# The Soldier's Friend: Walt Whitman's Extraordinary Service in the American Civil War - Hardcover

by **Gary Golio** (Author), **E. B. Lewis** (Illustrator)

**Walt Whitman is celebrated as an iconic American poet, but few know of the crucial and heroic role he played tending to the wounded and dying in Civil War hospitals. This nonfiction picture book highlights Whitman's compassion and teaches an important lesson about empathy, making this a perfect social-emotional learning title for young readers.**

In December of 1862, Walt Whitman left Brooklyn, New York, for the war-torn South after seeing his brother's name on a list of wounded Union soldiers. What he found on the battlefields completely changed his life, as he came face to face with not only the wounded, but the dying. Whitman spent the next three years working part-time in Washington, DC, visiting and ministering to soldiers in the city's many military hospitals. Caring for the sick and dying was not easy, but Whitman was committed to his chosen service. He became known as "the soldiers' friend," and was bound--in his own way--to save and heal the America he wrote about and loved so deeply.

_New York Times_\-bestselling author Gary Golio and Caldecott Honor artist E. B. Lewis bring Whitman's story and his passion for America to life, complete with quotes from Whitman's works, and extensive backmatter, which includes a bibliography and photographs.

### Author Biography

A visual artist, musician, and psychotherapist, Gary Golio is the author of the _New York Times_\-bestselling picture book _Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow_, which received the 2011 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. His other books, most of which profile important artists, include _When Bob Met Woody: The Story of the Young Bob Dylan_; _Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song_; _Sonny Rollins Plays the Bridge_; and _Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem_.

The recipient of a Caldecott Honor and an Orbis Pictus Award, along with many others, E. B. Lewis is the illustrator of more than seventy books for children. His Calkins Creek titles include _Invincible_ by Wade Hudson_, Seeking Freedom_ by Selene Castrovilla, and _Lizzie Demands a Seat_ by Beth Anderson, which won Bank Street College of Education's Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for excellence in nonfiction, along with many other honors. He is also the illustrator of _Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem_, also by Gary Golio.

**Number of Pages:** 40

**Dimensions:** 0.5 x 11.2 x 9.6 IN

**Publication Date:** September 17, 2024

## Details

- **Price:** 18.99 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 18.99 USD | In stock |

## Images

- The Soldier's Friend: Walt Whitman's Extraordinary Service in the American Civil War - Hardcover

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