Lincoln's Grave Robbers (Scholastic Focus)

The Secret Service was originally started to prevent people from counterfeiting money. It was not until after Lincoln was killed that guarding the president became a priority. A group of counterfeiters met in a bar and came up with scheme of stealing Abraham Lincoln's body from his tomb and having the family pay ransom money to have it returned. The Secret Service got involved to prevent this from happening by using an informant who was able to worm his way into the good graces of the con men. This is a very interesting read about a subject that I knew very little about.

children's nonfiction. Another notable narrative nonfiction from the author who brought us "the notorious benedict arnold" and "bomb." I liked "Bomb" a lot better (more science? more high stakes?), but this was very readable.

Meh. Some of the details were interesting, but overall this moved so slowly I was EXTREMELY bored. Would probably recommend almost any other non-fiction I've read in the last year first, but as it's on a Battle of the Books list for one of our middle schools, I did finish it.

Superb true crime narrative of the attempt to snatch Abraham Lincoln's remains and hold them ransom for the release of noted counterfeiter. Author Sheinkin folds in details to create a dramatic and informative story. As if body snatching isn't alluring enough, a fascinating look at the beginnings of the US Secret Service, the crime of counterfeiting, and post-Civil War,1875 American life. A great intro to nonfiction reading for middle grades.

Not quite as good as "Bomb," but I love Sheinkin's style.

Great middle grade non fiction on several attempts to steal Abraham Lincoln's Body, counterfeit money, and the Secret Service during the 1870's. Very informative and fun read.

Explores the plot in the 1880s to steal Lincoln's corpse as a way to try to get a famouse counterfitter out of jail and bilk the government of money. The plot went fairly far and the arrest attempts are documented. I learned a lot by listening to this book from the origins of the secret service to the widespread problem of counterfitting in the United States in the mid to late 1800s.

A sordid, true tale of counterfeiters plotting to steal Lincoln's remains and hold it for ransom. An engaging true crime story that offers some revealing facts about this time in U.S. history.

Fascinating read by a master storyteller!

This book seemed like it would be exciting but it was not as great and interesting as it seemed. It had cool facts on counteir fitting history but It did not spend enough time on the action. So if your into facts this book is good but if you like action I would try something different

Steve Sheinkin, a former history textbook author, has an ability to make history come alive. Using primary sources, and quotes from people involved in the attempted theft of President Lincoln’s grave to free a counterfeit money engraver, he shows how the Secret Service agents were finally able to capture the crooks. What I really liked about this book was the use of primary sources and the inclusion of the quotes as this is an excellent way to show students how historical writing is done. This book would be most enjoyed by kids in the upper grades who love history like I do.

In the non-fiction book, Lincoln's Grave Robbers one is instantly caught by the title and realizes it is about a robbery of Abraham Lincoln's grave. Since students know about Lincoln’s assignation but haven’t heard about a grave robbery, many may be curious to find out more. Any student interested in Lincoln could be curious enough to want to read the book. The book jacket cover is interesting. Its subtle background shows the Lincoln monument where he is buried and Lincoln’s face. The book jacket draws the reader in but the actual book cover is far more subtle and would not draw too many readers in. The back of the book jacket has an excerpt from the book. Though it is a good excerpt, I'm not sure it is enough to catch a reader’s interest. There are no end pages in this book. The book has a narrative structure showing the conflict between the counterfeiters and the government in their pursuit to stop counterfeiting. James Kennally and his team scheme to snatch Lincoln’s body. They plan to use Lincoln’s body as a ransom to get Benjamin Boyd out of jail so he can return to engraving counterfeit plates and they can go back to becoming rich. At first glance a reader might think this book is a biography, but since it is not about Lincoln’s life but after he is buried, it would not fall under the biography category. This is a specialized book because it deals with a narrow topic and a limited time span. This book had to reference documents and articles directly from articles in the newspaper, as well as reading through Patrick Tyrell’s daily reports from the National Archives. Sheinkin gather’s additional information from John Power’s book, History of an Attempt to Steal the Body of Abraham Lincoln. With all this documentation, I feel the book is accurate. There are no other books on grave robbers in the UNO Children’s Library. There are two other fiction books dealing with counterfeiting, both from the same time period, One Came Home by Amy Timberlake and Two Crafty Criminals by Philip Pulman, There is a non-fiction book, Money: A Rich History by Jon Anderson, which explains the history of money and counterfeiting, but this book is more informational and for younger readers. There is a book, Abraham Lincoln Comes Home by Wendell Minor, which deals with a young boy’s grief over Lincoln’s death as Lincoln’s body is transported from Washington D.C. to Springfield. Because there are so few books on this area, I feel Lincoln’s Grave Robbers is specialized. There are several aspects that help the reader grasp what is going on. There are many characters in the book and it takes a while to understand the role each one plays. There is a "cast of characters" which gives the name of each character and often his/her role in the story. This is beneficial as a reference because a reader could forget a character's role. The book has a table of contents with seventeen chapters which tell the story in chronological order but do not necessarily help a reader determine what the next chapter will be about. There are times that the chapter title makes a reader wonder what the chapter is about, for example: "The Pull" or "The Boodle Game". The prologue tells of a money counterfeiter who was on a train to prison and his escape, which provides a bit of background before the story begins. (Though the reader could easily wonder why this is in the book, as I did.) This causes the reader to realize this is more than about the attempted robbery of Lincoln's body. There is a chronological order to the events and at times two story lines go back and forth. The story flows once the reader is able to comprehend all of the characters in the book. There is a “cast of characters” which is helpful. There is also an epilogue, a body snatcher bonus section, the source notes, index, and the acknowledgements. The epilogue is beneficial as well as the index. In the "source notes" Sheinkin lists the books he used for research as well as over two pages of articles, particularly newspaper articles that he referenced for his research. Throughout the entire book there are photographs of the individuals and of the cities and scenes. It adds authenticity to the book. Where the photographs came from is referenced at the beginning of the book, which I feel would have been better at the end of the book. The book’s “glossary of phrases” explains terms that are used in the book that students might not already understand, such as: “bone orchard” and “roper”. There is no pronunciation with the words, but it isn’t necessary. There are no sidebars or inserted information, but there are titles under photographs explaining who people are or the situation. There is a diagram of the Lincoln Monument, which better helps the reader to understand where the characters hide and how easy it would be for someone to break in and steal Lincoln’s body. The drawing of the tomb chamber is also helpful. I did not feel the “Body Snatcher Bonus Section” was necessary. It goes into detail about incidents of “body snatching”. It explains why there were so many body snatchers during this time, but it was a little too grueling for me. I feel it would be for many young readers. The content of this book is carefully organized. Because the story is complex with a vast group of characters, Sheinkin is diligent in helping readers understand the story. The glossary is necessary to make sure the reader understands the terms used in the book. There are terms I feel should have been included in the glossary, such as “sarcophagus”. Precise language is used throughout the book. Words such as intentions and “wacky-sounding scheme” on page 99 reflect the appropriate wording for students reading at this level. Sheinkin uses vivid language such as when he describes Tyrell’s arrival at Palmer House on page 8. “Tyrell stepped through the doors of the newly rebuilt Palmer House hotel and stood in the cavernous lobby. With its shining marble, glittering chandeliers and columns reaching up to soaring ceilings…” the reader can almost visualize the lobby. Sheinkin draws the reader into the situation, causing one to wonder, such as on page 86 when he writes, “Was he really worried about protecting Lincoln’s remains? Or was he thinking he’d lucked into a roper’s dream- a nugget of gold that would vastly increase his value in the eyes of the Secret Service.” Here one also has to understand the term “roper” which Sheinkin references in the glossary. The tone is conversational as he explains the characters and the part they play in the real-life adventure. We see this throughout, such as when Sheinkin describes in capturing Hughes and Mullen on page 163. “Tyrell, McGinn, and Simmons gathered on the dark sidewalk outside the saloon. The detectives peered through the window and Tyrell pointed out Hughes and Mullen. He’d have loved to make the bust himself, but he knew both coney men were armed.” There a few of Sheinkin’s other books in our library that I feel students would be interested in reading.This is not a book I would read in my religion class however I do think there are students that would find it fascinating. I think this could be a good book for some of our fifth graders. It would be great to do a “book talk” on it along with other books. The book jacket could pull them in to what it is about. Telling a bit about it and then stopping at an exciting point could hook some into reading it and possibly going onto read another book of Steve Sheinkin’s, like The Notorious Benedict Arnold. This could be a good book as they study the Revolutionary War. Another direction could be for younger students to listen to their teacher read, Money: A Rich History by Jon Anderson. It also would be worth investigating One Came Home by Amy Timberlake, which is a Newbery Honor Book. It sounds like a book students would enjoy.This book is not only about grave robbing but it is an adventure and a bit of history after the Civil War all rolled into one story. There are many interesting facts about counterfeiting. This is a good book for fourth through eighth graders to read, especially students who like adventure and history. I recommend this book for our library. Steve Sheinkin is an excellent writer and there are only a few books on the topic of counterfeiting and none on grave robbers.

Very readable - subject matter should appeal esp. to boys & you get some history thrown in at the same time. A good nonfiction read for teens

Sheinkin dives into the dirty underbelly of historical counterfeiting in "Lincoln's Grave Robbers," a 2014 Lone Star Award winner. As a non-fiction text, it focuses specifically on delineating the characters as real people struggling with real issues. An easy read.

This is a 2014 Lone Star selection. It is the true story of a gang of counterfeiters who try to steal Lincoln’s body in order to free one of the best counterfeiters around.You learn a lot of interesting facts in this book about the United States and the evolution of its money as well as the evolution of the Secret Service. Grave robbing by “ghouls” or “resurrectionists” is also an interesting bit of information you learn. One of the best parts of this book is the list of characters at the beginning. I listed to the book and sometimes had trouble remember who was who. If reading the book, you can flip back to the beginning to get a reminder. I thought the reader did a great job keeping me interested and making the story interesting. The book begins with the story of a famous counterfeiter who can escape from anywhere at almost any time: Pete McCartney. We then meet Ben Boyd who is Pete’s brother-in-law and one of the best engravers in the United States. The book explains how the Secret Service is able to capture them. Unfortunately, the people who are making money from counterfeiting are losing money because the best engravers are in jail. That’s when they come up with a plan to steal Abraham Lincoln’s body to get Ben Boyd out of prison. Each step of the plan from the criminals to the law makers is detailed. You will learn why Lincoln’s tomb is the way it is to this day.I like history and learning about real people in our country. I found this story interesting and informative. It’s pretty short and easy to read.

Sheinkin reveals the plot and motives behind a plan to rob Lincoln's grave, a story perhaps not known to many, but an interesting piece of US history. The text includes many photographs that help set the tone and engage the reader, and the story flows well and includes some suspense, but compared to Sheinkin's Newbery honor book Bomb, this title is not as engaging.

This book reads like a thriller, but it is a true story of the 1875 attempt to steal President Lincoln's body to hold it for ransom, and how the Secret Service came to foil it.

Background: This is a historical recount of the attempt of a group of counterfeiters to rob the grave of Abraham Lincoln. The attempt was to use the corpse of Lincoln to require ransom of the government which included a man's freedom from jail and money for the group.Review: This was a very educational read. The book is said to be for ages 10-14 and I think that some at the age of 10 may get a little confused by it's wordings of the events, but otherwise the history is interesting. I think as a kid I would like to learn about grave robbers and fake money and this book had all of that. It was real events presented in en educational but fun way.I learned a lot about Lincoln's family, counterfeiting during the period, and about the attempts to steal Lincoln. I even shared a few random facts with my husband. I think the age group the book is meant for will want to do the same and I think if more school lessons were taught in this fun manner more kids would enjoy history class.My ARC had a bunch of picture placeholders, so I assume the hardcopy includes more images for the readers to reference throughout and there was also a glossary of the terminology used in the book/ time period.

Steve Sheinkin has a true talent for taking little known (or cared about) historical events and pulling you in until you are caught up in the mystery. Lincoln's Grave Robbers is such a book. I went to school in Chicago, Illinois and knew just about everything about Lincoln yet I had not known, or cared, about a group of men in 1875 who did break into Lincoln's tomb in Springfield and attempt to steal his coffin and hold it for ransom to secure the release of one of their counterfeiter buddies who was in jail. The writing style reads like fiction, so skillful is the author in blending facts into imagined dialogue that the reader follows along effortlessly from one scene to the next. An added bonus is the crime solving techniques and spy activity that goes on in setting up the criminals and early counterfeiting. Mr. Sheinkin's books are aimed at a younger audience but adults will enjoy them as well. It is no wonder that his other books have been the recipient of so many awards. I strongly encourage you to read Bomb- the Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon as well for a fascinating look at how we developed the atomic bomb during World War II.