Dear Mr. Longfellow

Finished February 16
Dear Mr. Longfellow: Letters to and from the Children's Poet by Sydelle Pearl

This short book combines letters with a simple biography of Longfellow, along with some of his poetry. Although it isn't explicitly stated, I inferred from some of the writing that this book is aimed at children.
I found the letters interesting. The author includes facsimiles of the letters as well as separate text versions of the letters. The facsimiles were interesting to see the style and quality of the handwriting of that period by children. There weren't a lot of letters included, but the book isn't that long either. One gets a sense of the period from the letters too.
I would say that this book is a good introduction to Longfellow, especially for the younger crowd.
I was unfamiliar with his personal life and story before reading this and found it enlightening. One interesting coincidence is that a book I read earlier this year, The Fort by Bernard Cornwell, has as one of its main characters the real life figure of General Peleg Wadsworth, who was Longfellow's grandfather. I always enjoy finding links between books I have read.