Fifty Famous Stories Retold - Tapa blanda

This book by James Baldwin features 50 short (2-3 page) stories of famous persons. Most of the stories are true, a few are fiction. Baldwin's book is a great way to introduce important historical figures and a love of history to children. A great book to read out loud, it is one that will keep the entire family interested. There are stories about King Alfred the Great, Socrates, Cincinnatis, Napoleon crossing the Alps, Casablanca, Mignon, and the list goes on. A fascinating read, and this edition has black and white pictures, too.

Born in 1841 in a small Quaker settlement in the backwoods of Indiana, James Baldwin rose to become a highly-respected author and textbook editor. Largely self-educated, Baldwin became a teacher at 24, then served as superintendent of the graded schools of Indiana for 18 years before moving into the publishing world. As an editor of school books, first with Harper and Brothers and later with the American Book Company, he selected the best of our literary heritage and cast it into a form that delighted children of all ages. His influence in the first decades of the twentieth century was broad because of all the grammar school books in use in the United States at that time over half had been written or edited by him. He is remembered most for the books of introductory historical sketches he wrote for younger students and his retellings of the legends of the heroes for older students.