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.A Bank Street Best Book 2025 A Kirkus Best Picture Book of the Year 2025 Kansas NEA Reading Circle List
★ In Golio’s thoughtful and tender presentation, Whitman is the consummate friend: 'He met their eyes with his, touched or held their hands, and read to them even if they seemed not to hear.' Lewislc)
![The Soldier's Friend: Walt Whitman's Extraordinary Service in the American Civil War [Hardcover]](/itemImage/2/7/0/2/2_6900303.jpg "The Soldier's Friend: Walt Whitman's Extraordinary Service in the American Civil War [Hardcover]")