Fifty Famous Stories Retold

by James Baldwin

As a matter of course, some of these stories are better known, and therefore more famous, than others. Some have a slight historical value; some are useful as giving point to certain great moral truths; others are products solely of the fancy, and are intended only to amuse. Some are derived from very ancient sources, and are current in the literature of many lands; some have come to us through the ballads and folk tales of the English people; a few are of quite recent origin; nearly all are the subjects of frequent allusions in poetry and prose and in the conversation of educated people. Care has been taken to exclude everything that is not strictly within the limits of probability; hence there is here no trespassing upon the domain of the fairy tale, the fable, or the myth.

Genres: History, Classics, Short Stories, Childrens, School, Nonfiction, Literature

164 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1896

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

James Baldwin (1841-1925) was an American editor and author. Largely self-educated, he began teaching at the age of 24. In addition to editing school books, he started writing books of his own. After the publication in 1882 of The Story of Siegfried, he went on to write more than 50 others. At one time it was estimated that of all the school books in use in the United States, over half had been written or edited by him. He is best remembered for the books of introductory historical sketches he wrote for younger students and his retellings of the legends of heroes for older students. Other works include: The Story of Roland (1883), A Story of the Golden Age (1887), Old Greek Stories (1895), Fifty Famous Stories Retold (1896), Four Great Americans (1897), Hero Tales (1904), Fifty Famous People (1912) and In My Youth (1914).

Reviews

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

A continuation of my delve through my granny’s books. These truly make me feel closer to her.

[Charlie Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of historical folklore stories from around the world, many of which are still famous. They have been faithfully retold in an accessible way for all ages by a white American man from the 19th century named James Baldwin- as opposed to the James Baldwin rewriting classic stories with perhaps a post-colonial or gay twist, which would have been interesting too.
We essentially learn that capricious kings will set you free, and the meek shall inherit the earth etc..

[Akemi G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Free ebook (here), a collection of very short stories.

Rating books written for children is hard because I am not the target audience any more. Many of these stories carry morals, and we have grown to dislike didactical qualities. Worse, some of the messages are outdated. (I'm sure many parents, as well as their kids, bark at the story of Casabianca.) Stories that are attributed to historical figures may or may not be true.

Yet, these simple stories have been loved over many generations. Try a few to your kids--they might like them. Young children need simple instructions, and if they come in fun and memorable stories, all the better.

I especially enjoyed the Endless Tale. How can we satisfy a bored king who wants to be entertained endlessly? Scheherazade lasted for a long time, but not quite forever . . . Maximilian and the Goose Boy is fun, too. (Which child doesn't like a defiant boy who scolds on a king?) Whittington and his Cat is a rags-to-riches story loosely modeled after a historical figure; I guess many cultures have similar stories--in Japan, there are the stories about Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It can be inspirational, you know.

[Natalie Nimmers · Rating 5 out of 5]

We will definitely reread this one! My 7 year old was the most engrossed in the stories, and we loved the themes of courage, loyalty, faithfulness, and kindness. Highly recommend!

[Timilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of stories. Some I knew and some were new. And some I remembered parts of.

[Marita Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting to finish up this school year’s books. 🙌 One of my favorites from the year, filled with “half-legendary tales” from history. A few stories were a little weird but those mostly were skipped in the Ambleside Online scheduling anyway.

[riley rue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that I'd imagine grandparents would want to read to their grandchildren, cozily settling down together around the hearth.

Fifty Famous Stories Retold, as the name says, is a collection of short stories, derived from famous historical figures and other figures who are somewhat not as well-known. It's free to read on Gutenberg, and that's why I read it in the first place.

This collection of short stories was told incredibly well, and I'm satisfied. This isn't the kind of book to leave you a life-lasting impression, if you're expecting something out of this world. It's more of a decently well-written collection with good moral values represented within most of the stories. Whenever you're looking for something to give you some sufficient entertainment, I'm sure this would be quite a cozy read. I imagine this is the kind of book, or the kinds of stories, that the ideal grandparents would tell their curious little grandchildren. The stories themselves are easy enough for young children to understand, enjoyable enough for adults to read, and provoke enough reflection and thought for most people through the short stories that aren't too overwhelming. I felt like I would've finished it a lot more had I owned a paper copy, but I'm happy that it was a decently good collection.

If you're looking for something short and decently enjoyable for a cozy night's reading, this would be a great read. Extra points for it being a free book.

[Staci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of stories for young (and not so young) children. All of my kids (11, 8, 7) and I really enjoyed it.

[Ammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent collection of age appropriate stories that both my girls (13 & 7) enjoyed. We completed this faster than we should have, but I forsee us visiting these again, and we were okay to move on to deeper and longer versions of some of these stories.

[heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covers a wide range of literary references (classical stories). Mostly English, Roman, and Greek classics.

A wee bit of haughty colonial attitude detected behind the writing, but not too insufferable considering that this text is the product of its time. I would still recommend this to anyone who wants to be quickly acquainted with well-known characters from English, Greek, Roman history.

[Rick Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book to introduce younger kids (around 6 years old probably) to stories that every child should know. Includes the stories of Horatius Cocles, the 300 Spartans, King Alfred and the Cakes, the Wise Men of Gotham and more.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

We discovered LibriVox recently, and I listened to these stories on a trip with my 7-year-old. We enjoyed them, they made the drive go fast. I was previously unfamiliar with more of them than an educated person ought to be. My favorite part was Baldwin's off-hand, rather humorous commentary on Felicia Heman's poem "Casabianca."

[Wendy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book to my boys, as they could never get enough. We will be buying the next two written by this author for more fun and inspiration.

[Brit Chhangur · Rating 4 out of 5]

AO read-aloud with the kids. So helpful for learning to narrate and wonderful stories that everyone should know!

[Megan Brumley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the living book press edition to my 1st grader for school this year. Good to have these stories in my imaginative backdrop.

[Jenn Hostler · Rating 5 out of 5]

So happy to learn alongside my oldest getting to know these stories and seeing how often they are referenced in other literature. Education is a life!

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my third time through these stories. I read them with my AO Year 1 student and the whole family loved learning these tales.

[Colin Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book!

[Melissa Grice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read about half of these with my daughter for school this year, and I was so fascinated by them that I read the rest on my own. In the foreword, the author calls these “time-honored stories which have become so incorporated into the literature and thought of our race that a knowledge of them is an dispensable part of one’s education.” I’m sure they were considered indispensable in the 19th century when Baldwin collected them, but unfortunately, several generations have grown up without these stories.

Most of these tales straddle the line between historical and legendary. Baldwin tells them in a beautifully literary manner without being verbose— many of the stories are only a page or two. Despite their brevity, it’s clear why they withstood the test of time; they reveal insightful glimpses into cultures, communities, and the heart of mankind. As I read more broadly I’ve been thrilled to see that Baldwin was correct, and references to these stories abound in classic literature. So glad to be familiar with these now not-so-famous stories, so I can delve deeper into the literary tradition in which they play a meaningful part.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many of these were great and helped me (and hopefully my kids) to understand literary references that I probably wouldn't have otherwise, because I never encountered them in school or elsewhere (the sword of Damocles comes immediately to mind as one I finally understood), but some of them seemed a little too concise and missing some of the original meaning or nuance.

The free version I read on Kindle actually ended the very last story of Mignon at a really weird place, which might have just been an error, but I wound up having to Google what the point if the story actually was and it was a very anticlimactic way to end the book.

[Adrianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

We listened to this book on audible as part of our Charlotte Mason - Ambleside Online reading curriculum. It made our car rides SOOOOO much more enjoyable, and as an adult with a bit of medieval history knowledge, I really enjoyed the stories immensely. My kids were able to relate the characters in the story back to our timeline song that we have learned as part of our Classical Conversations curriculum. I highly recommend!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished these 50 intriguing stories tonight after months of sporadic read alouds with my 8 and 5 year olds. We loved this book. The stories were interesting, different, unpredictable, and seemingly not contrived. They kept us guessing and I was surprised but delighted when my girls begged for just one more story at night. And I just love that these are old stories freely accessible on the Gutenberg project for kindle download, so they’re easy to read wherever we are.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful little classic with short, easy, charming chapters. This book should be essential reading for everyone - even though I was reading it to the kids, I learned so much! Some cultural references I didn't know I was missing suddenly made sense. I know what the sword of Damocles is now!

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful collection of short stories both real and fiction used to give children insight into morality and inspire them by the heroic deeds of others. All the stories are short, and would be perfect for bedtime stories.

[Janelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great librivox reader but I didn't enjoy the stories so much. I only persisted with the book because it kept putting me to sleep.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been through this one at least three times.
Good solid stories that make for excellent practice at beginning oral narration.

Ambleside.
Recommend.

[Larry Bassett · Rating 2 out of 5]

First it is important to know that this is not the author James Baldwin that you think it is. Look up this other James Baldwin and it would help keep your expectations at a more appropriate level!

This is a short book of 50 fables that are told in a not particularly pleasing Voice as some people seem to think you should Speak differently to children then you do to adults.

The store is themselves are all relatively short and have a fairly wide variety of fairytale aspects and morals. This book was written in the late 19th century so is a little out of date in what it thinks is appropriate for young children. There are plenty of rewards for people who do the right thing which seems quite OK. There are also plenty of authoritarian figures who alternate between being good and bad. And bad things sometimes happen to good people which has some currency.

But I am not sure if I had a six-year-old if I would put this book on their reading or listening list. I have had it for a long time thinking it was the other James Baldwin and was quite confused about how he would be connected to a book such as this. Failing that confusion I am sure I never would have selected this book!

[Katherine Basto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love James Baldwin's collections of Famous Stories of Old retold. The key here is retold, and not only does Baldwin choose well, he has the ability to winnow down the words and themes and bring the story to life. In this collection, he includes the story of William Tell, several Roman stories including Cincinnatus, Regulus, early legends such as Robin Hood( the darker version). the Scottish Black Douglas, Robert the Bruce, King John and others.
Baldwin has done several series and everything I've read by him I love.
This book is easy to read, well-written, educational and very interesting to those who want to learn more about characters in history, and the legends created about them after they were gone.

[Watermarked Pages · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some culturally important stories here—things you hear referenced but might not have known the origin of. My favorite was the Sword of Damocles. I was surprised how much my kids liked listening to these, and how well they could narrate them back to me. Each is short enough to be great for narration practice. Some of them are sad and kind of disturbing (like the boy who dies in a ship fire becuase he’s obeying his father who told him to stay on deck and died before he could tell him to jump for his life). But my kids didn’t seem bothered.

I was bothered by what I read about the author’s life and poor choices. But it doesn’t really come out in the book.

[Ariane · Rating 1 out of 5]

maybe 1.5. to be fair, I only read 1/3 of it. Had put Baldwin's Bleeker Street on hold and this was instantly available, so I snatched it. I could not figure out the purpose of the retelling. They were not informative and did not add anything new to general knowledge. Looked it up. Wrong James Baldwin. These were written in early 1900s, probably a fine edition to one room schoolhouse libraries. Not appropriate for any readers in the 21st century, except for research purposes.