Other editions of book Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans

The primary aim of this book is to furnish the little learner reading matter that will excite his attention and give him pleasure, and thus make lighter the difficult task of learning to read. The ruggedness of this task has often been increased by the use of disconnected sentences, or lessons as dry and uninteresting as finger exercises on the piano. It is a sign of promise that the demand for reading matter of interest to the child has come from teachers. I have endeavored to meet this requirement in the following stories. As far as possible the words chosen have been such as are not difficult to the little reader, either from their length or their unfamiliarity. The sentences and paragraphs are short. Learning to read is like climbing a steep hill, and it is a great relief to the panting child to find frequent breathing places. It is one of the purposes of these stories to make the mind of the pupil familiar with some of the leading figures in the history of our country by means of personal anecdote. Some of the stories are those that every American child ought to know, because they have become a kind of national folklore. Such, for example, are "Putnam and the Wolf" and the story of "Franklin's Whistle." I have thought it important to present as great a variety of subjects as possible, so that the pupil may learn something not only of great warriors and patriots, but also of great statesmen. The exploits of discoverers, the triumphs of American inventors, and the achievements of men of letters and men of science, find place in these stories. All the narratives are historical, or at least no stories have been told for true that are deemed fictitious. Every means which the writer's literary experience could suggest has been used to make the stories engaging, in the hope that the interest of the narrative may prove a sufficient spur to exertion on the part of the pupil, and that this little book will make green and pleasant a pathway that has so often been dry and laborious. It will surely serve to excite an early interest in our national history by giving some of the great personages of that history a place among the heroes that impress the susceptible imagination of a child. It is thus that biographical and historical incidents acquire something of the vitality of folk tales. The illustrations that accompany the text have been planned with special reference to the awakening of the child's attention. To keep the mind alert and at its best is more than half the battle in teaching. The publishers and the author of this little book believe that in laying the foundation of a child's education the best work is none too good

2015 Reprint of 1895 Edition. Full Facsimile of the original edition. Not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Eggleston states in his preface that "the primary aim of this book is to furnish the little learner reading matter that will excite his attention and give him pleasure" and "to make the mind of the pupil familiar with some of the leading figures in the history of our country by means of personal anecdote." Students will be introduced to Washington, Franklin, Audubon, Clarke, Boone, Washington Irving, Horace Greely, Kit Karson, Longfellow, Dorothy Dix and others. Profusely illustrated. Originally published as a second grade reader.

Edward Eggleston wrote Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans in 1895. Featuring brief biographical sketches on many of the most prominent early Americans, it serves as an accessible introduction to American history. This classic provides vignettes on leading figures like, among others, George Washington, Louisa May Alcott, Daniel Boone, Dorothea Lynde Dix, Benjamin Franklin, Charles Goodyear, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Lewis and Clark, William Penn, Benjamin West, Kit Carson, and Washington Irving. Among the interesting chapters, one finds titles like "Decatur and the Pirates", "Quicksilver Bob", "The First Steamboat", "Eliza Lucas' Plantation", "Putnam and the Wolf", "How Benny West Learned to be a Painter", "Daniel Boone and his Grapevine Swing", "George Washington and the Cherry Tree", "The Story of a Wise Woman", "Elisha Kane & the Arctic", and "The Star-Spangled Banner".

Edward Eggleston teaches American history in the best way possible for children: with 52 imaginative stories of great Americans. Eggleston's stories, which bring the people and the times they lived in to life, also encourage American children to be proud of their country. Written to give hours of reading pleasure, Eggleston's 52 stories tell about war heroes, statesmen, explorers, inventors, writers, artists, scientists, and just plain ordinary people who made a difference. The lives of these men and women wonderfully illustrate the virtues children need to emulate in order to be happy and successful adults.

Eggleston was born in Vevay, Indiana. As a child, he was too ill to regularly attend school, so his education was primarily provided by his father. He became an ordained Methodist minister in 1856. His summer home, Owl's Nest, in Lake George, New York, eventually became his year-round home. Eggleston died there in 1902, at the age of 64. Owl's Nest was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971.

Edward Eggleston crafted this American treasure for the benefit of children in a new country, seeking an identity and something to be proud of. He stated that "the primary aim of this book is to furnish the little learner reading matter that will excite his attention and give him pleasure".The author gives a sense of the pioneer spirit in the new American colonies in an ideal way, with adventures and bravery and an excellent combination of well-known figures and the ordinary person engaged in extraordinary change. These stories were written with the objective of informing and entertaining the children who would build whatever America would become. The book is crammed with great captains and political men, but they are far from alone in the quilt of American stories that work together to create a pleasantly hopeful idealism. Wise women, wily hunters, brave children and the all-encompassing fight for the independence of America are everywhere in these stories. The Founding Fathers tower over the charming stories in this book and help to embody the ideals that Eggleston hoped to see dominate the new country and its next generation. Whilst 'Stories of Great Americans: For Little Americans is an authentic historical work and in that capacity it is tremendously informative to the adult reader, it remains excellent for its original purpose, teaching the young. It lends itself to bedtime stories or teaching younger readers about the development of a colonial society within a realistic and faithful but generally uplifting volume.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Eggleston was born in Vevay, Indiana. As a child, he was too ill to regularly attend school, so his education was primarily provided by his father. He became an ordained Methodist minister in 1856. His summer home, Owl's Nest, in Lake George, New York, eventually became his year-round home. Eggleston died there in 1902, at the age of 64. Owl's Nest was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971.