author
Anna Cogswell Tyler
1859–1923
A pioneering librarian-storyteller, she helped shape the art of storytelling in American libraries and also wrote imaginative tales for young readers. Her work sits at the crossroads of children's literature, public libraries, and the early storytelling movement.
1 Audiobook
Twenty-Four Unusual Stories for Boys and Girls
by Anna Cogswell Tyler
About the author
Born in 1859 and active during the formative years of modern children's librarianship, she became known as an American librarian, storyteller, and author. Sources consistently connect her with study at the Carnegie Library Training School in Pittsburgh and the School of Library Science at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, where she developed the skills that would define her career.
She is especially remembered for her role in library storytelling. Historical accounts link her to Pratt's children's library work and later to the New York Public Library, where she helped lead and train storytelling efforts that influenced librarians far beyond New York. That makes her an important figure in the early movement to bring stories to children not only through books, but through live reading and performance.
As a writer, she is best known today for Twenty-Four Unusual Stories for Boys and Girls, a collection that has remained accessible through public-domain and library projects. She died in 1923, but her legacy lives on in the long tradition of story hours, read-aloud programs, and children's library services.