Clara Barton. Soon, they met two curious boys, Tad and Willie, who told them they could take them to meet President Lincoln. It turned out that Tad and Willie were Lincoln’s sons.
Sam holding Lincoln's quill pen.
Despite their best efforts, Tad and Willie couldn’t help Jack and Annie bypass the security and people waiting to see the president. The children used the remaining magic potion to wish for a private meeting with Lincoln. They found themselves in a forest, where they encountered a boy named Sam, who offered to help them meet the president. However, Sam was accidentally kicked in the head by his horse, and Jack and Annie helped him to his log cabin, where they tended to him as he rested. They discovered that Sam’s mother had passed away, his father was away, and his sister wouldn’t return until late that evening. The children tried to assist Sam with his chores—chopping wood, milking the cow, fetching water, and making cornbread—but they failed miserably. Eventually, Sam recovered enough to finish the tasks himself. When Sam learned of Jack and Annie’s passion for writing, he gifted them a feather pen and ink that he had made. Just as Sam’s father returned with a new wife and siblings, the children were whisked back to 1861.
Back at the White House, Jack and Annie saw President Lincoln walking alone. He seemed perplexed when he noticed the children and recalled a time from his childhood when he had met them. Lincoln shared how they had once helped him, and he had joked about his name being Sam. Following the riddle’s guidance, Jack and Annie offered Lincoln hope, assuring him that the Civil War would eventually end, bringing freedom to all. They returned to the magic tree house, holding Lincoln’s feather pen, feeling grateful for the comforts of their own time.
Trivia[]
- The book was released two days after Christmas.
- At the beginning of the book, there is a quote by poet Carl Sandburg. "Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on earth who is both steel and velvet, who is hard as rock and soft as drifting fog. ..." This quote is from a famous speech Sandburg described Lincoln as a man who possesses seemingly contradictory qualities, being both strong and resolute but also gentle and compassionate.