Book Review: Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln? by Kate DiCamillo

Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln? (Tales from Deckawoo Drive #3) by Kate DiCamillo, Chris Van Dusen (Illustrations) 

I had the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for this review. This was a real treat, as I love having Kate DiCamillo's books in my classroom library.  On this blog, I have read and reviewed:

Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon (Tales from Deckawoo Drive #2) by Kate DiCamillo, Chris Van Dusen (Illustrations)  

 

 



 

Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo

 

 

 

In Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln? Lucille Abigail Eleanor Lincoln, or Baby (as everyone knew her) woke up after having a strange dream of taking a trip on a train. As she was beginning her daily routine with her sister, Eugenia, she realized that she needed to take a trip - a necessary journey. She didn't know where she was going, but she had to go: "The sun was shining into the kitchen, and everything seemed outline in brightness, possibility."

 

 

From the moment Baby walked out the door with her suitcase and to the train station to take her necessary journey, she encountered all sorts of people that helped her learn more about who she really was, what she liked, and what she dreamed of. She had spent her entire life under the protective wing of her sister, so she was used to always doing and thinking what Eugenia told her to.

 

 

This book, which is the third volume in the Tales from Deckawoo Drive series, has the wonderful theme that is present in all of Kate DiCamillo's books: facing your fears and pursuing dreams. 

 

 

"Baby understood being afraid. When she was young, she had been afraid of everything: bats, bicycles, dusk, the darkness that followed dusk. Doorbells. She had, for some reason, been absolutely terrified of doorbells. Being alone had frightened her. And so had Mondays. Eugenia was afraid of nothing, of course."

 

 

Everyone (grown-ups and children) who reads this book will be able to relate to Baby's fears. They may seem silly or irrational, but we all have periods of self-doubt and times when we're afraid to take the steps we need to in order to move forward. All of DiCamillo's books seem to get that and encourage readers to move forward boldly. 

Hardcover, 112 pages

Published August 2nd 2016 by Candlewick