ON BECOMING A VALUED MEMBER OF SOCIETY: 
THE CHILDHOOD OF FAMOUS AMERICANS SERIES AND THE 
TRANSMISSION OF AMERICANISM, 1932-1958. 
Cinda Aim May 
Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School 
in partial fulfillment of the requirements 
for the degree 
Master of Arts 
in the Department ofHistory 
Indiana University 
July 2005 
Accepted by the Faculty of Indiana University, in partial 
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts . 
Master's Thesis 
Committee 
11 
fbld r1J . ,0_ -v~, ff/~tl / ~'WYu&~::-_ 
I 
Elizabeth Brand Monroe, Ph.D. 
Robert G. Barrows, Ph.D. 
Ann e Gilbert Coleman, Ph.D. 
For Liz, with gratitude and admiration. 
lll 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
This thesis is the result of the encouragement, support and advice of many individuals. I 
am indebted to Stephen Heathom for his abiding interest in the relationship between 
literacy, education and nationalism and for sharing his knowledge with me. The 
insightful editorial acumen of Elizabeth Brand Monroe extracted clarity from the jumble 
of early drafts. The endless patience of Robert G. Barrows and his perceptive 
commentary brought closure to the enterprise; and Annie Gilbert Coleman' s keen 
observations during the initial stages of my research helped to shape the final product. I 
am grateful to the Department of History at IUPUI for all the professional development 
opportunities presented to me through the Public History program. The public services 
staff of the Lilly Library at Indiana University, Bloomington, fetched, toted and assisted 
in every manner possible as I worked my way tlu·ough the Bobbs-Menill papers in their 
care. In particular, Rebecca Cape and Sue Presnell deserve a nod of thanks for their 
numerous accommodations. The staff at the Bloomfield-Eastern Greene Public Library 
obtained copies of the COF AS books for me free of charge through interlibrary loan and 
thus greatly facilitated my research. Finally, I wish to thank Dean Mytna McCallister of 
Cunningham Memorial Library at Indiana State University for granting me the research 
leave that furnished the time to tell the story of the Childhood of Famous Americans 
Series. 
IV 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Prologue: Literature as a Social Mirror. .... .... .. . ..... .... ............... . .... .... .. ........ . .. 1 
Chapter One: The Crucible ........ ... ... . ..... . ... . ....................... . ..... ..... . ..... . ...... 6 
Chapter Two: The Birth of a Topsy .. .. .. . ... . . .. . .... .. .. . ......... ... .. . ... . . . .... .. .. . ... ... . 3 7 
Chapter Three: The Most Valuable Juvenile Property in the Country ... .. .. ... .. . .... ... . 60 
Epilogue: On Becoming a Valued Member of Society . .. ........... .. ..... ... ... . ..... .... .... 71 
Conclusion: Reflections of the Adult World ..... ... . .... . ... . ...... ... ........ . ..... . . . ..... . . 74 
Bibliography .... .. ........ ........ .. . ... .. . . . . . ...... . ... . ... .. .. . . .. ... ... .. . ... . ..... . ..... ....... 83 
Curriculum Vitae 
v 
PROLOGUE: LITERATURE AS A SOCIAL MIRROR 
One hundred and fourteen volumes of the Childhood of Famous Americans Series 
(COPAS) rolled off the Indianapolis presses of the Bobbs-Merrill Company from 1932 
through 1958 with sales exceeding 5,250,000 copies. 1 COPAS addressed the need for 
books about notable Americans written for children from eight to twelve years of age. 
The formulaic, fast-paced adventure stories infused with historical authenticity 
encouraged the development of reading skills and showcased American values. Strict 
editorial control maintained the integrity of the seties, ensured that all title characters 
displayed worthy American traits and advanced sales. The carefully crafted appeal to 
patriotism and cultural heritage assured the volumes a positive reception in a society 
tested by depression, world war and communism. 
This is the story of the Childhood of Famous Americans Series and the American 
society that fostered and embraced the evolution of a new genre of juvenile literature-
the mass-produced biographical fiction series. Four factors contributed to the enonnous 
popularity of the Childhood of Famous Americans Series: the development of children's 
publishing as "big business," the impact of "Americanism" on the progressive education 
movement, a renewed interest in biography and a rising concern for literacy. Henry 
Steele Commager remarked in his 1953 introduction to Cornelia Meigs' A Critical 
History of Children's Literature, "[W]e have in literature not only a continuous record of 
1 Howard W. Sams & Co. acquired a controlling interest in the Bobbs-Merrill Company in November 1958 
when David Laurence Chambers, Lowe Berger and Robert Moorehead in concert sold their shares to Sams. 
See " H. W. Sams Buys Control ofBobbs-Merrill Co.," Publishers' Weekly, November 17, 1958, 
174(20):29. The COFAS titles under production prior to the sale and published in 1959 by Bobbs-Merrill 
as a subsidiary of the H. W. Sams & Co. are not included in this study. H. W. Sams & Co. refurbished the 
series by replacing the Caslon Old Style type with a more contemporary font and by discarding the 
1 
childhood, but a continuous record of society as a whole, and-what is more important-
of the ideals and standards that society wishes to inculcate into each new generation. "2 
Commager listed a number of values inherent in American children's literature-
democracy, equalitarianism, humanitarianism, family, fairness, self-reliance and the work 
ethic-which echoed those promulgated in the elementary schools a decade before. 3 
These qualities appeared in all of the COF AS volumes. The Bobbs-Merrill Company 
tailored the production of the Childhood of Famous Americans Series to promote the 
accepted norms of American society. 
The economic and social upheaval of the Great Depression and World War II 
reminded Americans of the precariousness of their democracy. The United States' slide 
into economic depression alarmed educators within the progressive education movement. 
The more radical adherents of social reconstructionism pointed to the failure of 
capitalism and urged teachers to instruct students in collectivism and central planning as 
a means to ensure the survival of democratic living. The entry of the United States into 
World War II fostered national pride and patriotism that penneated all aspects of life. In 
the classrooms American youth learned how to be good citizens of the greatest and best 
country in the world. Students participated in newspaper, rubber and scrap metal drives. 
Children looked for role models and sought to become valued members of society.4 
Under the leadership of David Laurence Chambers, president and trade editor of the 
Bobbs-Merrill Company, the Childhood of Famous American Series gave youngsters 
silhouette illustrations in favor of line drawings with color washes. See "The Bobbs-Merrill Story," 
Indianapolis Star, Sunday Magazine, November 1, 1959, p. 15. 
2 Commager, Henry Steele. "Introduction" in Meigs, Cornelia, et al. A Critical Hist01y of Children's 
Literature. New York: Macmillan, 1953; p. xiii. 
3 Ibid., p. xiii-xiv. 
2 
American heroes and heroines to emulate. COF AS secured the approval of adults by 
stimulating reading interest and by providing instruction in Americanism. 
The materials pertaining to the Childhood of Famous Americans Series attest to 
the relationship between its deliberate crafting and a receptive American people. Located 
at Indiana University' s Lilly Library as part of the Bobbs-Merrill Company papers, 1885-
1957, the COPAS files contain correspondence written between 1946 and 1955, a few 
financial papers, promotional material, publicity orders and reviews. In addition, Bobbs-
Merrill maintained author files, which contain correspondence, multiple reader reviews of 
titles in production, in-house memoranda concerning the development of specific scripts 
and promotional material. Not every author has a corresponding file. Not every COF AS 
title is represented. There are no original typescript copies of the stories. Most likely 
Bobbs-Merrill returned the final draft to the author or destroyed it. Of particular note are 
the reader reviews that apply the series' criteria to submitted manuscripts. These reports 
and the memoranda they inspired reveal Bobbs-Merrill's struggle to uphold American 
social ideals while needing to publish saleable merchandise. 
The environment into which the Childhood ofFamous Americans Series was born 
and thrived merits examination. Chapter One: The Crucible chronicles the four primary 
factors that shaped COFAS-children' s publishing, Americanism and the progressive 
education movement, juvenile biography in series and literacy- from approximately 
1910 through 1958 when Howard W. Sams purchased a controlling share in the Bobbs-
Merrill Company. Each aspect that formed the social landscape receives separate 
attention. The chapter concludes with a section outlining the activity at the Bobbs-
4 For an in-depth account of the impact of World War II on the lives of American children see Tuttle, 
William M., Jr. "Daddy's Gone to War": The Second World War in the Lives of America's Children. New 
3 
Merrill Company that addresses each preceding factor. Chapter Two: The Birth of a 
Topsy tells the story of the creation and maintenance of the Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series through an examination of the author-editor relationship, the successful 
formula of story, authenticity, and the tension between fiction and fact. Chapter Three: 
The Most Valuable Juvenile Property in America explores the many creative ways that 
the Bobbs-Merrill sales department marketed COF AS. The Epilogue: That Continuing 
and Timeless Group of Books comments on the evolution of COF AS into the twenty-first 
century where it has found new life with homeschoolers. The Conclusion: On Becoming 
a Valued Member of Society brings the reader full circle with a chronological account 
that binds the salient points of the preceding chapters into a single strand. 
The Childhood of Famous Americans Series, the first publisher' s series to employ 
biographical fiction as its vehicle, "marked the beginning of an avalanche."5 In a letter to 
the Bobbs-Merrill Company dated April 6, 1946 Marcella K. Foote, librarian at the 
Connersville Public Library, Connersville, Indiana, commended the firm for its fine 
biographies for children. "Scarcely a week passes that some child does not discover how 
fascinating stories of ' real people' can be and this is made possible because finally your 
company realized and began to fill a very important gap in our book collection. "6 The 
Bobbs-Merrill Company gauged the needs of American society and issued children's 
books that reflected the time and place of their fabrication. 7 As products of American 
York: Oxford University Press, 1993. 
5 Arbuthnot, May Hill. "Books for Children." Elementmy English, May 1953, p. 316. 
6 Letter .. Marcella K. Foote to Bobbs-Merrill Co., April6, 1946. Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series. Correspondence, 1946-1955. Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington. 
7 Writing about post-World War II children' s literature, Sally Allen McNall asserts, "Stories written about 
life at home in the United States are, over and over again, stories about learning to accept the standards and 
values of the community, and the community is often defined quite narrowly." See Sally Allen McNall, 
"American Children's Literature, 1880-Present" in American Childhood: A Research Guide and Historical 
4 
culture between 1932 and 1958, the stories published in the Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series serve as a window in time, freezing for the reader' s edification all of 
the biases, the ideals and the inconsistencies of their creators. 
Handbook, Joseph M. Hawes and N. Ray Hiner, eds. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, cl985; chap. 10, p. 
[377]-414. 
5 
CHAPTER ONE: THE CRUCIBLE 
I. An Industry within an Industry 
Between 1915 and 1930 the publishing industry increasingly recognized the 
profitability of juvenile literature. A significant market emerged due to the establishment 
of children's rooms in public libraries and the funding of such facilities within the 
schools. Furthermore, children's librarianship materialized as a specialization within the 
profession to administer these collections, which created not only an audience for the 
books but also a mechanism for their review, selection, purchase and promotion. 
Professional publications such as the American Library Association's The Booklist and 
Bertha M. Miller's The Horn Book Magazine, in addition to review columns like Anne C. 
Moore's, which appeared in The Bookman and The New York Herald Tribune, provided 
quality assessment tools for educators and librarians. 8 The Macmillan Company 
organized the first children's department in 1919 and installed Louise Seaman Bechtel as 
editor.9 The other New York firms quickly emulated Macmillan and a new career path 
opened for women. 10 A close relationship developed between educators, librarians and 
publishers, which furnished book editors the opportunity to assess needs and to respond 
to trends. Librarians and teachers influenced what appeared in ptint and frequently 
8 DeAngelo, Rachel W. "Children's Book Publishing." Librmy Trends, July 1958, 7(1):221. 
9 Ibid. Eunice Blake gives the year as 1910. See Eunice Blake, "Children's Book Publishing" in What 
Happens in Book Publishing, Chandler B. Grannis, ed. New York: Columbia University Press, c1957; 
chap. 15, p. [299]. See also John Tebbe!, A History of Book Publishing in the United States, Volume III: 
The Golden Age between Two Wars /920-1940, New York: R.R. Bowker Co., 1978, p. 268, 273-278; and 
Leo Lerman, "An Industry Within an Industry." The Saturday Review of Literature, November 8, 1941, 
24(29):3-7. Issues of Publishers' Weekly routinely carried notices and articles discussing the concerns of 
children's publishing. 
10 See Tebbe!, Golden Age, p. 273-276 for an account of women in publishing. 
6 
served as manuscript readers. 11 The initiation of a nationally celebrated Children's Book 
Week12 in 1919 and the creation of two annual awards-the Newberry Medal, instituted 
by Frederic G. Melcher in 1922 for the most outstanding contribution to American 
children's literature, and the Caldecott Medal in 193 7 for the best illustrated picture 
book-attracted talented authors and illustrators to the field. 13 
The Great Depression disrupted the growth of children's book departments. 
Publishers' Weekly reported in its October 22, 1932 issue, "Now, with a crisis in all 
business and retrenchments the order of the day, this department, like every other, has 
been under careful revaluation by publishers."14 Macmillan, Harper, Doubleday and 
Knopf either reorganized or suspended their children's divisions. Scarce capital and 
soaring production costs translated into fewer titles and smaller print runs. A 25 percent 
reduction in school and library purchases exacerbated the situation. 15 Many well-
designed and gorgeously illustr·ated juvenile books contracted prior to the Depression hit 
the market at bargain rates of fifty cents to one dollar. 16 
In the mid 1930s a keen public interest in pictme books produced by offset 
printing and new color reproduction technologies developed. A deluge of inexpensive 
publishers' serial literature also flooded the market. As a result, sales of juvenile titles 
stabilized and began to increase. In 1935 Vernon Ives founded Holiday House- the first 
11 The Bobbs-Merrill Company initially sent COFAS manuscripts to Carrie E. Scott, children's librarian at 
the Indianapolis Public Library. The firm eventually suspended the practice, most likely due to Scott's lack 
of critical analysis. 
12 The Boy Scouts of America first proposed Book Week in 1912 as a means to stimulate reading among its 
members. For an account of the history of Children' s Book Week see Tebbe!, Golden Age, p. 266-268 and 
Helen Dean Fish, "What is This Association of Children's Book Editors?" Library Journal, April 15, 1946, 
71 (8):544-546. 
13 DeAngelo, p. 221. 
14 Publishers ' Weekly, October 22, 1932, p. 1623. 
15 Ibid., p. 1624-1625. See also Tebbe!, Golden Age, p. 478-480. 
16 Tebbe!, Golden Age, p. 480. 
7 
firm devoted exclusively to the publication of children' s books. Beginning in 1938, a 
second children' s publisher, William R. Scott, Inc. , offered books field tested on youthful 
readers that combined text, art and educational theory.17 Leo Lerman attributed the 
overall profitability of the juvenile market to the large quantities of books purchased by 
schools, libraries and reading circles. 18 Writing in 1941 he reported, 
In these twenty years, 1920-1940, of the 176,500 titles and editions 
published for the American book market, 14,536 have been juveniles. In 
the twenty-three categories into which the book market is divided, 
juveniles rank second highest-surpassed only by fiction with 32,871 
titles. "Children's books" have become big business- an industry within 
. d 19 an m ustry .. . . 
The founding of the Association of Children' s Book Editors in 1943 and the Children 's 
Book Councif0 in 1946 added further impetus to the field. 
Articles appearing in Publishers ' Weekly in the early 1940s attest to the 
challenges faced by the publishing industry during World War II. Children' s books, with 
their reliance on illustration, heavy paper and sturdy bindings, posed pruiicular 
problems.21 The Manufacturing Committee of the Book Publishers Bureau 
recommended in 1943 that children's books conform to standards established for adult 
titles with the exceptions of font size and the margins required for library bindings.22 The 
report urged simplicity in format and design. Labor shortages and a Jess skilled bindery 
workforce contributed to the spoilage of scarce materials. The December 15, 1943 issue 
17 Ibid., p. 480-484. 
1s L erman, p. 5. 
19 Ibid., p. [3]. 
2° Fish, Helen Dean. "What is This Association ofChildren's Book Editors?" Librmy Journal, April15, 
1946, 71(8) :544. 
21 See "Problems ofChildren's Bookmaking in 1942," Publishers' Weekly, July4, 1942, 142(1):44, 46. 
22 
"Book Publishers Bureau Manufacturing Committee Report on Juvenile Books." Publishers' Weekly, 
August 21, 1943, 144:563-567. 
8 
of Library Journal alerted librarians of forthcoming alterations in the appearance of 
children' s books. Lightweight paper, decreased margins, the elimination of half-title 
pages and the filling of the blank versos of full-page illustrations with text made for 
thinner books in shoddy bindings. Mistakes in composition abounded. In contrast, 
"[b ]ecause more black and white must be used, there must be better drawing of 
illustrations."23 The illustration work drew notable artists. The clamor for books soon 
outstripped the industry' s production capability. Margaret Mary Clark, head of the Lewis 
Carroll Room of the Cleveland Public Library, remarked in 1944, "With limited materials 
available, the book suppliers are having difficulty in keeping pace with the demand, so 
book-minded has the American public become with money to spend on its children and a 
dearth of toys to spend it on. "24 Conscious of consumers, editors published fewer books. 
They carefully balanced new titles against reprints and altered fom1ats to make the most 
of rationed materials. 25 
Children's book departments rebounded after World War II. The 1948 American 
Booksellers Association Convention included for the first time a session on juvenile 
publishing ti tied, "Children' s Books, an Expanding Market." Panelist Margaret 
McElderry reported, 
Twenty years ago you could count on your two hands the nan1es of 
children's book publishers. Today over 50 publishers have special editors 
for juvenile books. The total number of children's book publishers is 
estimated as over 100. Children's books have become a lucrative 
business. 26 
23 
"How Will Children's Books Look in 1944?" Librmy Journal, December 15, 1943, 68(22): 1039. 
24 Clark, Margaret Mary. "Wartime Production and Children's Books." Librmy Journal, June 15, 1944, 
69(11):535. 
25 
"Juvenile Editors Give Assurance." Librmy Journal, June 15, 1944, 69(11 ):53 7-538. 
26 
"Convention Panel on Children ' s Books." Publishers' Weekly, Jtme 12, 1948, 153(24):2463 . 
9 
By 1957 the number of children's editors swelled to over sixty individuals.27 Frederic G. 
Melcher commented in a 1950 Publishers ' Weekly editorial, "The children's book 
business really is in a very healthy state .... Somehow the pressure of costs has been met 
so that these departments are doing well. "28 An examination of annual publishing 
statistics in Publishers' Weekly substantiates Melcher's modest assertion. Juvenile book 
production rose 67 percent from 1947 to 1957?9 The substitution of books for toys 
during wartime, economic prosperity, population growth, parental awareness of the 
importance of books, more attractive, better advertised volumes and the proliferation of 
publishers' series contributed to the industry's rapid growth. 30 
II. Americanism and the Progressive Education Movement 
Concurrent with the rise of children's publishing came a shift in the meaning of 
"Americanism." The concept sparked a debate that splintered progressive educational 
theory and ultimately prompted a more conservative interpretation of citizenship and 
appropriate social values. Historian and educator Merle Curti defined Americanism in 
economic terms and acknowledged its relationship with patriotism-the love of one's 
cotmtry-and nationalism-the ideology of the nation state.31 Noting the term' s 
mutability, Curti traced its evolution from Jeffersonian democracy through Protestant 
orthodoxy to its emergence from World War I as "laissez-faire capitalism, ptivate 
initiative and enterprise-the maintenance, in short, of the general social and economic 
27 DeAngelo, p. 223. 
28 Melcher, Frederic G. "The Children's Book Business Is in a Very Healthy State." Publishers ' Weekly, 
July 29, 1950, 158(5):475. 
29 DeAngelo, p. 223 . 
30 Ibid., p. 224-225, 229. 
10 
status quo."32 This equation coupled with the Great Depression fomented a major schism 
in the progressive education movement, one that indelibly altered public perception of the 
role of education in a democracy. 
The progressive education movement developed in the 1890s as an attempt "to 
cast the school as a fundamental lever of social and political regeneration."33 The 
publication of John Dewey' s The School and Society in 1899 rendered education central 
to political and social reform. According to Dewey the school should represent an 
"embryonic community" where experience prepared the child for participation in a new 
social order. 
When the school introduces and trains each child of society into 
membership within such a little community, saturating him with the spirit 
of service, and providing him with the instruments of effective self­
direction, we shall have the best guarantee of a larger society which is 
worthy, lovely, and harmonious.34 
Dewey' s work furnished the underpinning for progressive education, which incorporated 
diverse philosophies and defied precise explication by its practitioners. By 1919 when 
the founding of the Progressive Education Association (PEA) supplied the movement 
with an organizational voice, the advocates of child-centered pedagogy dominated the 
profession and shouldered the more radical social reformists to one side. 
Three years after the stock market crash of 1929, George S. Counts, professor of 
education at Teachers College, Columbia University, addressed the annual meeting of 
PEA. In a paper titled "Dare Progressive Education Be Progressive?," a prelude to the 
3 1 Curti, Merle. The Roots of American Loyalty. New York: Columbia University Press, 1946, p. viii. 
32 Ib'd .... I . , p. Vlll-IX. 
33 Cremin, Lawrence A. The Transformation of the School: Progressivism in American Education, 1876-
/957. New York: Knopf, 1961 , p. 88. 
11 
pamphlet Dare the School Build a New Social Order? , Counts challenged educators to 
take up the mantle of social reform and liberate education from the middle class.35 
Convinced that the Depression was proof of the failure oflaissez-faire capitalism, Counts 
called for collectivism and central planning as the only ways to prevent future economic 
disasters and to return America to prosperity. The envisioned new social order would 
indoctrinate school children against the iniquity of capitalism and its underlying values, 
particularly the rugged individualism so central to the American tradition.36 The schools 
would advocate collective responsibility and cooperation.37 Counts, William H. 
Kilpatrick, second only to John Dewey in prestige, Harold Rugg, Jesse Newlon and Jolm 
L. Child formed the core group ofreconstructionist theorists.38 
The editors of Progressive Education, PEA's official organ, ceased the 
publication of social reconstructionist theory, which they considered too extreme. As a 
result the social reconstructionists established a journal of their own. Edited by George 
Counts assisted by Norman Woelfel and Mordecai Grossman, The Social Frontier 
debuted in October, 1934.39 The Social Frontier gave voice to an increasingly radical 
ideology that prompted the American public to recoil into conservatism and to demand 
accountability in the classroom. Although the published articles offered the only 
concrete advice for teachers seeking to cope with a society in crisis, they also fumished 
34 Dewey, John. The School and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1899, p. 43-44 . 
35 Bowers, C. A. The Progressive Educator and the Depression: The Radical Years. New York: Random 
House, c1969, p. 14-15 . 
36 Ibid. 
37 Ibid., p. 22. See also William H. Kilpatrick, Education and the Social Crisis. New York Liveright, 
1932. 
38 Rugg, who co-authored The Child-Centered School with Ann Shumaker in 1928, published three texts 
between 1931 and 194 7 all of which asserted the function of the school as an agent for social improvement. 
The Board of Directors of the National Education Association lent its support to social reform. 
39 Bowers, p. 44-45. 
12 
reactionary groups with the ammunition to mount a vociferous challenge to "Progressive 
REDucation. "40 
The schools became contested terrain as varied political interests wrestled for the 
control of the children who represented America's future. In the 1940s a new group of 
more moderate social reformers dominated the reconstructionist camp. Bruce R. Raup, 
George E. Axtelle, Kenneth Benne and B. Othanel Smith emphasized methodology over 
ideology. In 1943 the four co-authored The Improvement of Practical Intelligence, which 
defined democracy in terms of collectivism and urged teachers to educate children for 
democratic living. Individualism remained the bogeyman of the collective mind. The 
work of Raup, Axtelle, Benne and Smith packaged social reconstructionist theory in such 
a way as to promote civic training in the schools that was not disruptive of the prevailing 
ideal of Americanism. Teachers instructing children in democratic living could feel and 
act as loyal Americans, a fact that was particularly important with the world at war. 41 
As the United States entered World War II, conservative adversaries of 
educational progressivism emphasized patriotism, citizenship, literacy and vocational 
training.42 The tenets of such dogma as "one-hundred-percent American," espoused by 
groups like the American Legion, the Boy Scouts of America, the Daughters of the 
American Revolution and the Ku Klux Klan, collided with the reconstructionists' belief 
that rugged individualism undermined the democratic way of life.43 A rising tide of anti-
communism engulfed the United States and permeated all aspects of American life. The 
4° For a discussion on the public reaction to progressive education see Rober W. Iverson, The Communists 
& the Schools. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., c1959. 
41 Bowers, p. 205-213. Bowers notes that Raup, Axtelle, Benne and Smith maintained a deep suspicion of 
any individual who refused to conform to the group. 
42 Cremin, p. 324-327. 
43 Curti, p. 232-234. 
13 
House Un-American Activities Committee hearings, the Loyalty Review Board and other 
institutionalized programs relentlessly probed the nation for communists. By the close of 
the 1940s the concept of Americanism incorporated hatred of communism, the love of 
God and country, patriotism and an aversion towards social reform in general and 
progressive ideology in particular.44 
The hegemonic struggle extended into the classroom where it manifested as 
loyalty oaths for teachers, recitations of the pledge of allegiance, flag saluting and 
patriotic pageantry by students and the scrutiny of textbooks by special interest groups 
for the perceived usurpation of traditional American values.45 The National Education 
Association ' s The Code of the Good American, issued to 500,000 school children during 
World War II, outlined expected behavior. The "good American" demonstrated a 
concern for humanity; displayed loyalty to family, community and country; exhibited 
reliability and a cooperative spirit; and treated all individuals in a kind and honest 
manner.46 Leo Lerman asserted in 1941 that by publishing juvenile books the trade "is 
aiding our youth to a knowledge of problems of the day which must help them to face the 
future with courage."47 In a world of social and economic uncertainty, books and reading 
prepared children for active and intelligent participation in American democracy. 
In 1943, Grace Allen Hogarth, children' s editor at Houghlin-Mifflin, admonished 
her Publishers ' Weekly audience. "President Roosevelt," she wrote, "has reminded us that 
books are weapons in this war. Children' s books are the steel and the stone, and the 
44 Chafe, William H. Th e Unfinished Journey: America since World War II. New York: Oxford University 
Press, 1999, p. 108. 
45 lbid., p. 237; see also Tuttle, p. 118-119. 
46 National Education Association. The Code of the Good American. [Personal Growth Leaflet No. 62]. 
Washington: NEA n.d. , pp. 3-15 as cited in Tuttle, p. 118. 
47 L erman, p. 7. 
14 
bricks and mortar that will build the future. And every scrap of paper that we put into 
them should insure that they are of the best possible quality to this end."48 Hogarth's 
point-that books prepare American youth for their future role in "the new world 
order"-underlies a Publishers I Weekly article by Vernon Ives, founder of Holiday 
House and Chairman of the Children's Book Committee of the Council on Books in 
Wartime. 
Ives noted three effects of the war on children's books: the increased publication 
of titles concerning all aspects of the armed forces, more volumes recounting the impact 
of war on people in other countries and the "added emphasis to that continuing and 
timeless group of books that interpret our democracy."49 He urged publishers to 
"thoughtfully" assist American youth, "the rebuilders of a devastated world."50 These 
comments reflected more than an industry grappling with wartime paper, cloth and metal 
shortages to meet public demand. They represented the publishers' shared conviction of 
the role of books in the preservation of American culture. 
III. Crazy for Biography 
Americanism, economic depression, patriotism generated by two world wars and 
the pervasive fear of communism inspired a renewed interest in biography as a means to 
edify readers and to reinforce American ideals through literacy. Realism and authenticity 
provided the key elements for the genre. Writing for Publishers I Weekly in 1929, Mary 
Frank, the head of Horace Liveright's juvenile department, lamented the anemic quality 
48 Hogarth, Grace Allen. "Children's Books in a World at War." Publishers' Weekly, April24, 1943, p. 
1647. 
49 lves, Vernon. "Children's Books and the War." Publishers' Weekly, October 23, 1943, p. 1592. 
50 Ibid., p. 1593. 
15 
of biography produced for children at a time in their lives when historical figures first 
fired their imaginations. "The fact is," Frank complained, "that young people are not 
supposed to care to read about people who cannot be set up on a pedestal and worshipped 
as demigods. They must not have their illusions smudged, they must believe in 
goodness, personified, deified."51 Frank cited how an author of her acquaintance 
employed a fictional tale of good and evil to portray historical characters with some 
degree of veracity. The necessity to cloak the truth troubled Frank who declared, "This 
all seems to me to be falling in line with the pattern of standardization peculiar to 
America which requires thinking and writing along the dotted line."52 The transmission 
of Americanism to each successive generation depended upon the establishment of a 
canon of values and beliefs over dissenting voices. 
The 1932 Children's Book Week theme, Young America's Book Parade, seemed 
particularly patriotic to Katherine Ulrich, editor of the Saturday Review of Literature' s 
"Children's Bookshelf." Ulrich remarked on the positive quality of books to introduce 
American culture and heritage to children. 53 In her review of perennial favorites and new 
titles Ulrich noted, "A rush of American consciousness spurred, perhaps, by the 
Washington Bicentennial has resulted in renewed efforts on the part of authors to interest 
boys and girls in the lives of our heroes."54 Among the new biographical titles Ulrich 
examined was Augusta Stevenson's Abe Lincoln, Frontier Boy, destined to be the first 
volume of the Bobbs-Merrill Company's Childhood of Famous Americans Series. 
51 Frank, Mary. "Among the Children's Books: What There Is and What There Isn't." Publishers ' Weekly, 
March 30, 1929, 115(13):1593. 
52 Ibid. , p. 1594. 
53 Ulrich, Katherine. "Young America's Book Parade: This Patriotic Book Week Theme Issues a Challenge 
to Every Bookseller's Imagination." Publishers' Weekly, October 22, 1932, p. 1616. 
54 Ibid., p. 1618. 
16 
Publishers issued juvenile biographies in the 1930s that conformed to a formulaic 
boilerplate created in response to the requests of teachers and librarians. According to 
May Hill Arbuthnot, "Committees of educators even approach publishers with the new 
subject-matter needs of the schools which reflect these national trends. Whether the 
latest slogan is 'Hands Across the Border' or 'Racial Tolerance' or 'One World,' there is 
a flourishing crop of new juveniles devoted to the current theme. "55 Arbuthnot urged 
parents to learn how to differentiate a good story from the ready-made type infused with 
propaganda. 56 Writing almost twenty years later, Cornelia Meigs referred to these made-
to-order biographies as the "dark side" of children' s publishing in the 1930s.57 
During the 1940s authors and publishers rediscovered America due in part to a 
trend labeled by Meigs as the "know-your-own-land movement."58 In his 1941 review of 
the new "historico-fiction" titles Allan Nevins noted in the Saturday Literary Review the 
continued popularity of biographical fiction and the silent insertion of propaganda. 
"National unity," wrote Nevins, "seems to be emphasized a bit more than in the past."59 
The renewed interest in American history and especially in biographies for young readers 
established the latter as a genre in its own right. 60 The spate of publisher-generated 
juvenile biographies showcasing American traditions and values in authentic settings 
dates to this period. 
In her 1947 textbook, Children and Books, May Hill Arbutlmot attributed the rise 
m the number of juvenile biographies and histories to an increased concern for 
55 Arbuthnot, May Hill. Children and Books. Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Co., c1947, p. 397. 
56 Ibid. 
57 Meigs, p. 441. 
58 Ibid. , p. 444-447. 
59 Nevins, Allan. "Historical Tales." Th e Saturday Review of Literature, November 8, 1941, 24(29) :8. 
60 Ibid.; see also DeAngelo, p. 229. 
17 
democracy prompted by the World War II experience. 61 She cautioned that authors 
writing biographies for a young audience frequently concocted dialogue and explained 
the mental landscapes of their characters, thus giving a fictional cast to actual events.62 
Nevertheless, Arbuthnot acknowledged the genre' s popularity noting that, "One school 
librarian reports that in the last ten years the voluntary withdrawal of biography . .. has 
doubled and trebled. Biographies no longer gather dust on library shelves but circulate 
rapidly and continuously."63 Arbutlmot exan1ined biography in terms of history, 
personage and literature. She distinguished "fictionalized biography" from "biographical 
fiction," and classified both types as "hybrids" of the genre. 
According to Arbuthnot, fictionalized biography dramatized the docwnented 
incidents of the hero's life primarily through invented dialogue. The story derived its 
authenticity from the author's meticulous research into the time, the place and the 
material culture of the setting. The degree to which the authenticity succeeded depended 
upon whether or not an author thoroughly investigated her subject. In contrast, 
biographical fiction employed a historical personage or a fact as the springboard for its 
imagined events and conversations, a technique popularized by Parson Weems in his Life 
of George Washington. Arbuthnot categorized Augusta Stevenson' s books, Abe Lincoln, 
Frontier Boy and Ben Franklin, Printer 's Boy, as biographical fiction. She remarked, "In 
spite of the fact that these books give authentic stories about the men, their framework is 
palpably fictionalized and the characters and the situations are considerably worked over 
and elaborated. "64 As the juvenile biography craze of the 1940s gained momentum, 
61 Arbuthnot. Children and Books, p. 27. 
62 Ibid., p. 478. 
63 Ibid. , p. 470. 
64 Ibid., p. 480. 
18 
Arbuthnot's subtle distinction between fictionalized biography and biographical fiction 
crumbled.65 
Annual surveys conducted by the Center for Children' s Books at the University of 
Chicago illustrated the upsurge of interest in biography. Evaluating 2,159 fiction titles 
published between 1948 and 1953, the Center discovered that the number of biographies 
published for children grew 5 percent. Interpreting these results, Mary K. Eakin 
remarked, "The increase in biography is due in part to two new series on the lives of 
famous Americans ... and to several of the series on American history that have included 
biographies among their titles. The majority of the 1951-53 titles in the biography 
category are from publishers' series."66 May Hill Arbuthnot observed that the flurry of 
biographies issued from at least six firms and resulted in such duplication of subjects that 
one had difficulty differentiating between the titles.67 In reference to the quality of the 
publishers' output Arbuthnot stated, 
And on the whole, they are doing it well with respect both for the child's 
capacities and for historical authenticity. Gone are the cherry tree 
episodes. These juvenile biographies are fictionalized but the invented 
conversations are generally based on the evidence of histo1ical record and 
are used to dramatize or illumine some well established facet in the hero ' s 
character. 68 
The January-February 1954 issue of the Monthly Newsletter published by the Catholic 
Children's Book Club echoed Arbutlmot's concern about the plethora of publishers' 
series; but it specifically noted, "The standards set for the Bobbs-Merrill child 
65 Arbuthnot, "Books for Children." Elementmy English; May 1953, p. 316. 
66 Eakin, Mary K. "Trends in Children's Literature." The Librmy Quarterly, January 1955, 25(1):53. 
67 Arbuthnot. "Books for Children," p. 316. 
68 Ibid. 
19 
biographies have been well-maintained."69 Historian Douglass Adair also applauded 
biographical fiction citing the rapacious reading such books generated in his own "semi-
literate" children. Adair attributed the success of publishers ' series to the revamping and 
modernization of the Parson Weems formula. He credited the Bobbs-Merrill Company 
with the rediscovery and the employment of the genre as the foundation of the Childhood 
of Famous Americans Series. For Adair, promoting an interest in reading superseded any 
concern about the superficiality of the stories. 70 
Simply put, the publisher-generated juvenile biographies induced children to read. 
The attractiveness of these books stemmed from the easy vocabulary and sentence 
structure that promoted silent reading. Youngsters gained confidence in their reading 
skills as they identified with the childhood experiences of the men and the women who 
transformed America. Serial biographies ran the gamut from the biographical fiction that 
served as the basis of the Childhood of Famous Americans Series to the more historically 
correct biographies of Grosset and Dunlap' s Signature Series or the Landmark Series of 
Random House. Mary K. Eakin noted in 1955, 
It is in the biographies that we see the strongest expression of the present­
day concern of many adults that children have a thorough knowledge of 
the history of their country and of the men who have been primarily 
responsible for its growth and development.71 
Writing three years later Rachel De Angelo observed that the recent experience of World 
War II and the rediscovery of American history and heroes "may account for the increase 
69 Memorandum. David Laurence Chambers To the Salesmen, [n.d.]. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The Childhood 
ofFamous Americans Series. Promotional Material II. Chambers quotes statement from Catholic 
Children's Book Club Monthly Newsletter, January-February 1954. 
70 Adair, Douglass. "Parson Weems, Streamlined." The New York Times Book Review, "Children' s Book 
Section," November 16, 1952, p. 4. 
20 
of biography and history."72 Between 1947 and 1957 the publication of juvenile 
biographies increased sufficiently to make the genre the second most popular literary 
form behind science books.73 By 1958 fifty-four publishing houses churned out 148 
juvenile series that stressed history, biography and science.74 The made-to-order 
biographical fiction of the 1930s exploded in popularity during the 1940s as cultural 
heritage literature, which furnished a vehicle for the transmission of Americanism. By 
the 1950s the genre continued to find an audience, but the new serial biographies moved 
away from the fictional aspect and offered young readers more factual material. 
From the 1930s through the 1950s other forms of leisure entertainment- radio, 
motion pictures, television, comic books and magazines--claimed children's attention. 
This development did not escape the notice of the publishing industry, which took 
advantage of the new media to promote books. Random House in particular seized the 
opportunity to market its Landmark Series through recorded dramatic readings, filmstrips 
and the made-for-television movie of Armstrong Sperry's John Paul Jones.75 By 1958 
twenty-four radio and television programs dedicated to juvenile literature featured story 
hours, book discussions and author interviews, all of which fueled the public' s interest in 
reading. 76 Book publishers and their media counterparts did not suffer from the debates 
that rocked education. Profit motivated the industries, which became increasingly adept 
at discovering what the American public desired and fulfilling the need.77 Publishers 
7 1 Eakin, "Trends," p. 55. 
72 De Angelo, p. 229. 
73 Ibid. 
74 Ibid. 
75 Bonino, Louise. "The Landmark Story." Publisher's Weekly, 170(5):462-463; July 30, 1956. 
76 De Angelo, p. 227. 
77 Strickland, Charles E. and Andrew M. Ambrose. "The Baby Boom, Prosperity and the Changing Worlds 
of Children, 1945-1963" in American Childhood: A Research Guide and Historical Handbook. Westport, 
CT: Greenwood Press, c1985, Joseph M. Hawes and N. Ray Hiner, eds., p. 558. According to Strickland 
21 
took advantage of the tie-ins presented by other media to further sales. New technologies 
and an explosion of information sources demanded a more literate populace. The 
willingness of children to read biography gratified parents and educators by addressing 
two problems at once-instruction in Americanism and literacy. 
IV. Why Johnny Must Learn to Read 
The influx of immigrants into the United States from Eastern Europe between 
1890 and 1920 put pressure on the public schools. Teachers faced students who spoke 
many languages, adhered to different standards of hygiene, and practiced diverse social 
customs. The immigrants needed Americanization. 78 "From its earliest years the public 
school was viewed as an instrument par excellence for inducting newcomers into the 
' responsibilities of citizenship,"' wrote Lawrence Cremin in Transformation of the 
School. "Schools were encouraged to transcend their traditional limitations and become 
all-day neighborhood centers coordinating the larger work of Americanizing."79 Through 
literacy children acquired American social values and beliefs; and the schoolhouse 
offered appropriate instruction to those individuals who attended class on a regular basis. 
The enactment of compulsory school attendance laws supported the development 
of literacy across the United States.80 Between 1910 and 1913 proponents of the school 
survey movement tested schoolchildren in two states and eleven cities for core 
and Ambrose, "The moguls of the media did not trouble themselves over philosophical debates about 
patriotism and educational values .... Like any business, the media were intent on making a profit, and to 
make a profit, it remained only for the media to find out what customers wanted and then to give it to them. 
Achieving a psychological sophistication that excelled that of most parents and teachers, the masters of the 
media were extraordinarily successful in keeping their fingers on the pulse of the youth during the period." 
78 Cremin, p. 71. 
79 Ibid., p. 66, 74. 
22 
competencies.81 Universities opened departments to create and administer examinations 
with Oklahoma in 1913 and Indiana and Iowa in 1914 leading the way. Initially, the 
United States census defined literacy as the ability to read and write in some language, 
even if the person only exercised the skills at the most minimal of levels. 82 In 1917 when 
the United States entered World War I, twenty-five percent of the 10,000,000 enlisted 
personnel were illiterate. 83 The median number of years of education in the United States 
during World I was six.84 
Strained by the need to serve as instruments of Americanization and as agents of 
literacy the schools in the United States struggled to survive during the Great Depression. 
Approximately 5,000 rural schools closed in 1932 due to lack of funding. School 
closures fueled the consolidation movement that relied upon the already prevalent school 
buses to transport children to centralized locations. Concurrently, an estimated 400,000 
additional children entered the remaining schools, which required 14,000 new teachers at 
a time when the profession lost an equivalent number of educators. Administrators cut 
salaries 25 to 50 percent, and many teachers received payment in discounted script. 
Urban schools that also faced a large influx of students coped with a severe dearth of 
suitable facilities by holding classes in condemned buildings. To handle the 
overcrowding some districts established double shifts. City schools canceled special 
80 Gordon, Edward E. and Elaine H. Gordon. Literacy in America. Westport, CT: Praeger, c2003, p. 271. 
All states had adopted mandatory school attendance laws by 1920, with the southern states being the last to 
pass such legislation. 
1 Good, Harry Gehman. A Hist01y of American Education. New York: Macmillan Co., c1956, p. 400. 
82 Ibid., p. 383. 
83 Gordon and Gordon, p. 273. 
84 Good, p. 384. 
23 
programs and services while promising to restore the excised activities when the financial 
situation improved. 85 
During the 1930s parent and teacher organizations flourished as more people 
became involved in the schools.86 Among these a group called the Essentialists formed 
to oppose the child-centered pedagogy of the progressive educational movement. 
Essentialists wanted accountability from teachers, and they stressed the need to return to 
the fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic with more recitation and discipline. 87 
At the same time educators became increasingly aware of the need for silent reading. 
Holland Roberts remarked in 1936, 
A primary force in the contemporary reading situation is the intensity with 
which our people have turned to mass production. In the application of 
mass methods to the production of newspapers, magazines, books, 
billboards, street signs, and photoplays we have, with the exception of a 
few remaining illiterate areas, made silent reading a necessary part of the 
daily life of almost the whole American people. 88 
Roberts asserted that reading proficiency determined one' s ability "to do accmate social 
thinking." A citizenry with critical thinking skills required a higher level of social 
content in its literatme. 89 
Commenting on the decade between 1928 and 1938, Paul A. Witty put into print 
what many others already knew-that reading instruction failed to stimulate good reading 
habits or leisme reading in children or adults. Like Roberts, Witty believed in the social 
value of reading. "Om obligation as teachers of English is clear-" Witty wrote, "it is 
85 1bid., p. 513-514; see also Cremin, p. [274]-275. 
86 Butts, Robert Freeman. A Hist01y of Education in American Culture. New York: Holt, Rinehart & 
Winston, c1953 , p. 574. 
87 Good, p. 395 . 
88 Roberts, Holland D. "Reading for Social Meaning." The English Journal, March 1936, 25(3) :200. 
24 
grounded in acceptance of the concept of education as an agency for social 
understanding, participation, and reconstruction. . . . [O]ur rum 1s to develop socially 
competent young people who read critically, speak clearly, and write intelligibly." 90 The 
1940 census established functional literacy as the ability to read a newspaper and to write 
a letter and it assumed that anyone who completed the fourth grade was capable of these 
skills.91 
By World War II the median years of schooling in the United States reached nine, 
a definite improvement over the median of six years calculated in 1917.92 Between 1941 
and 1945 the United States Armed Services rejected 750,000 potential service persmmel 
as "mentally deficient. "93 In an effort to address the low level of literacy an1ong service 
personnel the U.S. Army spent $175 per month on each soldier who required remedial 
reading instruction.94 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt deemed the illiteracy problem 
so severe that he raised the issue at a May 1942 press conference. In response to 
Roosevelt's commentary Americans demanded that the schools rectify the situation.95 By 
1947 the illiteracy rate dropped to 2.7 percent for individuals fourteen or above. Despite 
the efforts of American educators to raise the level of literacy in the United States, there 
remained approximately 3,000,000 people in the same age group who could not read or 
write.96 "The period of adversity," wrote Harry Gehman Good, 
89 Ibid. , p. 202. 
90 Witty, Paul. "Reading for Meaning." The English Journal, March 1938, 27(3):221, 224, 228. 
91 Good, p. 384; see also Gordon and Gordon, p. 273. 
92 Good, p. 384. 
93 Gordon and Gordon, p. 274. 
94 Kopel, David. "Reading Problems of Pressing Importance." Review of Educational Research, Language 
Arts and Fine Arts, April 1943, 13(2):71. 
95 Gray, WilliamS. "What Should the Profession's Attitude Be toward Lay Criticism of the Schools? With 
St,ecial Reference to Reading." The ElementGiy School Journal, September 1952, 53(1):9. 
9 Butts, p. 569. 
25 
was marked by many attempts in state legislatures to police the minds of 
teachers. To this both wars and the depression contributed. There were 
laws against anarchism, socialism and communism; and laws to promote 
Americanism without, however, defining it. Relative to these laws were 
legislative attempts to revise the history textbooks.97 
Textbooks played a prominent role in the acquisition of literacy and citizenship skills. 
Juvenile literature that formed the basis of elementary school readers originated from 
moral tales intended to promote appropriate behavior, socialization and thus assimilation 
into American culture. 
The population of the United States grew by 14 percent in the decade following 
World War II. 98 The 1950 United States Census reported that more than 10,000,000 
Americans had less than five years of education or had never attended school.99 
Functionally illiterate people made up 6.8 percent of the Ame1ican workforce and 2 
percent of this total could not read or write. Ten to 15 percent of the U.S. enlisted 
personnel during the Korean Conflict did not have a fourth grade education. 100 Such 
large figures shocked Americans who realized that the promise of a free public education 
did not automatically translate into the ability to read and write. The literacy problem as 
perceived by the American public raised grave concerns as the United States faced the 
threat of communism in its hometowns and around the world. The survival of democracy 
hinged on a literate populace able to measure up to its civic responsibilities and it fell to 
the schools to ensure that children acquired the necessary skills. 
In the 1950s the social trend of marrying young and having large families 
increased the pressure on the elementary schools. "In the middle fifties ," wrote H. G. 
97 Good, p. 525. 
98 Ibid., p. 530. 
99 Gordon and Gordon, p. 274. 
26 
Good, "the task of providing places and teachers for all pupils was the most tangible 
problem before the people and the schools. Enrollments were growing at the rate of 
1,000,000 per year."101 Primary school enrollments stood at 26 million in 1952 with 
predictions of 29 million by 1956 or 1957. 102 The need to foster literacy in children 
remained paramount if the American way of life-hence democracy-were to endme. 
Educators passionately argued how best to foster literacy. The child-centered pedagogy 
of the progressive education movement remained mindful that children develop at 
different rates. Teachers debated whether or not all children should be taught to read in 
the first grade. They pondered what children should read and at what age, but the most 
important discomse related to the methodology of reading instruction. 
In 1955 Rudolf Flesch published Why Johnny Can 't Read- And What You Can 
Do about It. Flesch offered a highly personal and emotionally charged portrait of the 
literacy problem in the United States. "Reading means getting meaning from certain 
combinations of letters," maintained Flesch. "Teach the child what each letter stands for 
and he can read." 103 Throughout the text Flesch took to task teachers and the public 
school system. In the chapter "A Letter to Johnny' s Teacher" Flesch stated, 
100 Ibid. 
And so reading, in so far as it is taught at all today, is taught, casually and 
unconsciously, by fathers and mothers at home. The child who comes 
from an educated, book-loving home has a tremendous advantage. The 
son of illiterate parents will stumble for three years through twelve 
hundred words without help or guidance and then, as likely as not, develop 
into a "non-reader." 
10 1 Good, p. 530 
102 Butts, p. 569. 
103 Flesch, Rudolf. Why Johnny Can 't Read- And What You Can Do about ft. New York: Harper & 
Brothers, c1955, p. 2-3. 
27 
I say, therefore, that the word method is gradually destroying democracy 
in this country; it returns to the upper middle class the privileges that 
public education was supposed to distribute evenly among the people. 
The American Dream is, essentially, equal opportunity through free 
education for all. The dream is beginning to vanish in a country where the 
public schools are falling down on the job. 104 
Flesch advocated the systematic study of phonics and provided his readers with an 87-
page exercise book for phonetic drill. He insisted on the link between democracy and 
phonics, asserting that the word method subverted the individual ' s inalienable right of 
equal opportunity. 
Why Johnny Can 't Read appeared on the best-seller list for thirty-seven weeks. 105 
Linguists like Robert A. Hall, Jr. applauded the book and urged his colleagues to build 
upon Flesch's work. 106 Acknowledging the book's popularity with parents, Helen M. 
Robinson stated in her review, "The most basic criticism of this book deals with Dr. 
Flesch's definition of 'reading' as word-calling without getting the meaning." 107 In their 
November 1955 NEA Journal article Harold J. Bienvenu and Kenneth A. Martyn stated, 
"After reviewing all the studies Flesch cites in beginning reading in American 
classrooms, we have reluctantly come to the conclusion: Either Flesch is deliberately 
attempting to mislead and deceive the American people, or Flesch can't read." 108 The 
question underpinning the discourse over the pedagogy of reading centered on whether 
104 Ibid., p. 132. 
105 Hall, Robert A., Jr. "Why Johnny Can't Read-And What You Can Do about It." Review. Language, 
April-June 1956, 32(2):311. 
10 Ibid., p. 310-313. 
107 Robinson, Helen M. "Why Johnny Can' t Read-And What You Can Do about It." The Elementmy 
School Journal, October 1955, 56(2):91. 
108 Bienvenu, Harold J. and Kenneth A. Martyn. "Why Can't Rudy Read?" NEA Journal, November 1955 
as quoted in Letton, Mildred C. "Progress Report on Johnny's Reading." The Elementmy School Journal, 
December 1955, 56(4):149. 
28 
all children learned to read in the same manner. But everyone agreed on one thing­
reading was integral to the maintenance and the survival of a democracy. 
V. The Bobbs-Merrill Company 
In 1909 the Bobbs-Merrill Company attempted to penetrate the schoolbook 
market by publishing the Child Classics, a set of primary school readers written by 
Georgia and Grace Alexander. John R. Carr, a fonner school superintendent for the 
Marion County schools, joined the Bobbs-Merrill Company in 1911 specifically to 
organize the firm ' s educational department. Georgia Alexander in particular viewed 
Carr with distrust, and she savaged Carr in her dealings with company president, W. C. 
Bobbs. During Carr's tenure as school superintendent, he chose not to employ the Child 
Classics in the Marion County Schools. This angered Anderson, an Indianapolis school 
principal, who believed that Carr actively worked against the sale of her books. In truth 
Carr convinced the State of Indiana to adopt the Child Classics for use in its elementary 
schools in 1914 and again in 1919. Through Carr's promotion the Child Classics sold 
three million copies. The 1919 adoption, however, did not extend to all of the Child 
Classic volumes and it signaled the waning popularity of the readers. Although the 
Andersons profited handsomely from the Child Classics, the Bobbs-Merrill Company 
did not, a fact that prompted the firm to develop a more competitive series of readers. 
The Anderson sisters unhappily learned of the replacement four months prior to the 
1924 school adoptions. In response to Grace and Georgia Anderson's angry 
29 
protestations, the Bobbs-Merrill Company hinted at a monetary settlement that never 
took place. 109 
The Bobbs-Merrill Readers , authored by the siblings Clara Belle and Edna Dean 
Baker in concert with George H. Betts, superseded the Child Classics. Clara Belle held 
the post of professor of elementary curriculum at the National Kindergarten and 
Elementary College in Chicago. Edna Dean served as the institution' s president. An 
educator and a Bobbs-Merrill author since 1914, Betts acted as editor-in-chief of the 
Bobbs-Merrill educational department in 1921 under the stewardship of John Carr. The 
collaborative authorial arrangement assigned the material for the primer through the 
sixth grade volumes to the Baker sisters. Betts handled the texts for the seventh and 
eighth grades. By 1931 the cumulative sales figures for the Bobbs-Merrill Readers stood 
at 2,950,000 copies.110 
State adoptions of textbooks offered publishing houses substantial earnings and 
the coveted prize of assured sales sparked fierce rivalry between textbook publishers. 
Between 1917 and 1930 Bobbs-Merrill held contracts with fourteen states for 
schoolbooks. The house also maintained agreements with government agencies on the 
municipal, county and state levels, as well as adoptions of titles for reading circles. In 
the early 1930s John Carr sought a replacement for the Bobbs-Merrill Readers, and the 
company issued the initial volumes of the Curriculum Reader in 1934. Once more the 
company turned to Clara Belle and Edna Dean Baker to prepare the texts. Two years 
later an edition for Catholic schools appeared as the Catholic Curriculum Readers. 
Material relating to the development and sales of textbooks is scarce in the company' s 
109 O' Bar, Jack. "A History ofthe Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1850-1940: With a Postlude through the Early 
1960s." (Ph.D. diss ., Indiana University, 1975), p. 121-124. 
30 
papers after 1930, but it fair to say that the educational department became the best-
known division within the Bobbs-Merrill Company by 1940.111 
The push by the Bobbs-Merrill Company to enter the schoolbook market, its 
connections with educators and government officials, and the expertise developed by 
sales personnel, all prepared the way for placement of the Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series into elementary school classrooms and libraries across the United 
States. Although a product of the trade department, COF AS reached its highest sales 
mark in American schools where the books became synonymous with the acquisition of 
literacy and good reading habits. 
In addition to the elementary level readers, the Bobbs-Merrill Company published 
approximately 170 children' s books between the years of 1901 and 1940. 11 2 Oversight 
for the production of juvenile titles fell to the editor of the trade department. David 
Laurence Chambers, the foremost figure in the creation of the Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series, came to the Bobbs-Merrill Company in 1903 as the personal secretary 
to the firm ' s president, W. C. Bobbs, a post Chambers held until 1907 when he became a 
full member of the house. Appointed vice president in 1921, Chambers succeeded 
Hewitt Howland as the trade book editor in 1925 and achieved the rank of company 
president in 1935. After eighteen years, Chambers resigned the presidency and served 
as chairman of the board through 1958.11 3 The literary tastes and social attitudes of 
Chambers strongly influenced the publications of the trade department. 11 4 Chambers' 
110 Ibid. , p. 123-125. 
Ill Ibid., p. 141-145, 147. 
112 Bobbs-Merrill Company. "Complete Back List of Juvenile Titles from Bobbs-Merrill." (Indianapolis: 
Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1961 or 1962]. 
11 3 O'Bar, p. 95-96. 
114 Tebbe1, John. A Hist01y of Book Publishing in the United States: Volume IV, The Great Change, 1940-
1980, p. 268. 
31 
dominance extended to the Childhood of Famous Americans Series, where he retained 
control over the development of manuscripts until Howard W. Sams acquired the 
company in November of 1958. 11 5 
From 1932 to 1946 assistant editor Jessica Mannon bore the brunt of the 
responsibility for securing and guiding juvenile manuscripts to publication, always 
deferring to Chambers, who retained control of the process. Mannon joined the Bobbs-
Merrill Company sales department in 1927. She replaced Anne Johnston as editorial 
assistant in 1931 and moved into the assistant editor position one year later. 116 Mannon 
participated in the creation of the Childhood of Famous American Series and fostered its 
development through the Great Depression and World War II. Unlike other publishing 
concerns Bobbs-Merrill did not establish a separate department or even employ a 
children's editor until 1946 when the firm engaged Patricia Jones. 11 7 
The Bobbs-Merrill Company published twenty-four volumes in the Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series during Jessica Mannon's tenure as assistant editor. Patricia 
Jones inherited a well-established biographical fiction series based on exacting criteria 
that fostered Americanism and literacy. Like Mannon before her, Jones endeavored to 
emphasize appropriate social values in COF AS while ensuring a vocabulary level 
suitable for eight- to twelve-year-old readers. Exploits celebrating American traditions 
and beliefs served as a means to confer literacy and to protect democracy. COF AS 
authors like Augusta Stevenson and Laura Long took their roles in the development of 
11 5 The memoranda, letters, manuscript annotations on reader reviews, etc. and the deference shown by 
editorial assistants reveal that Chambers had the final word on the production of the COF AS books. 
116 O'Bar, p. 94. 
117 Bobbs-Merrill mss. Lilly Library. Manuscript Department. Internal Authority Control Files. 
32 
citizenship skills very seriously. On her 1941 biographical questionnaire Stevenson 
wrote, 
In my work as a teacher in the Indianapolis Public Schools I saw the 
necessity of developing patriotism in children if we expected to meet the 
Communistic plan of treating our American heroes with ridicule and 
contempt. And so in Abe Lincoln, Frontier Boy, and now in Ben Franklin, 
Printer' s Boy, I have endeavored to give the child ideals, and to create 
enthusiasm for these men. 118 
The fear of communism permeated all of Stevenson' s work for COFAS ,and it skewed 
her presentation of An1erican heroes for the edification of her readers. In Stevenson' s 
work one most clearly sees the prejudices and perceptions of American society 
perpetuated through the vehicle of biographical fiction. 
In "An Author's View of The Childhood of Famous Americans Series" Laura 
Long discussed how COF AS transmitted traditional American values to young readers. 
This contributor to the series spoke of the joy an author experienced in being pa1i of such 
an endeavor, calling it " the most successful way any of us know to teach the true 
meaning of democracy." 119 Long believed in the power of COF AS to instill cultural 
values. "By following the lives of America' s great men," Long asserted, "young minds 
will unconsciously acquire the seeds of such things as patriotism, loyalty, courage, 
independence, fearlessness, [and] unselfish devotion to duty." 120 Bobbs-Merrill 
aggressively marketed the Childhood of Famous Americans Series to parents, teachers 
and librarians to instill in children the meaning of true "Americanism." Although seldom 
11 8 Augusta Stevenson, "Biographical Questionnaire," [ 1941]. Bobbs-Merrill rnss., Stevenson, Augusta. 
Biographical Material. 
119 Laura Long, "An Author' s View ofThe Childhood ofFamous Americans Series," [n.d.]. Bobbs-Merrill 
mss. The Childhood ofFamous Americans Series. Reviews. 
120 Ibid. 
33 
defined, the concept of Americanism sold books and led to the employment of the series 
in ways unanticipated by Chambers and his editorial staff. 121 
An undated Bobbs-Merrill sales memorandum recorded an agreement between 
the U.S. Department of State and the American Embassy at Bangkok to produce Thai 
translations of three titles in the Childhood of Famous Americans Series. "This is further 
recognition," the memo declared, "of the good Americanism, the good democracy, of 
COFAS." 122 Chambers recognized this attribute as a way to differentiate COPAS from 
other publishers' series. Perceiving a swelling demand for materials related to 
Americanism, he instructed salesmen to emphasize its importance and to stress how the 
Childhood of Famous Americans Series filled the need for citizenship training. 123 The 
sales department packaged Americanism with the acquisition of literacy skills and sold 
the books to concerned parents, teachers and school superintendents as the means to 
ensure the continuance of American society. 
The publication of Why Johnny Can 't Read- And What You Can Do About It 
stimulated public concern for literacy and reading. Seizing upon the popularity of 
Flesch' s work, R. G. Baker, head of sales at Bobbs-Merrill, issued a "Memorandum to 
the Salesmen" dated October 28, 1955 that declared, "WHY JOHNNY CAN'T READ 
Because he never had the opportunity to read books in the CHILDHOOD OF FAMOUS 
121 Chambers, David Laurence. "The Genesis and Continuing Success of the Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series." Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1949, p. 5. Reprinted from Publishers ' Weekly, 
October 29, 1949. 
122 Memorandum by D. L. Chambers to the Salesmen, [n.d.] Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series. Promotional Material II. The three titles translated into Thai were: Ben Franklin, 
Printer's Boy, Clara Barton, Girl Nurse and Kit Carson, Boy Trapper. 
123 Memorandum by R. G. Baker to the Salesmen, July 1, 1952. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series. Promotional Material II. 
34 
AMERICANS SERIES."124 The popularity ofCOFAS derived from its careful selection 
of high-profile Americans who appealed to young audiences. The books introduced the 
concept of biography to children and encouraged the development of reading skills, 
especially for slow learners, while showcasing American values in the actions of their 
young heroes. Rigid editorial control and authorial guidelines ensured that all volumes 
conformed to the series' requirements as set forth by the publisher. The style, 
vocabulary, general plot and format remained uniform. The cultivation of literacy and 
"Americanism" appeared in all promotional material. Marketing strategies included 
direct appeals to patriotism and the sales department repeatedly stressed that once a child 
read a COF AS book he became a customer for the entire series. 
Public support for the Childhood of Famous Americans Series took the fom1 of 
published reviews and articles by educators and letters to the Bobbs-Merrill Company 
from satisfied parents. 125 Some professionals like May Hill Arbuthnot expressed concern 
over the low-level vocabulary and urged parents, librarians and teachers to encourage 
children in the development of more mature reading skills. 126 Advertising for the series 
proclaimed, "Boys and girls establish lifelong reading habits with the Childhood of 
Famous Americans series . . .. Teachers and librarians rely on these books to make willing 
readers of all children." 127 From the sales point of view, literacy ranked equal in 
124 Memorandum by R. G. Baker to the Salesmen, October 28, 1955. Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood 
ofFamous Americans Series. Promotional Material II. 
125 Wilma Ingram to Bobbs-Merrill Co., February 26, [1953] as quoted in Memorandum. From Herman 
Ziegner To the Salesmen, March 2, 1953. Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood of Famous Americans 
Series. Promotional Material II. Wilma Ingram, librarian at Sebastian County Library, Greenwood, 
Arkansas, wrote, " I have never known a series that have [sic] been as universally popular with children. 
Many of our readers, who have really outgrown them, watch for the new titles and enjoy them as much as 
they did when they were fourth graders." 
126 Arbuthnot, "Books for Children," p. 317. 
127 Advertising brochure, [n.d.]. Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood of Famous Americans Series. 
Promotional Materia! I. 
35 
importance with the conveyance of American values. An astute Bobbs-Menill marketing 
department offered to educators and parents a product that induced children to read. 
American heritage and values, authentically portrayed, stimulated patriotism and 
citizenship and aided literacy. The Childhood of Famous Americans Series succeeded 
where other juvenile serial literature did not. Adults loved the books as much as children. 
36 
CHAPTER TWO: THE BIRTH OF A TOPSY 
I. Parson Weems in Petticoats 
"The idea of the Childhood of Famous American[s} series did not spring from 
anyone's massive forehead. It was a Topsy. It had a pragmatical sanction. It was elected 
by the children, and bookstores were the polling places," wrote Bobbs-Merrill president 
David Laurence Chambers in retrospect. 128 In 1932 when the house issued Augusta 
Stevenson's Abe Lincoln, Frontier Boy, destined to be the series' first volume, no one at 
Bobbs-Merrill envisioned anything beyond publishing a profitable children's book. At 
the time of its publication, the firm's main concern centered on avoiding a copyright suit 
due to the author's careless handling of source material. 129 
Augusta Stevenson (1870-1976), an Indianapolis schoolteacher from Patriot, 
Indiana, wrote twenty-three stories for the Childhood of Famous Americans Series 
between 1932 and 1959. Her obituary stated, "she was the founder and major contributor 
for the Childhood ofFamous Americans series."130 As the acknowledged creator of "the 
formula," Stevenson's popularity and salability ensured the publication of her books and 
allowed her a measure of control in the symbiotic author-editor relationship. COF AS 
128 Chambers, "Genesis," p. 2. 
129 Jessica Mannon to Augusta Stevenson, August 19, 1932; Mannon to D. L. Chambers, August 23, 26 and 
29, 1932; and Chambers to Mannon, August 24 and 27, 1932. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Stevenson, Augusta. 
Correspondence, 1916-1944. These letters and a draft statement of acknowledgment signed by Stevenson 
and dated August 27, 1932 demonstrate the seriousness with which the editors viewed Stevenson's 
appropriation of material. The ordeal led Chambers to exclaim, "Damn all authors!" and to insist that any 
claims be paid from Stevenson's royalties. 
130 
"August[ a] Stevenson dead." [Bloomington?] Herald-Telephone, July 9, 1976. [Newspaper clipping] 
Bobbs-Merrill mss. Stevenson, Augusta. Biographical Material. 
37 
brought Stevenson fame as a children' s writer and her books established Bobbs-Merrill as 
the publishing house that ignited "biography fever." 131 
The tumultuous relationship between Stevenson and the Bobbs-Merrill editors 
began in the early 1930s with Abe Lincoln, Frontier Boy. Stevenson culled incidents 
from various Lincoln biographies for her stories of Abe's youth. In particular, J. Rogers 
Gore's Boyhood of Abraham Lincoln furnished the fodder for four of Stevenson's 
chapters. Jessica Mannon, associate editor for the trade department, corresponded with 
the author and reminded Stevenson that Gore ' s "stories are not authenticated by historical 
facts and as the book is copyrighted, you would be subject to a libel suit or a violation of 
copyright if you used any of his stuff." 132 Scrupulous checking took place as the 
associate editor carefully compared Stevenson' s sources with the author' s text. 
Stevenson insisted that no one instructed her on the use of source material. Richard V. 
Sipe of the law department believed that only Gore potentially had a case against 
Stevenson and Bobbs-Merrill held the copyright to his book. 133 No evidence of a 
copyright suit involving Abe Lincoln resides in the Bobbs-Merrill papers, but the event 
foreshadowed the problematic publisher-author relationship to come. Headstrong and 
determined to save American children from the threat of communism, Augusta Stevenson 
possessed the gift of storytelling. 134 Her popularity allowed her to dominate a Bobbs-
Merrill editorial staff that was eager to publish a winning title. 
131 Arbuthnot, "Books for Children." Elementmy English , May 1953, p. 316-317. 
132 Mannon to Stevenson, August 19, 1932. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Stevenson, Augusta. Correspondence, 
1916-1944. 
133 Jessica Mannon to Augusta Stevenson, August 19, 1932; Mannon to D. L. Chambers, August 23, 26 and 
29, 1932; and Chambers to Mannon, August 24 and 27, 1932. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Stevenson, Augusta. 
Correspondence, 1916-1944. 
134 Augusta Stevenson, "Biographical Questionnaire," [ 1941]. Bobbs-Merrill mss. , Stevenson, Augusta. 
Biographical Material. 
38 
Four years of continuing sales and reprints of Abe Lincoln, Frontier Boy 
prompted Bobbs-Merrill to consider publishing an analogous volume featuring the 
boyhood of Robert E. Lee. 135 The company turned to Helen A. Monsell, the registrar of 
Richmond College who penned juvenile mystery stories for the firm. Jessica Mannon 
wrote to Monsell suggesting the project and enclosed a copy of Abe Lincoln as a model. 
Monsell replied, "I have waited to acknowledge your letter until I could look over the 
Abraham Lincoln. It seems to me an excellent book, and the idea of writing a children' s 
Lee that would be an improvement over those forced on my own childhood is certainly 
attractive." 136 Mannon distilled the methodology employed by Stevenson-stories about 
childhood enlivened through historical authenticity that concluded with a chapter 
extolling the subject's greatness-and urged Monsell to follow its course. 
As Monsell labored to recreate Lee 's childhood the editors conferred over the 
project. Editorial assistant Elizabeth G. Laing noted in her correspondence with the 
author, "If it [i.e. , the book] is very easy to understand and very simple, I should think it 
might for[m] a sort of companion piece for the little Lincoln book." 137 The sales 
department agreed and connected the two volumes in its marketing strategy. In a draft 
letter to booksellers submitted for Chambers' approval, D. Angus Cameron stated, "We 
are encouraged to have this book written and published because of the fine and steady 
success of another book of a similar nature: ABE LINCOLN: FRONTIER BOY." 138 
Chambers approved the idea but advised Cameron, "For psychological reasons I'd omit 
135 Chambers, "Genesis," p. 2. 
136 Helen Albee Monsen to Mannon, October 14, 1936. Bobbs-Merrin rnss. Monsen, Helen Albee. 
Correspondence, 1935, Nov. 24-1937, July. 
137 Elizabeth G. Laing to Monsen, November 24, 1936. Bobbs-Merrin rnss. Monsen, Helen Albee. 
Correspondence, 1935, Nov. 24-1937, July. 
39 
mention of Abe Lincoln in the South." 139 Like its Lincoln predecessor, Boy of Old 
Virginia, Robert E. Lee sold well and created a tidy revenue stream for the company. 140 
The sales figures for the Lincoln and Lee titles convinced Bobbs-Merrill of the 
profitability of a juvenile series devoted to the childhood escapades of famous American 
men. In September 1938 Jessica Mannon approached Helen Monsell and inquired, 
[H]ow would you like to do a book for us on the boyhood of Thomas 
Jefferson-like BOY OF OLD VIRGINIA? 
The latter continues to sell, and we hope it will for a good many years to 
come. Our salesmen are all enthusiastic about our adding further books of 
this sort to our list, and we believe that Thomas Jefferson would be an 
attractive subject. 141 
Monsell accepted the assignment. With the publication of Tom Jefferson, A Boy in 
Colonial Days in the fall of 1939 Bobbs-Merrill launched the Boyhood of Fan1ous 
Americans Series, which incorporated Stevenson' s Abe Lincoln, Frontier Boy and 
Mansell ' s Boy of Old Virginia, Robert E. Lee. Two years elapsed before a fourth volume 
arrived-Augusta Stevenson's Ben Franklin, Printer 's Boy. By the close of 1942 "The 
Boyhood of Famous Americans Series" contained ten volumes. 142 
138 Donald Angus Cameron to Chambers, August 17, 1937; with suggested form letter to John Jones, Jones 
Bookstore, Atlanta, Georgia, enclosed. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Monsell, Helen Albee. Correspondence, 1937, 
Aug.-1938. 
139 Chambers to Cameron, August 18, 1937. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Monsell, Helen Albee. Correspondence, 
1937, Aug.-1938. 
14° Chambers, "Genesis," p. 2. 
14 1 Mannon to Monsell, September 30, 1938. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Monsell, Helen Albee. Correspondence, 
1937, Aug.-1938. 
142 The titles in the order of their publication are: Abe Lincoln: Frontier Boy by Augusta Stevenson (1932), 
Boy of Old Virginia: Robert E. Lee by Helen Monsell (1937), Tom Jefferson: A Boy in Colonial Days by 
Helen Monsell ( 1939), Ben Franklin: Printer 's Boy by Augusta Stevenson (1941 ), Andy Jackson: Boy 
Soldier by Augusta Stevenson (1942), Alec Hamilton: The Little Lion by Helen Boyd Higgins ( 1942), 
Hoosier Boy: James Whitcomb Riley by Minnie Belle Mitchell, ghost written by Jean Brown Wagoner 
( 1942), Mark Twain: Boy of Old Missouri by Miriam Mason ( 1942), George Washington: Boy Leader by 
Augusta Stevenson (1942), and Young Stonewall: Tom Jackson by Helen Monsell (1942). 
40 
The designation, the Boyhood of Famous Americans Series, continued until some 
time in 1942 when the editors altered the series title to the "Childhood" of Famous 
Americans Series to include youthful stories about famous American women.143 The 
accommodation came at the request of female readers who enjoyed the boyhood books, 
but who wanted stories about girls. Bobbs-Merrill published the first "girlhood" book, 
Louisa Alcott, Girl of Old Boston by Jean Brown Wagoner, in 1943. 
Once underway the Childhood of Famous American Series gained momentum. 
The firm added three to eight new titles per year with the exceptions of 1953, 1954, 1957 
and 1958. Bobbs-Merrill issued nine new and eleven reprinted books in 1953 and 
published twelve additional volumes in 1954. Either the company' s financial difficulties 
or the lack of adequately prepared manuscripts prevented the publication of COF AS 
editions in 1957, but in 1958 Bobbs-Merrill rebounded and offered nine more titles . 
The demand for the Childhood of Famous Americans Series steadily increased 
during World War II and the Cold War not only in the United States, but also globally. 
Chambers wrote, 
The usefulness of the series has developed in ways not originally 
contemplated. Certainly none of us expected that the books might become 
instruments of revealing American life and ideas in Middle Europe, the 
Near East or the Far East, of making friends for the nation in foreign 
lands, though we were always consciously endeavoring to present ideal 
aspects of American character to children in their most impressionable 
years. 144 
143 The title page of Augusta Stevenson ' s George Washington : Boy Leader (1942) includes the series 
statement: Childhood of Famous Americans Series. Unfortunately, Bobbs-Merrill did not use the series 
statement consistently, making it difficult to pinpoint exactly when in 1942 the title changed. To further 
cloud the issue both the sales department and children ' s literature professionals used the two titles 
concurrently. 
144 Chambers, "Genesis," p. 5. The "Complete Backlist of Juvenile Titles from Bobbs-Merrill" compiled in 
the early 1960s includes permissions for Braille editions and foreign language translations of numerous 
COF AS titles. 
41 
The United States Army contracted a German edition of Buffalo Bill, Boy of the Plains 
for its denazification program. Luther Burbank, Boy Wizard enchanted the youth of 
Japan. George Carver, Boy Scientist appeared in two editions for the edification of 
Iranian and Turkish children and French youngsters read La Fille Oiseau (Bird Girl, 
Sacagawea). 145 
An undated, typed sheet in the Bobbs-Merrill 1946-1955 correspondence file 
contains the contents of a letter written by a volunteer teacher working at a school near 
Munich, Germany. Military restrictions forbade the disclosure of the teacher's nan1e and 
exact location. The receipt of a complete set of the Childhood of Famous Americans 
Series volumes prompted the teacher to write vigorously extolling the books ' virtues for 
both foreign and American born individuals. "As for the German children," the teacher 
stated, "there will be much food for thought and a promise for the future which they need 
so desperately. ill this complete collection one actually has the step-by-step progress of 
the building of Ame1ica by its own liberty-loving people in a language children can grasp 
and appreciate."146 The COFAS stories published up to 1948 depicted Colonial America, 
pioneer life and western expansion, the Civil War, social activism, science and invention. 
The books reflected the most important epochs in United States history and taken 
together presented "the building of America" as noted by the volunteer teacher. The 
Childhood of Famous Americans Series exported American values and culture m a 
marmer unanticipated by its creators. 
145 Ib"d 2 I ., p .. 
146 Memorandum by Anonymous, [n.d.]. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The Childhood of Famous Americans Series. 
Correspondence, 1946-1955. 
42 
II. The Formula for Success 
The Bobbs-Merrill Company carefully regulated the production of the Childhood 
of Famous Americans Series. Strict editorial control attempted with varying degrees of 
success to hammer each story into a template established by Augusta Stevenson' s Abe 
Lincoln, Frontier Boy. Story furnished the fundamental criteria for the COP AS fonnula. 
The editors recommended authoritative biographies and reference books intended to aid 
the authors in the construction of authenticity. The correspondence between Helen 
Monsell and Bobbs-Merrill reveals the early formulation of COPAS criteria and the 
editors' determination to impress specific qualities into all the books of the series. 
Elizabeth Laing wrote to Helen Monsell, 
In editorial conference today we discussed again the elements we feel are 
required in the book you are going to write on Lee's boyhood. It seems to 
us that the watchword of the whole thing is adequate simplification so that 
the very young child can understand it. ABE LINCOLN: FRONTIER 
BOY will give you the clearest idea of the type of thing we hope you will 
give us, although of course, the subject matter is so very different. 147 
Laing's letter implies that multiple deliberations took place in an effort to delineate "the 
formula" as employed by Stevenson. Acknowledging the receipt of Mansell's story 
outline and initial chapter, Laing mentioned the desire "that this book achieve certain 
definite objectives,"148 but she did not specify the goals the editors expected the author to 
attain. An unattributed manuscript notation on Betsy McWilliams' typescript review of 
Boy of Old Virginia observed: 
147 Laing to Mansell, November 24, 1936. Bobbs-Merrill rnss . Mansell, Helen Albee. Correspondence, 
1935, Nov. 24-1937, July. 
148 Laing to Mansell, December 24, 1936. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Mansell, Helen Albee. Correspondence, 
1935, Nov. 24-1937, July. 
43 
The book as a whole should accomplish three things. 1. It should tell an 
interesting story of a real boy who later became famous. 2. It should give 
a picture of his time and circumstances. 3. It should be written in a 
manner children will easily grasp-and must have a story that will sustain 
interest. At present, Miss Mansell ' s book does none of these things. 149 
This handwritten comment, perhaps by Chambers, represents the earliest written 
statement of the COF AS criteria. As the series grew the editorial staff formalized its 
requirements through written guidelines. 
The "Guidelines for Authors" sought to ensure appropriate subjects, authenticity, 
and notable American characteristics. 
The idea of the series is simple. Each volume is intended to introduce in 
story form a famous American as a boy or girl about the reader' s own age. 
The books are not intended as biographies, though the background of the 
subject's life and times should be completely authentic. We consider the 
books only introductions, so that when the time comes for the child to 
study famous Americans in greater detail he can recognize them as old 
friends, real people who were once children like himself. 150 
The publisher warned authors not to refer to controversial topics involving minority 
groups, religion and politics. "There should be no editorializing, no pauses for exposition 
or description, no drawing of comparisons between past and present, no patronizing tone 
toward young readers." 151 Authors found it impossible to adhere to all the guidelines. 
Regarding Miriam Mason's William Penn, Friendly Boy Chambers confided to associate 
editor Rosemary York that the book repeatedly violated the series' prime requisites of no 
149 Betsy McWilliams, [Review of Boy of Old Virginia, Robert E. Lee]. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Mansell, 
Helen Albee. Boy of Old Virginia: Robert E. Lee. 
150 Guidelines for Authors. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The Childhood of Famous Americans Series. Guidelines 
for Authors. 
151 Ibid. 
44 
exposition, no editorializing, and no anticipation. 152 Editorial concerns required 
numerous revisions of every title and in one instance entailed a ghostwriter. 
Minnie Belle Mitchell submitted "James Riley As I Knew Him," to Bobbs-Merrill 
for consideration as an adult trade book. The editors deemed the poorly written piece 
unworthy of publication and considered Mitchell incapable of correcting its many 
faults. 153 Anne Ross suggested rewriting the manuscript and salvaging the incidents of 
Riley' s youth in a volume for children. Jessica Mannon asked her sister, Jean Brown 
Wagoner, to edit the manuscript. Mannon wrote to Chambers, "I'm confident we'll have 
a book as good as ABE LINCOLN when she [Wagoner] gets through with it."154 
Mannon suggested that Mitchell split the royalties with Wagoner. 155 The file contains no 
evidence of the final financial arrangement. Wagoner' s revision so pleased Chambers 
that the company contracted the author to write six additional volumes for COF AS, all 
with female protagonists. 156 
The lofty aims of the editorial staff often collided with authorial bias. In her 
"Confidential Report to the Salesmen," Patricia Jones stated, "Because we have 
confidence that the Cofas is based on a sound understanding of child psychology, we will 
152 Memorandum by Chambers to Rosemary York, [n.d.]. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Mason, Miriam. William 
Penn: Friendly Boy. 
153 Anne Ross, "James Whitcomb Riley as I Knew Him (reader' s review), [ 1941]; Carrie E. Scott, Reader' s 
Report, September 17, 1941 ; and Anonymous, Reader' s Report, [ 1941]. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Mitchell, 
Minnie Belle. The Boyhood of James Whitcomb Riley. 
154 Mannon to Chambers, January 10, 1942. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Mitchell, Minnie Belle. Hoosier Boy: 
James Whitcomb Riley. Evidence supporting Wagoner's authorship consists of the sample chapter of 
Hoosier Boy: James Whitcomb Riley and the author's statement, "Bobbs-Merrill needed someone to ghost 
write a book. When you do that you never let anyone know you wrote it, or had any knowledge of it. It 
went over, and the company wanted to sign me up for my own book, but I couldn' t think of anything to 
write." Indianapolis Star Magazine, April25, 1982, p.28. 
155 Ibid. 
156 Chambers to Mannon, May 18, [1942?]. Wagoner's books in order of appearance are: Louisa Alcott, 
Girl of Old Boston (1943); Jane Addams, Little Lame Girl (1944); Julia Ward Howe, Girl of Old New York 
(1945); Martha Washington, Girl of Old Virginia (1947); Abigail Adams, A Girl of Colonial Days (1949); 
and Jessie Fremont, Girl of Capitol Hill (1956). 
45 
continue to maintain its standards. There will be no alcohol, no profanity or 
condescension or race prejudice or violent horror or detraction of American ideals in the 
Cofas." 157 Jones ' report maintained the superiority of COFAS over the competing 
Random House Landmark Series by laying claim to the high ground of positive and 
sensitive representation of minority groups. 
Despite Jones ' assertion, the Bobbs-Merrill Company frequently published books 
riddled with authorial prejudices and perceptions. Concerning Aileen Parks ' Davy 
Crockett, Young Rifleman Patricia Jones remarked, "The treatment is a little forei gn to 
the series in that Mrs. Parks doesn' t hesitate to imply that the Crocketts were not 
financially successful and that their hotheaded Irish personalities and restlessness were 
undoubtedly responsible." 158 The concluding chapter justifying Crockett' s inclusion as a 
COFAS hero troubled Jones who observed, "The author seems to view Texan 
independence from the Mexican point of view, which throws an odd light on American 
actions." 159 Chambers agreed and instructed Jones to edit the manuscript. In order to 
conform to the series criteria Chambers insisted that the final chapter focus on Crockett ' s 
service to Texas and not on the frontiersman' s reputation as a teller of tall tales . "He 
would never have got into the series just as a Paul Bunyan," Chambers remarked. 160 The 
exchange between Chambers and Jones emphasizes the amount of labor frequently 
required to bring a manuscript in line with the series requirements. In many cases the 
editors compromised the series standards to publish a book on a popular figure. 
157 Patricia Jones, Confidential Report to the Salesmen, [1950-1951 ?], p. 10. 
158 Jones to Chambers, October 28, 1948. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Parks, Aileen Wells. Davy Crockett: Young 
Rifleman . Readers ' Reports & Promotional Material. 
159 Jones to Chambers, December 13, 1948. Bobbs-Merrill rnss . Parks, Aileen Wells. Davy Crockett: 
Young Rifleman. Readers ' Reports & Promotional Material. 
16° Chambers to Jones, December 14, [1948]. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Parks, Aileen Wells. Davy Crockett: 
Young Rifleman. Readers ' Reports & Promotional Material. 
46 
The books Tecumseh, Shawnee Boy and Sitting Bull, Dakota Boy resonate with 
Augusta Stevenson's intense distaste for Indians. One reviewer wrote, 
I think she likes her creation but fears the real person of Tecumseh. She 
has not succeeded in overcoming a pioneer fear and dislike of Indians, and 
she has made whites-Boone, in particular-the heroes of the book. She 
dismisses Tecumseh with "he had an Indian's mind." 161 
Chambers found the entire manuscript disturbing. Stevenson' s portrayal of Tecumseh 
lacked the qualities that made him a worthy subject for the series. Chambers noted, "I 
suppose Miss Stevenson felt she did not dare to touch on Tecumseh' s true greatness as a 
statesman lest he be thought by child readers a modern Cmnmunist." 162 Stevenson 
denigrated Tecumseh' s dream of a unified Indian state and his attempts to create a tribal 
confederacy to ensure the survival of Native American culture and identity. The 
ultrapatriotic Stevenson simply could not countenance flagrant resistance to the authority 
of the United States during the period when government tennination policies sought to 
dissolve the obligations of the federal government toward Native American h·ibes and to 
open reservation lands to speculation and development. 163 
Sitting Bull, Dakota Boy presented a similar challenge for Stevenson-how to tell 
the story of a great American who attacked the United States government. Jones 
remarked in a letter to Chambers, 
Augusta has expressed some fear-as she did during the writing of her 
Tecumseh-that she will be fostering subversive ideas in children if she 
161 Anonymous, Reader Review, [n.d.). Bobbs-Merrill mss. Stevenson, Augusta. Tecumseh: Shawnee 
Boy. Readers ' Reports ; Promotional Material (folder 1). 
162 Review, by Chambers and annotated by Jones, [n.d.). Bobbs-Merrill mss. Stevenson, Augusta. 
Tecumseh : Shawnee Boy. Readers ' Reports ; Promotional Material (folder 1). 
163 For a discussion of the termination policies of the United States government toward Native Ame4ricans 
see Trazer, Clifford E. "Termination and Self-Determination." Chap. 18 in As Long as the Grass Shall 
Grow and Rivers Flow: A HistOI )' of Native Americans. Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers, 2000. 
47 
shows the U.S. government in any bad light. .. . Her own attitude toward 
Indians seems to be one of fear and contempt, and refusal to respect any of 
the Indian aims or ideas .. . . 
I think her conception of patriotism is simpler than that of many children 
now, who 've acquired attitudes from parents with world-war service .... 
And the current ideal of tolerance would be better served by a sympathetic 
picture of Indians that might help to build respect for them, and more 
understanding of their way of life. But I know Augusta well enough to 
know that persuasion along these three lines would be fruitless. 164 
In reply Chambers expressed his regret that Stevenson "should have been attracted to the 
Injuns, since, unlike Flora Seymour, she has so little knowledge of them, so little 
sympathy with them, and won't go to the trouble over them." 165 The exchange 
illuminates several tensions. Jones' use of the phrase "the current ideal of tolerance" 
indicates that not all Americans concurred with the U.S. government's attempt to end its 
obligations toward Native Americans through termination policies and to pressure the 
tribes to assimilate into white American culture. 
The publisher' s guidelines and internal memoranda repeatedly insist on positive 
ethnic portrayals free of ideology. Nevertheless, both Seymour, the author of Bird Girl, 
Sacagawea and Pocahontas, Brave Girl, and Stevenson supported the assimilation of 
Indians into white culture and raised the issue in their books. The disparity in treatment 
surfaced in the tenor and tone of the language utilized to create the authenticity of the 
story. Seymour depicted two Indian women who served white men. Stevenson selected 
two Indian men at odds with the United States government and purposely undercut the 
traits of honesty, bravery, loyalty and leadership ability. In doing so, Stevenson denied 
164 Jones to Chambers, August 14, 1956. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Stevenson, Augusta. Correspondence, 1945-
1956. 
165 Chambers to Jones, August 16, 1956. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Stevenson, Augusta. Correspondence, 1945-
1956. 
48 
Sitting Bull and Tecumseh the very attributes that made them eligible for inclusion in 
COF AS. Despite editorial concerns, Bobbs-Merrill published Sitting Bull, Dakota Boy. 
Stevenson's popularity as an author combined with a story about an exciting Indian chief 
ensured sales. The high ideals so carefully cultivated and proclaimed by Bobbs-Merrill 
took a back seat. Instead the editors focused on the development of the story's 
authenticity to soften the authorial bias. 
III. Authentic, but not Necessarily True 
Bobbs-Merrill considered authenticity the cornerstone of the Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series. To attain it authors and editors researched time and place and 
framed each story with enough detail grounded in fact to convey to the reader a sense of 
historical reality. Editors recommended respected reference works and expected the 
authors to mine them for background material. Script readers commented on the author's 
ability to create this aspect ofthe stories. The reviewers of Helen Monsell's Boy of Old 
Virginia, Robert E. Lee compared her work with that of Augusta Stevenson's Abe 
Lincoln, Frontier Boy. The readers agreed that Monsell had the more difficult task, but 
divergent viewpoints of the author's accomplishments emerged. One reader believed that 
the authenticity created by Monsell in the story exceeded that employed by Stevenson. 166 
Authenticity blurred the lines between fact and fiction. Douglas Southall 
Freeman's Lee and Mary G. Powell's History of Old Alexandria supplied the factual 
information for Boy of Old Virginia. Visits by Helen Monsell to Stratford Hall and 
Alexandria, Virginia furnished a sense of place. Dr. Freeman read the draft manuscript 
166 Review, by Elizabeth McWilliams, [n.d.]. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Monsell, Helen Albee. Boy of Old 
Virginia: Robert E. Lee. 
49 
and met with Mansell to discuss details and historical accuracy. Mansell reported to 
Chambers, 
He suggested a number of minor changes - that the river probably could 
not be seen from the lawn at Stratford in Robert's day; that Cousin 
Fitzhugh be called Cousin William; that magnolias were probably not 
plentiful enough as far north as Alexandria to be sold in the marketplace; 
that attention be called to the huge pillars on the portico at Arlington, and 
the view ofWashington across the river. 167 
In addition, Freeman proposed that Mansell stress the poverty of the Lee family, the 
disrepair of Stratford, Lee's fondness for horses, his athletic ability, the effect of the 
Washington tradition, and "the early inculcation of the 'whatever you do, do well ' 
idea."168 Mansell revised her script accordingly. 169 Chambers concurred. He remarked 
to Mansell, "We feel that we should embody all the corrections made at Dr. Freeman's 
suggestion. They are important. I am dropping him a line to ask if he would like to give 
us a little comment on the book."170 The papers relating to Boy of Old Virginia, Robert 
E. Lee do not include Freeman's response to Chambers' request; but, it is apparent that 
through Freeman's endorsement Chambers hoped to enhance sales and underscore the 
authenticity of the book. In doing so, Chambers further obscured the boundary between 
fiction and fact. 
The creation of authenticity extended to the illustrations supporting the story. The 
Childhood of Famous Americans Series books published from 1932 to 1958 feature 
illustrations in the form of black and white silhouettes. Many teachers, librarians and 
167 Monsell to Chambers, May 29, 1937. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Monsell, Helen Albee. Correspondence 
1935, Nov. 24-1937-July. 
168 Ibid. 
169 Mons ell to Chambers, June 18, 1937. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Mons ell, Helen Albee. Correspondence 
1935, Nov. 24-1937-July. 
50 
parents referred to COFAS as the "silhouette series." According to an advertising 
brochure "boys and girls see what the silhouettes show: the figures of children 
foreshadowing great Americans." 171 The contrasting outlines pay close attention to 
clothing, material culture, interiors and exteriors of buildings and modes of 
transportation. Skillfully represented cultural icons such as coonskin caps, wooden 
shoes, pilgrim hats, feathered headdresses, buckskin, wampum and weaponry enliven the 
scenes. 
Artists strived for authenticity as arduously as did the authors. In his letter to 
Walter Hurley, Bobbs-Merrill' s editorial representative in the New York office, the 
illustrator Harry Lees complained that his depiction of Indian huts, which appeared on 
page 173 of Will Clark, Boy in Buckskins, were based on George Caitlin' s contemporary 
paintings and that the dwellings should not have been altered to teepees by the publisher. 
"Both historically and generally my work is reasonably authentic in all details. I spend 
too much time, in fact, verifying data." Lees lists the material culture sources he utilized 
in creating the illustrations for Young Jed Smith, Westering Boy . The letter contains 
sketches of the hats worn by the British Navy sailors and marines and the type of cap 
doffed by the captain. 172 Originally the products of depression era shortages, the 
silhouette illustrations conveyed a sense of time and place while they provoked the 
reader' s imaginative participation in the creation of authenticity. The device rendered 
considerations of physical appearance and ethnicity meaningless. The featureless figures 
17° Chambers to Monsen, June 25, 1937. Bobbs-Merrin rnss. Monsen, Helen Albee. Correspondence 
1935, Nov. 24-1937-July. 
171 Advertising brochure, [n.d.). Bobbs-Merrin rnss. The Childhood ofFamous Americans Series. 
Promotional Material I. 
172 Harry Lees to Walter Hurley, December 29, 1953. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Burt, Olive Woolley. Young Jed 
Smith: Westering Boy. 
51 
encouraged reader identification with the characters. Any child who emulated the traits 
of the title character might grow up to be a famous American. 
The authenticity did not always work. Edward G. Punkay remarked in his letter 
to COF AS author Laura Long how much he and his son enjoyed reading Oliver Hazard 
Perry, Boy of the Sea. But he took her to task for misrepresenting the events leading to 
the War of 1812. Punkay claimed that Long' s use of the impressment of American 
sailors as the sole issue for war revealed her outmoded scholarship. A defensive Long 
responded at great length. Noting her awareness of the War's causes, Long insisted that 
Punkay misunderstood the purpose of the book. 
These are concepts beyond the grasp of most six to ten year old children. 
It would ruin the thing I am trying to do- which is to awaken the child' s 
mind to the bravery and greatness that are his national heritage and to give 
him the momentary enjoyment of living in another day and another place 
than the one he is used to. 173 
For Long, authenticity served as a vehicle for instruction in Americanism while providing 
entertainment for the child. A COF AS story pulsed with national heritage that coursed 
through authentic settings, animated the characters and nourished a sense of pride and 
belonging in the reader. 
Through authenticity the Childhood of Famous Americans Series protagonist 
grows and exhibits American values in his/her adventures. The stories emphasize family 
relationships, education and charitable acts, especially those involving the care of the 
173 Laura Long to Edward G. Punkay, January 9, 1950. Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series. Correspondence, 1946-1955. In his December 30, 1949letter to Long Punkay writes, 
"But I' m sorry to say that you tend to give the wrong impression of the cause of the War of 1812 saying or 
implying that impressment of American sailors by England was the basic cause of that war, as old­
fashioned school histories, etc. used to teach. But the notion is fully gone, dumped into the dustbin of error 
by more modern and more authentic historical writers .. .. My point here, Miss Long, is that our country 
and its record are fme and great enough not to need falsification." 
52 
indigent and elderly. The title characters are natural leaders, who are brave, quick-witted, 
self-reliant, generous, firm in their beliefs and patriotic. They lack class-consciousness 
and champion the underdog. Above all their behavior suits the characteristics and 
accomplishments of themselves as adults. Each book concludes with one or more 
chapters extolling the subject' s worthiness and the reason for his/her inclusion in the 
series. The authenticity of the story flows into the adult chronicle of great deeds and 
prepares the reader for the ultimate lesson that through the agency of true Americanism 
one may attain fame and success. The "ringing last chapter," as Chambers called it, 
enhanced sales by connecting the present to the past and inspiring patriotism. 174 
IV. Too Much Historical Fact and not Enough Fiction 
Authenticity engendered credibility for the narrative, imparted values and served 
as a primary selling point for the Childhood of Famous Americans Series. Advertising 
circulars exclaimed, "The highest editorial standards are set for writers of books in the 
series. The historical backgrounds must be exactly correct." 175 The attention to details, 
the dogged determination to strike out anachronisms and the culling of primary source 
material for historical nuggets to enhance the story's authenticity led readers to 
misinterpret the storytelling as biography. The publisher repeatedly disavowed the label, 
but readers clung tenaciously to it. "We are constantly correcting the belief that the series 
is made up of biographies for young readers, nothing could be more mistaken," lamented 
174 Chambers to Jones, August 16, 1956. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Stevenson, Augusta. Correspondence, 1945-
1956. Chambers wrote, "She [i.e., Stevenson] herself set the formula for a ringing last chapter. It is too 
late to make light of it; too important for sales to abandon." 
175 Advertising brochure, [n.d.]. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The Childhood ofFamous Americans Series. 
Promotional Material!. 
53 
a sales department letter addressed to librarians. 176 The company offered copies of an 
informational booklet concerning the series and its authors, in addition to suggestions on 
how to increase circulation. Despite the stress that promotional material levied on the 
importance of the story form, narrative and authenticity, the true nature of the series 
eluded many readers. 
The confusion surrounding the biographical underpinning of the Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series plagued the series from its inception. Bobbs-Merrill 
repeatedly protested the biography label, insisting that the stories served as youthful 
introductions to the genre; 177 but the editorial staffs ambivalence towards the word 
biography fueled the befuddlement. Jessica Mannon assured Helen Monsell, 
You have the right idea in limiting the biography to his [Lee's] childhood 
and young manhood. You may find some way to sum up at the end his 
achievements and the reasons for his lasting fame .... We are particularly 
anxious that you season the book well with the flavor of the Old South. If 
you can do this you will have made a real contribution and will have a 
book that will sell for years to come. 178 
Monsell soon discovered the challenge of writing a childhood biography, fictional or 
otherwise, concerning a subject whose "early years are so amazingly uneventful that we 
shall have to rely a good bit ... upon background and atmosphere." 179 The depiction of 
176 Bobbs-Merrill Co. to Librarians, [n.d.]. Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood of Famous Americans. 
Correspondence, 1946-1955. 
177 Guidelines for Authors; Chambers, "Genesis," p. 3. 
178 Mannon to Mansell, October 22, 1936. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Mansell, Helen Albee. Correspondence, 
1936, Nov. 24-1937, July. 
179 Mansell to Mannon, November 16, 1936. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Mansell, Helen Albee. Correspondence, 
1936, Nov. 24-1937, July. Unlike Stevenson, Mansell inquired about copyright restrictions as they applied 
to "a children's book of this type," alluding to the Homeric tradition of taking what you need and 
extensively reworking it. This request most likely fostered a great sigh of relief given the publisher's 
experience with Abe Lincoln, Frontier Boy. 
54 
antebellum Virginia overshadowed the portrait of young Lee. Chambers advised 
Mansell, 
Our readers quickly sensed your dilemma but agreed that some way must 
be found to make the boy Lee an individual. It occurs to us that perhaps 
you might do this by giving a more complete picture of his reaction to 
outside influences and to foreshadow as much as possible his career m 
later life by illustrating character traits. 180 
Not entirely comfortable with the concept of biographical fiction, Mansell opened her 
first three COFAS books, Boy of Old Virginia, Robert E. Lee (1937), Tom Jefferson, A 
Boy in Colonial Days (1939), and Young Stonewall, Tom Jackson (1942) with 
introductory chapters that punctuated the fictional aspect of the stories. 181 Mansell 
remarked to Chambers, "Your reader questions .. . whether it is necessary to suggest to 
the child that the book has a fictional slant. I think it is. His imagination will bridge the 
chasm between scientific facts and literary interpretation without difficulty, but he ought, 
in all fairness, to be told that the chasm is there ... . " 182 Chambers agreed, but noted that 
18° Chambers to Monsell, March 2, 193 7. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Monsell, Helen Albee. Conespondence, 
1936, Nov. 24-1937, July. 
181 "A hundred and twenty-five years ago is a long time. Of course, we cannot know, today, everything that 
this boy said and did. Nobody knows. We do know, though, many of the things that happened to him. We 
know how other boys and girls lived in those days. We know the games they played. We know the clothes 
they wore. All of these things I have put into one story." Monsell. Boy of Old Virginia, Robert E. Lee, p. 
11-12. "You will read in history how he [Jefferson] wrote the Declaration oflndependence. You will read 
how he went to France to make friends for our new country, and how he became the third President of the 
United States of America. You will read how, his whole life long, he tried to make this a country where 
men could lead useful, independent lives. This book, though, will not tell you these things. It is not a 
history book. It is a story about Thomas Jefferson when he was a boy." Monsell. Tom Jefferson, A Boy in 
Colonial Times, p. 13. "This is a story of a country boy. He was born in 1824 in Clarksburg, Virginia, now 
West Virginia. His mother named him Thomas. The boys called him Tom-Tom Jackson. Years later, his 
soldiers gave him another name. They called him Stonewall Jackson. But that is history. This is a story. 
It is a story of young Stonewall-of the country boy, Tom Jackson." Monsell. Young Stonewall, Tom 
Jackson, p. 9. 
182 Monsell to Chambers, April24, 1937. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Monsen, Helen Albee. Correspondence, 
1936, Nov. 24-1937, July. 
55 
Monsell "made [the chasm] sound unnecessarily wide." 183 By her fourth book, Dolly 
Madison, Quaker Girl (1944), Monsell reconciled to the concept of biographical fiction. 
The first chapter abandoned the "once upon a time, long, long ago" motif, omitted the 
disclaimer, and commenced with the business of newborn Dolly' s arrival at the Payne' s 
plantation home. 
Other authors misunderstood the fictional nature of the series. In her review of 
Howard Henry Peckham's William Henry Harrison, Young Tippecanoe Jane 
Throckmorton wrote, "It is understandable that Mr. Peckham would emphasize the 
historical background, but it is too bad that he does. The incidents selected by the author 
do not show much imagination or inventiveness." 184 Story was the primary element for a 
successful COF AS book. Facts and actual events merely provided the fran1ework. 
Charlotte M. Bebenroth submitted four manuscripts to Bobbs-Merrill for 
consideration. After much editing, the firm published Bebenroth's first manuscript, 
Meriwether Lewis, Boy Explorer, in 1946. Her later stories fell short of the series' 
fictional requirements. Children' s book editor Patricia Jones felt that Bebenroth 
expended all her creativity on Meriwether Lewis. Concerning Bebenroth' s Grover 
Cleveland, Honest Boy, Jones wrote, "She has shown little invention in the ms.- it hews 
very close to material in all the standard biographies. She has not supplied any fictional 
embroidery. And what material there is is not handled dramatically . ... The author seems 
completely at sea in writing fiction." 185 Adhering to the formula established by Augusta 
183 Chambers to Mansell, April 28, 1937. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Mansell, Helen Albee. Correspondence, 
1936, Nov. 24-1937, July. 
184 Jane Throckmorton, Reader Review, January 16, 1950. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Peckham, Howard Henry. 
William Henry Harrison: Young Tippecanoe. Readers' Reports and Promotional Material. Peckham 
served as director of the Indiana Historical Bureau. 
185 Patricia Jones, Comments on Grover Cleveland, Honest Boy ms., March 23, 1948. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. 
Bebenroth, Charlotte. Grover Cleveland: Honest Boy. 
56 
Stevenson proved to be a most difficult task, one that only the editors at Bobbs-Merrill 
(and Stevenson) fully understood. When it became apparent that an author could no 
longer improve upon a manuscript the editorial staff undertook the task, but only if the 
resulting story was considered marketable. In her comments concerning Bernice Morgan 
Bryant's Dan Morgan, Boy of the Wilderness, Patricia Jones stated that she doubted 
Bryant' s ability to improve upon the manuscript. The editorial staff reworked the 
author' s material and developed the series ' signature fmal chapter. The resulting book, 
according to Jones, more resembled the fictionalized biography of Helen Monsell rather 
than the biographical fiction of Augusta Stevenson. 186 
Writing biographical fiction without regard to historical fact was Augusta 
Stevenson's forte. In 1956 Stevenson created a childhood for Virginia Dare, the first 
white child to be born in North America. The most problematic of all the Childhood of 
Famous American Series titles, Virginia Dare, Mystery Girl drew sharp criticism from 
the Bobbs-Merrill editorial staff. The subject did not fit the stated series objective of 
stories about the youth of famous people who contributed to the greatness of America. 
An unsigned report stated, "As the ms. now stands, it doesn't seem to me to be a Cofas 
book at all, but pure myth. Perhaps it could be made into an interesting non-Cofas book? 
I have a lot of questions about the author' s treatment of her story." 187 The report 
expressed interest in Virginia Dare as a captivity narrative, but the reviewer had strong 
reservations about the story's value as a COFAS title. 
186 Patricia Jones, Comments on Dan Morgan, Boy of the Wilderness ms., October 8, 1951. Bobbs-Merrill 
mss. Bryant, Bernice Morgan. Dan Morgan: Boy of the Wilderness. 
187 Anonymous, "Virginia Dare: Little White Flower by Augusta Stevenson," May 22, 1957. Bobbs­
Merrill mss. Stevenson, Augusta. Virginia Dare: Mystery Girl. Readers' Reports. 
57 
Scant knowledge of Roanoke Colony undermined the story' s authenticity and 
shaky scholarship on Stevenson' s part contributed to the problem. In her memorandum 
to Chambers, Patricia Jones noted that she could not gauge Stevenson' s inclination to 
utilize the primary and secondary source material recommended by Chambers. 188 On 
June 13, 1957 Jones wrote, "I suppose that we will have to go along with a good deal of 
this. . . . For the sake of the series there must be more historical authenticity in the 
beginning and the Indian facts mustn't be distorted too violently . ... We will have to 
provide all the solid history." 189 Jones believed that Stevenson's offhand portrayal of the 
customs of the Tuscarora people and the North Carolina landscape required close scrutiny 
and verification. 190 
To complicate matters further, Stevenson' s dislike for Native Americans, which 
manifested in her earlier stories about Tecumseh and Sitting Bull, resulted in an emphasis 
on Virginia Dare' s racial superiority. The "Guidelines for Authors" specifically warned 
against editorializing or negative portrayals of etlmicity. Patricia Jones lamented, "There 
is entirely too much emphasis on W.F. [i.e. White Flower= Virginia Dare] being white, 
as opposed to Indian. Tlus emphasis on color differences is unforttmate, particularly in 
these desegregation days . . . ." 191 Other readers also complained of Stevenson' s 
treatment of Native Americans, calling it patronizing at best. Judy Harbison observed, 
I think this story's a bad one and that if Virginia Dare must be included in 
the Cofas series the setting should be as authentic as possible. I hate to 
publish this in the face of all the serious attempts by other authors to 
188 Memorandum by Jones to Chambers, November 7, 1956. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Stevenson, Augusta. 
Virginia Dare: Mystery Girl. Readers' Reports. 
189 Patricia, Jones, "Virginia Dare: Little White Flower (for Cofas) by Augusta Stevenson," June 13, 1957. 
Bobbs-Merrill mss. Stevenson, Augusta. Virginia Dare: Mystery Girl. Readers' Reports. 
190 Ibid. 
191 Ibid. 
58 
present authentic Indian material. It shows a lack of work and judgment 
on the author's part and a lack of judgment and good faith-toward the 
public-on our part. 
But I know it must be published. 
Maybe we're all sick of the series. 192 [Final line struck over by Xs] 
Nothing remains in the file to explain the necessity of publishing the story. One may 
only speculate that the profitability of a Stevenson book overrode all other concerns. The 
company set a precedent for such action with the publication of Stevenson's Tecumseh 
and Sitting Bull. The Bobbs-Merrill Company did not publish a single COFAS title in 
1957. Nine COFAS books including Virginia Dare, Mystery Girl, appeared in 1958. In 
November of that year Howard W. Sams & Co. purchased a controlling interest in the 
Bobbs-Merrill Company for $1,000,000. 193 The Childhood of Famous Americans Series 
continued in a new format, but the guiding hand of D. L. Chambers and his editorial staff 
was gone. 
192 Judy Harbison to Jones, August 6, 1957. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Stevenson, Augusta. Virginia Dare: 
Mystery Girl. Readers' Reviews. 
193 
"H. W. Sams Buys Control ofBobbs-Merrill Co." Publishers' Weekly, November 17, 1958, 174(20):29. 
59 
CHAPTER THREE: THE MOST VALUABLE JUVENILE PROPERTY IN AMERICA 
I. Just Like Candy 
To engage the widest possible audience the Childhood of Famous Americans 
Series embraced all time periods and professions. In his brief history of the series 
Chambers stated, "Our promotion men and girls have found constant fun and challenge in 
playing with so many famous statesmen, jurists, generals, explorers, scientists, inventors, 
authors, artists, musicians, nurses, athletes, friends and benefactors of the nation. "194 As 
the series grew in size and popularity, the sales department invented new ways to 
promote the books. What started as a polite cover letter to reviewers and booksellers 
gradually developed into a significant marketing campaign that exploited every 
opportunity to place COPAS before children and adults. J. J. Curtis, who pioneered 
mass-marketing techniques in the publishing industry, invented the now ubiquitous multi-
colored dust jacket and blurb. 195 Copy art; dust jacket blurbs and circulars; special signed 
editions for targeted audiences; direct mailings to booksellers, librarians and parents; 
marketing handbooks and display material; and radio and television coverage sold the 
"orange books" to eager readers. 
The bright four-color dust jacket employed the silhouette motif found in the 
book' s illustration, with rich and exciting detail. The dust jacket protected a text block 
printed in a fourteen-point Caslon Old Style font and bound in orange buckram stamped 
in black.196 Writers revised copy for the blurbs until it rang with the right amount of 
194 Chambers, "Genesis," p. 5-6. 
195 Tebbe!, Golden Age, p. 124. 
196 Memorandum by Jones to Chambers, May 17, 1943. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Wagoner, Jean Brown. 
Louisa May Alcott: Girl of Old Boston. Promotional Material. 
60 
patriotic appeal. The finished text skillfully blended highlights from the story, a 
comment on its author, a note on cultural heritage and the acquisition of good reading 
skills, and a word concerning the series' high standards. Blurb writing required 
considerable deftness and many revisions. An early version of the dust jacket blurb for 
Helen Mansell's Dolly Madison, Quaker Girl read: "For eight years Dolly lived in the 
White House. Now at last she could wear the beautiful gowns she had always drean1ed 
of having. All over the United States she became known for her grace, her beauty and 
her kindness. She knew how to make friends and how to make people happy. Everyone 
loved her!"197 Subsequent revisions reduced the paragraph to: "For eight years Dolly 
Madison lived in the White House. She knew how to make friends and how to make 
people happy because she has [sic] been doing just that all her life. There is no wonder 
then, that she became a First Lady who is still remembered for her charm and 
graciousness."198 Dust jacket blurbs sold the books through a concise appeal to the 
prospective buyer's needs and sense of patriotism. 
The copy art on the advertising circulars also incorporated the silhouette device. 
A 1952 promotional brochure depicted a parade of silhouette children marching through 
United States history. In the background are the corresponding adult shadows keeping 
step. "America's Past and Young America's Future" declared the headline above the 
stirring scene. Blocked to draw attention to key points, sales copy emphasized literacy, 
197 Dust jacket blurb draft, Dolly Madison, Quaker Girl, [1944?]. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Monsell, Helen 
Albee. Dolly Madison: Quaker Girl. Promotional Material. 
198 Dust jacket blurb, published version, Dolly Madison, Quaker Girl, [1944]. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. 
Monsell, Helen. Dolly Madison: Quaker Girl. 
61 
American heritage and lifelong reading habits. The text suggested the purchase of 
COPAS books as gifts in commemoration of national holidays and famous birthdays. 199 
To further the appeal of the Childhood of Famous Americans Series to regional 
audiences Bobbs-Merrill published special editions signed by the author.200 The issue of 
500 copies included a designation page with a symbol emblematic of the youthful 
protagonist. For Virginia readers there were the "Virginia Edition" of Helen Monsell ' s 
Boy of Old Virginia, Robert E. Lee, the "Old Dominion Edition" of Thomas Jefferson, A 
Boy in Colonial Days and the "Virginia" and "West Virginia Editions" of Young 
Stonewall, Tom Jackson. There were special topical editions such as the "Printing Press 
Edition" of Augusta Stevenson' s Ben Franklin, Printer 's Boy and the "Mississippi River 
Edition" of Miriam E. Mason' s Mark Twain, Boy of Old Missouri. 
Bobbs-Merrill ceased the production of special editions in the late 1940s, but the 
sales department continued to look for ways to connect the Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series with specific places and institutions. R. G. Baker, head of sales in 
1954, provided Bobbs-Merrill salesmen with a list of planetariums in the United States. 
Baker urged sales persmmel to promote Grace Hathaway Melin' s Maria Mitchell, Girl 
Astronomer to planetarium gift shops and to suggest that the availability of the book be 
included in planetarium publicity.201 In a letter Herman Ziegner of the sales department 
thanked a Mr. Cleminshaw at the Griffith Observatory and Planetarium in Los Angeles 
for Cleminshaw' s interest in Maria Mitchell. Ziegner wrote, "We' ll be delighted to give 
199 Advertising brochure, [1952]. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The Childhood of Famous Americans Series. 
Promotional Material. 
200 Draft of form letter, To booksellers & librarians in Tennessee and North and South Carolina, September 
7, [1942]. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Stevenson, Augusta. Andy Jackson: Boy Soldier. Promotional Material. 
20 1 Memorandum by R. G. Baker to the Salesmen, July 15, 1954. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Melin, Grace 
Hathaway. Maria Mitchell: Girl Astronomer. 
62 
1 ,202 B .1 · you a discount of 1/3 off any of the books you buy for resa e . . . . Y tat onng 
marketing techniques to specific audiences, the Bobbs-Merrill Company optimized the 
merchandising of the Childhood ofFamous Americans Series. 
Each year the sales department issued a circular that listed all of the Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series titles and highlighted the new releases. The circulars 
accompanied the promotional materials sent by Bobbs-Merrill to booksellers across the 
United States. Cover letters proposed appropriate displays and sales tactics. "Your own 
experience with the Series," stated the November 29, 1948 letter, "has told you that it 
[COFAS] is a tremendous piece of bookselling property. You've sold title after title in 
the Series, copy after copy of each title. What's more important, you know that when a 
child has read one book in the series he usually wants to read them all."203 On March 11 , 
1953 Herman Ziegner wrote to Chambers a11d suggested the creation of a permanent 
handbook intended to coordinate the sale, marketing and promotion of the Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series. 
The notebook proposed by Herman Ziegner contained promotional ideas for 
booksellers and furnished examples of the many ways to cultivate buyers. The loose-leaf 
format allowed for periodic updates. " [I]t would say to the trade what needs to be said 
again," stated Ziegner, "The Childhood ofFamous Americans Series is the most valuable 
juvenile property in America and you can make it show an even greater profit for you."204 
Ziegner urged that Bobbs-Merrill supply dealers with copies of a form letter addressed to 
202 Herman Ziegner to Mr. Clerninshaw, September 27, 1954. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. Melin, Grace Hathaway. 
Maria Mitchell, Girl Astronomer. 
203 Bobbs-Merrill Co. to Bookseller, November 29, 1948. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series. Correspondence, 1946-19 55 
204 Herman Ziegner to Chambers, March 11 , 1953. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The Childhood ofFamous 
Americans Series. Correspondence, 1946-19 55. 
63 
parents that praised the virtues of the series. More direct and focused than the yearly 
circular, the letter reminded parents "that children' s own eager interest in the books leads 
them to a natural appreciation of their country-its heroes, its history, its institutions, its 
traditions, its principles."205 With no discernible beginning or end, a child could start 
reading anywhere in the series. R. G. Baker noted in a sales memorandum "once children 
are introduced to the Childhood Series, it is like candy, they want more."206 Parents 
pleased by their children' s desire to read eagerly purchased the COFAS volumes. 
Bobbs-Merrill intended the handbook and the letter to parents to function as facets 
of the "package plan." The idea coordinated a sales campaign with a grouping of related 
titles. For example, ten volumes comprised the "presidents package." Bobbs-Merrill 
bundled the volumes with display materials and dealers could select one or more sets of 
books for a local market. Ziegner recognized the necessity of offering a limited nun1ber 
of packages. Once established the sales force would promote the four points of the 
program: the packages and displays; the allowance for the initial advertising; the fonn 
letter addressed to parents; and the dealer' s handbook to assist in marketing. The best in 
customer service ensured steady revenue.207 
Other marketing techniques urged parents to link a child' s birthday month to that 
of famous Americans or to build a home library for the young reader. Packaged sets of 
the Childhood of Famous Americans Series titles reflected regional interest and stories 
connected through associated characters, occupations, places, or events.208 In a memo 
205 Ibid. 
206 Memorandum by Baker to the Salesmen, July 2, 1953. Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series. Promotional Material II. 
207 Ziegner to Chambers, March 11 , 1953. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The Childhood of Famous Americans 
Series. Correspondence, 1946-19 55. 
208 Ziegner, Herman, [Handbook], March 11, 1953. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The Childhood ofFamous 
American Series. Correspondence, 1946-1955. 
64 
"To the Salesmen" R.G. Baker invited comment on proposed five-volume sets. Baker 
cautioned the staff, "Please do not pass this information on to anyone outside of our 
organization for it is the beginning of a complete program for the fall [1953] in the 
COFAS."209 Competition from other publisher-generated series necessitated secrecy and 
strategic planning on the part of Bobbs-Merrill sales personnel. A memorandum notes, 
"Too many series, with too many books in each are resulting in a bewildering array of 
new titles, many of them of dubious value."2 10 The Random House "Landmark Series" in 
particular challenged the Childhood of Famous Americans Series. 
II. The Superiority of COF AS 
In her "Confidential Report to the Salesmen" Patricia Jones discussed at length 
the Random House Landmark Series, which claimed to target the same audience as the 
Childhood of Famous Americans Series. Point by point Jones compared COFAS with 
the Landmark books always illustrating the superiority of COF AS. "Does it warm a 
child ' s heart," wrote Jones, 
to know that the Pony Express was merely a business enterprise that 
steadily lost money? Does it inspire a child to know that the building of 
the transcontinental railroad was delayed by the muddling of timorous 
Congressmen swayed by individual self-interests? . . . Surely for the 
younger age level it's better to make a child feel that all Americans have a 
heritage of adventure and accomplishment, that there are plenty of 
precedents for individual persistence and achievement. Patriotism in a 
child doesn ' t grow from anything else.211 
209 Memorandum by Baker to the Salesmen, Aprill7, 1953 . Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series. Promotional Material II. 
2 10 Memorandum by Chambers to the Salesmen, [1954?]. Bobbs-Merrill rnss . The Childhood ofFamous 
Americans Series. Promotional Material II. 
2 11 Patricia Jones, "Confidential Report to the Salesmen." [ 1950-1951 ?]. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The 
Childhood ofFamous American Series. Correspondence, 1946-1955. 
65 
Jones addressed the Random House assertion that the Landmark Series fostered juvenile 
awareness of history and democracy. She charged that, with the exception of The Wright 
Brothers, the Landmark books promoted an economic approach to history that "is not 
nearly so inspiring or so satisfying to a child ' s ego, as the basic idea of our Cofas- that 
our democracy was forged by the character and achievements of individual men and 
women, worth knowing and worth emulating."212 In tllis succinct statement Jones 
summed up the "idea" of COF AS. She later remarked upon the mutability of the criteria 
used in the production of the Childhood of Famous Americans Series. The standards 
evolved with the needs and requirements of young readers. 
In the 1950s these needs included citizenship training and literacy. The interior of 
the dust jacket for Electa Clark' s Robert Peary, Boy of the North contained "A Letter to 
Parents, Relatives and Friends of Children." The missive encouraged adults to purchase 
the books in the Childhood of Famous Americans Series and reiterated the publisher' s 
message of the effectiveness of COF AS in developing literacy, promoting good reading 
habits and encouraging an interest in history. In addition, the stories "reflected true 
Americanism; a love of freedom, equality and fraternity; a strong distaste for racial or 
religious, economic or social prejudice. They radiate honesty, courage, ambition, 
kindness."2 13 The creation of COFAS required intensive labor on the part of D. L. 
Chambers, Jessica Mannon, Patricia Jones, a host of reviewers and sales personnel. 
Ideology consciously created, manipulated and promoted by the Bobbs-Merrill Company 
212 Ibid. 
213 Interior dust jacket, "A Letter to Parents, Relatives and Friends of Children." Bobbs-Merrill mss. 
Clark, EJecta. Robert Perry: Boy of the North. 
66 
connected the volumes of the Childhood of Famous Americans Series and enhanced their 
appeal to adults and children alike. 
III. This Is What We Had Hoped For 
An undated advertising brochure stressed the relationship between the Childhood 
of Famous Americans Series and the development of literacy. High editorial standards 
ensured consistent reading material with "simple vocabulary, direct marching sentences, 
short paragraphs all aimed at clearness, force and interest."214 May Hill Arbuthnot wrote 
in the May 1953 issue of Elementary English that children loved the books because they 
were so easy and interesting to read, and because they exemplified the American success 
story.215 However, she expressed concern that their formulaic and stereotypic nature, 
while excellent fare for "retarded readers," did not challenge more skilled children. 
Nonetheless, educators warmly received the books. Letters of approval flooded the 
mailroom of the Bobbs-Merrill Company. A high school librarian in Sebring, Florida, 
wrote on her order form, "We have the first twenty titles, and they are helping us solve a 
big problem with our low-level readers in high school. We gladly give them the highest 
recommendation."216 Distilled and collated, the letters formed the basis of the school 
edition sales campaign in 1953. 
As early as 1946 Bobbs-Merrill sales personnel placed individual Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series titles in American schools for use as textbooks. The firm 
introduced the COF AS School Edition in a twenty-volume set in September 1952 and 
214 Advertising brochure, [n.d.]. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The Childhood of Famous Americans Series. 
Promotional Material. 
215 Arbuthnot, "Books for Children," p. 317. 
67 
issued an additional thirty titles on February 1, 1953. By placing the books directly into 
the schools as textbooks the Bobbs-Merrill Company solved the problem of getting the 
first COFAS book into a child' s hands. The books served as reading material for 
literature, social studies and science.217 The overwhelming response of teachers and 
librarians seeking to build reading skills prompted R. G. Baker to write, "Our educational 
department now confirrn[s] that the big bulk of their business is coming from textbook 
uses and not school library uses. This is what we had hoped for .. . . "218 The sales staff 
publicized stories of children raising money to purchase COF AS books for their 
classrooms.219 By 1953, the heyday of the series, the sales department reported selling 
the "School Edition" in packages of twenty, thirty and fifty volumes.220 
IV. In Tune with the Times: The King of the Wild Frontier 
Promotion of the Childhood of Famous Americans Series spread across the 
United States via the radio and television airwaves. The weekly story time program for 
children broadcast by WEA W radio in Evanston, Illinois, included the reading of 
Augusta Stevenson' s Ben Franklin, Printer 's Boy over several segments.221 Louise 
Kirby, the Story Book Lady for WTVR, Richmond, Virginia, wrote to J. C. Baumgart 
216 Mimeograph. COFAS- School Edition, [March 9, 1953]. Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series. Correspondence, 1946-1955. 
217 Memorandum to the Salesmen, [July 23 , 1953]. Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood ofFamous 
Americans Series. Promotional Material II. 
218 Memorandum by Baker to the Salesmen, July 23 , 1953. Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood ofFamous 
Americans Series. Promotional Material II. 
219 Mimeograph. COFAS-School Edition, [March 9, 1953]. Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series. Correspondence, 1946-1955. 
220 Ibid. 
22 1 Radio program introduction and closing, [n.d.]. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Stevenson, Augusta. Ben Franklin: 
Printer's Boy. Promotional Material. 
68 
and thanked him for the review copy of Helen Monsell' s Susan Anthony, Girl Who 
Dared. Kirby promised to promote the book during her program. 222 
In 1950 United Artists released the motion picture, "Davy Crockett, Indian 
Scout." In a sales memo R. G. Baker cited Bosley Crowther's New York Times movie 
review that drew a connection between the ten-year-old film audience and the readers of 
the COFAS story, Davy Crockett, Young Rifleman, written by Aileen Parks and published 
one year earlier. In his March 15, 1955 "Memorandum to the Salesmen" Baker noted the 
rise in sales of the COF AS Davy Crockett following the announcement that Disney 
would repeat its Davy Crockett television programs over the course of three evenings? 23 
"This great sale on Davy Crockett is just what we need for the COF AS," wrote Baker. " It 
introduces to the series new readers who might not otherwise be directed to the series."224 
The Davy Crockett movie and television events helped Bobbs-Merrill place that first 
COFAS book into a child's hands. Other progran1s highlighted the volumes of the series. 
The "Cavalcade of Books" broadcast by KNXT, Los Angeles, on December 16, 1956 at 
4:30p.m. featured COFAS.225 The program placed special emphasis on the childhoods 
of A. P. Giannini, Jesse Fremont and Sitting Bull. By utilizing radio and television 
programming Bobbs-Merrill expanded the distribution of its .product and increased its 
market share. 
The Bobbs-Merrill Company aggressively promoted the Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series. Advertising appealed to the patriotism of adults as well as children, 
222 Louise Kirby to J. C. Baumgart, March 22, 1954. Bobbs-Merrill mss. Monsell, Helen Albee. Susan 
Anthony: Girl who Dared. 
223 Memorandum by Baker to the Salesmen, March 15, 1955. Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series. Promotional Material II. 
2241bid. 
225 Flyer, Cavalcade of Books for December 16th, 1956 at 4:30p.m. Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series. Promotional Material II. 
69 
and stressed the ability of COF AS to impart American values. Carefully crafted publicity 
emphasized that the books inspired good reading habits and improved literacy. 
Authenticity of historical representation linked the heritage of the past with 
commemorative observances of the present. All the elements came together-the elegant 
silhouette motif, the dust jacket blurb, the spate of marketing techniques- to make the 
Childhood of Famous Americans Series "the most valuable juvenile property in 
America. "226 The revenues generated by COF AS helped to support the financially failing 
company. 227 It was imperative that COFAS retained the confidence and loyalty of 
children and adults. In the end, however, story, authenticity and Americanism were not 
enough to keep the house solvent. 
226 Herman Ziegner, Handbook for Booksellers. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The Childhood of Famous Americans 
Series . Correspondence, 1946-1955. 
227 Tebbe!, Great Change, p. 269. 
70 
EPILOGUE: THAT CONTINUING AND TIMELESS GROUP OF BOOKS 
In its first year as a subsidiary of Howard W. Sams & Company, the Hobbs­
Merrill Company published six new Childhood of Famous Americans Series titles and 
reprinted fifteen others. Among the reprints was Augusta Stevenson's Virginia Dare, 
Mystery Girl, the most problematic COF AS book. The year 1959 also marked a change 
in the physical appearance and contents of COF AS. Line drawing illustrations with color 
washes replaced the trademark silhouettes so integral to the series and its promotion. 
Vocabularies, chronologies and study questions situated at the end of each book 
emphasized the volumes as textbooks for classroom use. 
The remarkable power of the Childhood of Famous Americans Series to transmit 
Americanism and to stimulate reading skills continued into the twenty-first century. The 
publishing house of Simon and Shuster owns the rights to the COF AS stories and reprints 
some of the original stories along with new titles under its Aladdin Books imprint. 228 The 
Childhood of Famous Americans Series now includes more recent heroes such as Ronald 
Reagan, Roberto Clemente and Neil Armstrong; and the books sport subtitles that reflect 
Simon and Shuster's attempt to modernize the stories. Helen Mansell's Boy of Old 
Virginia, Robert E. Lee now bears the title, Robert E. Lee, Young Confederate. Currently 
fifty- four COF AS titles are available for purchase. 229 
Florrie Binford Kichler, owner of the Patria Press and a former employee of the 
Bobbs-Merrill subsidiary, read the COFAS books as a child in the 1950s. A COFAS 
enthusiast, Kichler secured the rights to thirty titles to republish as the Young Patriots 
228 Price, Nelson. "Rescuing Her Heroes." Indianapolis Star, Extra! April 5, 2000, E2. 
71 
Series. "Patria Press," stated Kichler, "is delighted to rescue a part of our American 
h . d . d . . f kid ,230 entage an mtro uce It to a new generatiOn o s. Kichler claimed that 
approximately 95 percent of the original text remained after editing. "The writing really 
holds up. Also, I don' t like the idea of reshaping history for every generation. That's a 
slippery slope."231 Like her Bobbs-Merrill predecessors, however, Kichler is trapped 
between the recognition of the power of story to convey Americanism, the knowledge 
that the tales are fictional and the need to turn a profit. 
Kichler referred to the Young Patriots Series books as "storyographies" in an 
attempt to modernize the concept of biographical fiction?32 The mission of the Patria 
Press is to "hook kids on history and get them reading. We hope that parents and 
educators who loved these books in their original form will introduce 21st century 
versions to their own children. "233 The Patria Press markets the Young Patriots Series 
primarily to educators.234 The press website includes lesson plans for ten edited and 
reprinted COF AS titles, which signifies the continued use of the volumes in the 
classroom.235 Advertising taps not only into the desire for literate children, but also into 
the recollection by adults of their own youthful encounters with the COF AS books. 
Patria Press relies on this remembrance to prompt adults to purchase the volumes to share 
with their own children. 
229 The HomeschoolingHeadquarters.com webpage lists the COF AS books in print. See 
www. homeschoo I ingheadquarters.com/H omeSchool ing/Series/Series.asp/Series/Ch i ld ... ; Apri I 6, 2005. 
230 Patria Press website, www.patriapress.com/company.html 
231 Price, E2. 
232 Patria Press website, September 18, 2002. 
233 Ibid. 
234 Kichler, Florries. Interview by RoseEtta Stone, [n.d.]. Absolute Write website; 
www.absolutewrite.com/novels/florrie kichler.htrn 
235 Patria Press website; www.patriapr~s.com/lesson.htrnl, April 6, 2005. 
72 
The online bookstore Shekinah Curriculum Cellar offers the Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series titles for sale because of their continued popularity. "These 
books reaffirm the importance of our American heritage," states the website product 
detai1.236 The HomeschoolingHeadquarters.com website also includes a list of available 
COF AS books. The webpage blurb asserts, " ... books in this popular biography series 
incorporate intriguing childhood anecdotes, informative career facts, and lively 
illustrations as they tell the real-life stories of America' s most amazing individuals."237 
Echoing the same sentiment the Just for Kids Gifted Children Reading List for non-
fiction titles declares, "The Childhood of Famous Americans series is a great set of 
biographies for young children and ... gives them powerful role models to emulate. "238 
The 1943 comment of Vernon Ives, proprietor of Holiday House, on the "timeless group 
of books that interpret our democracy" places the COF AS volumes in context and aids in 
the understanding of why the books maintain their appeal. The Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series books continue to address the endless need of transmitting American 
traditions and values to new generations of children. Regardless of whether the stories 
are fact or fiction they represent historical environments and deliver the subtext of what it 
means to be an American. 
236 Shekinah Curriculum Cellar, Home School Books and Curriculum. 
www.shekinah.com/on linestore/product. idc?productid=729 .. . 9118/2002. 
237 www.homeschoolingheadquarters.com/HomeSchooling/Series/Seriesasp/Series/Child. April 6, 2005 . 
238 Just for Kids website. www.just-for-kids.com/giftednfl .html; September 18, 2002. 
73 
CONCLUSION: ON BECOMING A VALUED MEMBER OF SOCIETY 
Once Abe borrowed The Life of George Washington. He was delighted 
with the book, and he made up his mind then and there that he would try 
to be like Washington-always honest and always loyal to his country .... 
Each time he read it [the book] he became more and more determined to 
be like General Washington, twice President of the United States.239 
With a flair for the dramatic and little regard for fact, Augusta Stevenson created 
a fictional boyhood for Abraham Lincoln that launched the Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series. In 1932 Abe Lincoln, Frontier Boy appeared as part of the Bobbs-
Merrill Company's fall book list and embodied all of the traditional American values-
family, fairness, self-reliance, work ethic, equalitarianism, humanitarianism, charity and 
rugged individualism. The portrait of young Abe reading Parson Weems' The Life of 
George Washington foreshadowed the boy's later achievements as a famous American 
president and urged children to emulate both Lincoln and Washington. The publication 
of Abe Lincoln, Frontier Boy unwittingly initiated a new genre of juvenile literature-the 
publisher-generated biographical fiction series-that met a highly receptive audience 
seeking to make sense of economic and social chaos. 
While everyone concurred that the schools furnished the appropriate venue for the 
transmission of American culture, differences of opinion emerged in the 1930s as to what 
ideals and worthy characteristics should be promulgated. Parent and teacher 
organizations flourished as parents became increasingly concerned about the content of 
the school curriculum. Radical progressive educators called for the abandonment of 
laissez-faire capitalism and the rugged individualism that furnished the underpinning for 
239 Stevenson, Augusta. Abe Lincoln, Frontier Boy. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., c1932, p. 120-121 , 
123. 
74 
the American identity. The clarion call came in 1932 from GeorgeS. Counts who issued 
Dare the Schools Build a New Social Order?, a series of papers that advocated 
collectivism and central planning. Professional agitators branded progressive education 
as "REDucation" and incited the public to demand accountability in the classroom and a 
return to traditional values. 
The 1930s gave birth to "boilerplate biographies" and thematic books on topics 
suggested by teachers and librarians intended to promote progressive social ideals and the 
inculcation of American values. Augusta Stevenson' s Abe Lincoln, Frontier Boy fit 
nicely into a ready-made niche for books that conveyed Americanism to children. 
Recognizing the marketability of stories devoted to American heroes, the Bobbs-Men·ill 
sales department urged D. L. Chambers and his editors to develop and to publish titles 
similar to Abe Lincoln in a serial format. The editorial staff consciously steered Helen 
Monsell ' s manuscript Boy of Old Virginia: Robert E. Lee into compliance with the 
formula employed by Stevenson in 1932. The early articulation of the criteria for the 
books that later formed the Childhood of Famous Americans Series called for an 
interesting story about a real boy who became famous, an authentic depiction of time and 
place and low-level vocabulary easily understood by the young reader. By the mid-1940s 
the series' requirements directed authors to avoid editorializing, exposition and 
anticipation, and the editors anguished over the negative portrayals of ethnic, religious 
and minority groups that crept into the stories through authorial bias. The tension 
between a progressive mindset of the editorial staff and the conservatism of popular 
authors plagued the Childhood of Famous Americans Series from the onset. 
75 
Public concern for the acquisition of literacy increased during the 1940s as 
Americans learned of the high rate of illiteracy in the U.S. Armed Forces, including the 
fact that 750,000 potential draftees were excused from service for "mental deficiencies." 
The 1940 census defined literacy as the ability to read a newspaper and to write a letter, 
or the equivalent of a fourth grade education. Widespread illiteracy did not fit a growing 
sense of American machismo and social conservatives blamed the pedagogy of 
progressive education. The Bobbs-Merrill Company promoted the ability of the 
Childhood of Famous Americans Series to foster reading skills to the applause of 
teachers and librarians who published eloquent testimonials on behalf of COF AS. The 
editors at Bobbs-Merrill insisted that authors refrain from displaying an attitude of 
condescension toward children, and manuscript readers carefully analyzed vocabulary 
and style to determine its suitability for children. 
With the world at war, publishers sought to produce books that prepared 
American youth for their future responsibilities in the "New World Order." Children' s 
publishing achieved the status of "big business" in the 1940s as the demand for juvenile 
titles exploded due to the scarcity of toys, a rise in disposable income, the heightened 
concern over literacy and a mounting fear of communism. The "know-your-own-land" 
movement inspired by the United States' participation in World War II resulted in a 
multitude of books intended to educate youngsters about their American heritage and to 
stimulate patriotism. The need for elementary level biographies intensified, and the 
Bobbs-Merrill Company stepped up the production of its Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series from the publication of three books over a seven year period during the 
Depression to the release of forty-four new titles from 1941 through 1949. 
76 
The clamor for books that promoted American ideals coincided with increased 
efforts on the part of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Established in 1938 
and given permanent status by the Smith Act in 1940, HUAC's vigorous search for and 
prosecution of individuals who did not fit the definition of "one hundred percent 
American" fomented a climate of fear and distrust. Americans responded to the 
implacable tattoo of patriotism and anti-communism by seeking ways to prove their 
loyalty to the U.S. government as well as the people next door. No one wanted to draw 
attention to the fact that he or she deviated in any manner from traditional American 
values, and the self-appointed vigilantes of anti-communism often characterized aberrant 
behavior as "progressive" or "liberal." 
Teachers and students demonstrated their loyalty through oaths, pageantry, 
patriotic songs and participation in scrap metal, rubber and newspaper collections and the 
inculcation of American values through children's literature. With the intention to 
deflect any suspicion of anti-Americanism in the classroom the progressive social 
reconstructionists softened their stance in 1943 and stressed the need to educate children 
for democratic living. By the late 1940s Merle Curti ' s definition of Americanism as 
laissez-faire capitalism and the maintenance ofthe status quo had expanded to encompass 
the hatred of communists, a supreme belief in God and country, patriotism and a distaste 
for social reform. 240 Institutionalized witch-hunts, such as those conducted by the 
Loyalty Review Board and the federal employee loyalty program, coalesced with a sense 
of religious moralism that left little room for deviance from a rigid Americanism that 
effectively terminated the progressive movement. 
24° Chafe, p. 108. 
77 
The increased concern for democracy evident in 194 7 spurred the publication of 
even more biographies of prominent American men and women. The fear generated by 
the House Un-American Activities Committee' s relentless search for communists 
terrorized Americans in all walks of life. America' s youth encountered the exhortations 
of anti-communism in school, at home and throughout the country' s popular culture. 
Appropriate reading material in the service of literacy ensured the transmission of proper 
American values to children. The Bobbs-Merrill Company addressed this need through 
the publication of the Childhood of Famous Americans Series and introduced the 
volumes into the classroom as textbooks in 1946. 
To market the Childhood of American Series the sales department at Hobbs­
Merrill exploited Americanism as an advertising tool, and thus reassured both adults and 
children that the books furnished safe and "one hundred percent American" reading 
material. The authentic underpinning of the stories deceived many into believing that the 
volumes represented true biographical accounts, a misperception that the Bobbs-Merrill 
Company never fully dispelled. The "good Americanism" of COF AS found its way to 
other countries when the U.S. Army and the American Library Association 
commissioned foreign language translations for the markets in Europe and Southeast 
Asia. The public acclaim for the validity and authenticity of COF AS resulted in booming 
sales and encouraged the firm to produce the books in even greater numbers. 
The twin selling points of Americanism and the development of literacy fueled 
the popularity of the Childhood of Famous Americans Series during the 1950s, a decade 
defined by the McCarran Act, which required the registration of communists, the rhetoric 
of Senator Joseph McCarthy, the Alger Hiss trial and the deepening of the Cold War. In 
78 
a memorandum to Bobbs-Merrill sales personnel R. G. Baker noted that as of December 
31, 1951 the overall purchase figures for COFAS stood at 1,838,934 copies. Abe 
Lincoln, Frontier Boy alone accounted for 103,913 of the volumes sold.241 The special 
School Edition first published by Bobbs-Merrill in 1952 resulted in sales of the series for 
textbook use that far exceeded library purchases. Children so favored the "little orange 
books" that they collected money to purchase sets for their classrooms, a fact that the 
sales department exploited in its advertising. 
In 1953 the sales department printed "A Letter to Parents, Relatives and Friends 
of Children" on the interior of the dust jacket for Robert Peary, Boy of the North that 
declared "[the books] reflect true Americanism, a love of freedom, equality and 
fraternity, a strong distaste for racial or religious, economic or social prejudice. They 
radiate honesty, courage, ambition, kindness."242 According to the "Letter" a child 
learned the manner in which great Americans acquired their fame and how "to develop 
the characteristics you [parents] want him to have."243 Just as The Life of George 
Washington motivated a young Abraham Lincoln, children eager to please parents and 
desirous of being considered valued members of society looked to American heroes and 
heroines as role models. The emulation of great Americans served as the most basic 
underlying principle of COF AS and one that the sales department utilized with great 
effect through the employment of the silhouette motif. 
The popularity of the Childhood of Famous Americans Series peaked in 1954. 
Christine Govan, a librarian and COF AS author, reported: 
241 Memorandum by Baker to the Salesmen, January 24, 1952. Bobbs-Merrill mss. The Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series. Promotional Material II. 
242 "To Parents, Relatives and Friends of Children," Letter on the interior ofthe dust jacket for Robert 
Pemy, Boy of the North. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. 
79 
I wish I had my Kodak the first day that the third grade came into the 
library. If you have ever seen a ball of bread thrown into a big pool offish 
and seen them gather, all a-flutter, around it, you have a fairly good 
picture of the entire third grade clustered around the shelves where we 
keep the COF AS series. I have more respect for the formula every day as 
I see how they devour them and not only read them once but half a dozen 
times apiece. Their only drawback . . . is that it spoils them for harder 
reading. I have had to limit the fourth grade to one each (and that with 
another book) or I think they'd just go on reading them for the rest of their 
lives. 244 
The emphasis on story appealed to youngsters, who found the books easy to read without 
adult intervention. Children also understood that the adults in their lives heartily 
approved of the Childhood of Famous Americans Series. Govan' s observation of the 
willingness of pupils to read the books time and time again attests to the fact that the 
series offered more than an engaging story. Affected by their parents' attitudes and fears 
children sought ways to prove their loyalty to their families and their country. COF AS 
provided avid young readers with a blueprint for behavior that ensured them acceptance 
in the dominant culture of anti-communism. 
Public concern for literacy swelled m 1955 with the publication of Rudolf 
Flesch' s Why Johnny Can 't Read-And What You Can Do About It. Flesch asserted the 
deleterious effect of word recognition as a pedagogical approach to reading instruction 
and accused teachers who practiced such methodology of undermining democracy. The 
Bobbs-Merrill sales department seized upon the public furor caused by Why Johnny 
Can't Read and marketed COF AS as a panacea for children with reading problems. 
Parents distressed by the "literacy problem" turned to the Childhood of Famous 
Americans Series knowing that their sons and daughters willingly read the books over 
243 Ibid. 
80 
and over again. The self-esteem of young readers increased as they acquired the ability 
to read on their own and internalized the principles of Americanism in the process. 
The authorial guidelines that tightly controlled the creation of the Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series frequently collided with post-World War II Americanism as 
expressed by COFAS authors. In particular, Augusta Stevenson, the series' most prolific 
writer who produced twenty-three books for COFAS between 1932 and 1959, proved 
problematic. Stevenson absorbed all of the patriotism and anti-communist sentiment 
prevalent in American society. Convinced of her duty to save American children from 
the clutches of communism Stevenson wielded a sense of righteous Americanism in her 
books and blatantly disregarded the series' criteria. Parents and children eager to be 
viewed as "one hundred percent American" purchased Stevenson' s books and secured 
her power as a star author. The publication of Virginia Dare, Mystery Girl in 1958 serves 
as the quintessential example of the Bobbs-Merrill Company's willingness to sacrifice its 
exacting criteria in order to realize a profit and bolster the company' s economic woes. 
As products of the mid-twentieth century, the volumes of the Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series reflected the ideals and proclivities of a society engulfed by a 
strident sense of Americanism played against the foil of a rising and all pervasive anti-
communist sentiment. The editorial staff at the Bobbs-Merrill Company struggled to 
maintain the high editorial standards of the series, which often ran counter to the 
preferences and prejudices of COF AS authors. The emblematic stories succeeded in 
transmitting traditional American values to children. Through the Bobbs-Merrill 
Company' s exploitation and marketing of Americanism and literacy, the Childhood of 
244 Memorandum by Baker to the Salesmen, September 9, 1954. Bobbs-Merrill rnss. The Childhood of 
Famous Americans Series. Promotional Material II. 
81 
Famous Americans Series achieved enormous popularity with children desirous of being 
viewed as valued members of society. 
82 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Adair, Douglass. "Parson Weems, Streamlined." The New York Times Book Review, 
Children's Book Section, November 16, 1952. 
Ahier, John. Industry, Children, and the Nation: An Analysis of National Identity in 
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Andrews, Siri. "Publishing Books for Youth," in Youth, Communication and Libraries: 
Papers Presented Before the Library Institute at the University of Chicago August 11-
16, 1947, Frances Henne, Alice Brooks Ruth Ersted, eds. Chicago: American Library 
Association, 1949. p. 93-104. 
Apple, Michael W. Ideology and Curriculum. London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1979. 
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New York: Routledge, 1991. 
Arbuthnot, May Hill. "Books for Children." Elementary English, May 1953, p. 316-317. 
__ . Children and Books. Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Co., c1947. 
Ashby, Leroy. "Partial Promises and Semi-Visible Youths: The Depression and World 
War II" in American Childhood: A Research Guide and Historical Handbook, Joseph 
M. Hawes and N. Ray Hiner, ed. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, c1985; chap. 12, 
p. [ 489]-532. 
Association for Childhood Education International. Bibliography of Books for Children 
1952 Edition. Washington, D.C. : Association for Childhood Education, c1953. 
__ .Bibliography of Books for Children 1954 Edition. Washington, D.C.: Association 
for Childhood Education, c1954. 
83 
Balmer, Clinton C. "The Book Traveler" in What Happens in Book Publishing, Chandler 
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212. 
Billman, Carol. "McGuffey' s Readers and Alger' s Fiction: The Gospel of Virtue 
According to Popular Children' s Literature." Journal of Popular Culture, 1977, 
11(3):614-619. 
Blake, Eunice. "Children' s Book Publishing" in What Happens in Book Publishing, 
Chandler B. Grannis, ed. New York: Columbia University Press, c1957; chap. 15, p. 
[299]-306. 
Boardman, Fon W., Jr. "Sales Promotion" in What Happens in Book Publishing, 
Chandler B. Grannis, ed. New York: Columbia University Press, c1957; chap. 9, p. 
[177]-189. 
Bobbs-Merrill Company. "Complete Back List of Juvenile Titles from Bobbs-Merrill." 
Mimeograph. [Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1961 or 1962] . 
__ . The Hoosier House. [Indianapolis]: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., c1923. 
Bobbs-Merrill mss. , 1885-1957. Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington. 
"The Bobbs-Merrill Story." Indianapolis Star, November 1, 1959, Sunday Magazine, p. 
12, 14-15, 17. 
Bonino, Louise. "The Landmark Story." Publishers ' Weekly, July 30, 1956, 170(5):460-
463 . 
Book Publishers Bureau. "Book Publishers Bureau Manufacturing Committee Report on 
Juvenile Books." Publishers ' Weekly, August 21, 1943, 144:563-567. 
84 
"Book Week Endorsed by Public Officials." Publishers ' Weekly, October 23, 1943, p. 
1589. 
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97 
CURRICULUM VITAE 
CINDAANNMAY 
EDUCATION 
Master of Arts in History, Indiana University, Indianapolis, 2005. 
Master of Information and Library Science, University of Michigan, 1989. 
Master of Arts in English, The University ofTexas at Austin, 1983. 
Bachelor of Arts in English, University of New Orleans, 1980. 
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 
Project Manager. Wabash Valley Visions & Voices: A Digital Memory Project for West 
Central Indiana. Cunningham Memorial Library, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, 
IN. July 2004 to Present. 
Coordinator. The Friends of Cunningham Memorial Library. Cunningham Memorial 
Library, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN. July 2004 to Present. 
Rare Books & Special Collections Catalog Librarian. Cunningham Mem01ial Library. 
Indiana State University. Terre Haute, IN. January 2003 to July 2004. 
Head, Adult Services. Jackson Cow1ty Public Library. Seymour, IN. September 2002 to 
January 2003. 
Historian. The Westerly Group, Inc. Historic Preservation Consultants. Farmersburg, IN. 
February to May 2002. 
Librarian. Bloomfield-Eastern Greene County Public Library. Bloomfield, IN. May 
2001 to February 2002. 
Public History Intern. Centennial Celebration History Project. Indiana University School 
of Medicine. Indiana University. Indianapolis, IN. September 2000 to June 2001. 
Consulting Archivist. Carolyn Eisele Archives. Charles Sanders Peirce Editorial Project. 
Indiana University Purdue University. Indianapolis, IN. May to September 2000. 
Public History Intern. Indiana State Museum. Division of Collections and Interpretation. 
Indianapolis, IN. August 1999 to June 2000. 
Assistant Head, Public Services. Lilly Library. Indiana University Libraries. 
Bloomington, IN. November 1995 to October 1999. 
EXHIBITIONS 
"Indiana Coverlets: A Family Business," an exhibition of nineteenth century coverlets 
produced by Indiana weavers. Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana, May 13 to 
October 4, 2000. 
'"... and touch the universal heart.' The Appeal of James Whitcomb Riley," an 
exhibition in conjunction with activities sponsored by the James Whitcomb Riley 
Sesquicentennial Committee. Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 
May 10 to September 4, 1999. 
"Memory and American Culture," an exhibition in conjunction with American Studies 
Program conference, Indiana University, Bloomington. Lilly Library, Indiana University, 
Bloomington, Indiana, April 1998. 
"Echoes of the Civil War," an exhibition in conjunction with Indiana University, Division 
of Continuing Studies seminar. Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 
February and May 1998. 
"On Stage Tonight: The Players of London, 1760-1780," an exhibition of published 
engravings depicting actors and actresses with contemporary commentary. Lilly Library, 
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, February 20 to May 15, 1997. 
"Land Ho! The Early Exploration of the Americas," an exhibition of printed narratives 
and maps of the New World. Washington University Libraries, Saint Louis, Missouri, 
April15 to July 31, 1992. 
"Bibliomania: A Passion for Books," an exhibition of notable assoc1at10n copies. 
Washington University Libraries, Saint Louis, Missouri, September 1 to October 23 , 
1991. 
SELECTED PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS 
"Preserving the Past and the Present for the Future: The Wabash Valley Visions & Voices 
Digital Memory Project." Indiana Library Federation annual meeting, Indianapolis, 
Indiana, March 23, 2005. 
"Completely Authentic, but not Necessarily True: The Use of Biographical Fiction in the 
Childhood of Famous Americans Series, 1932-1958." Graduate Seminar in Biography, 
Department ofHistory, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana, October 15, 2002. 
"And a Coverlet to Keep Me Warm at Night: The Rise of Professional Weavers in 
Indiana, 1815-1870." Switzerland County Historical Society, Vevay, Indiana, July 2, 
2001. 
"The Civil War as Experienced by John L. Harding, Farmer, Marion County, Indiana." 
Opening segment of "Civil War Saturday," Indiana University, Division of Continuing 
Studies, Bloomington, Indiana, March 24, 2001. 
"Lifestyles of Victorian Women and Children." Morris-Butler House Docent Training 
Series, Indianapolis, Indiana, September 19, 2000. 
"Evaluating Web Based Resources and Their Place in the Research Process." American 
Society for Eighteenth Century Studies annual meeting, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 
26, 1999. 
"EAD (Encoded Archival Description): A New Tool for Internet Research." American 
Society for Eighteenth Century Studies annual meeting, University ofNotre Dame, South 
Bend, Indiana, April 3, 1998. 
"Agents of Wonder and Learning: Diversion and Instruction in the Eighteenth Century." 
An1erican Society for Eighteenth Century Studies annual meeting, Vanderbilt University, 
Nashville, Tennessee, April 11, 1997. 
PUBLICATIONS 
"Feature Focus: Coverlets, A Man's Game," Hoosierisms Quarterly, Indiana State 
Museum Foundation, Summer 2000, p. 26-28. 
" . .. and touch the universal heart. The Appeal of James Whitcomb Riley," The Ryder, 
July 16-August 20, 1999, p. 26-29. 
"Echoes of the Civil War Resound through the Lilly Library," The Friends of the Lilly 
Library Newsletter, Spring 1999, p. 6-7. 
"The Lilly Library, Indiana University, and Its Resources," East-Central Intelligencer, 
September 1998, p. 6-10. 
Lewis Carroll at Texas: The Warren Weaver Collection and Related Dodgson Materials 
at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center. Austin, Texas: Harry Ransom 
Humanities Research Center, University ofTexas at Austin, c1985.