Augusta Stevenson

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Augusta Stevenson was an American teacher and writer of children's literature. She taught in Indianapolis Public Schools and became best known for writing books that introduced young readers to historical figures through vivid stories about their childhoods.

Her best-known work was for the Childhood of Famous Americans series, which began in 1932 with Abraham Lincoln. She also wrote books such as Ben Franklin, Printer's Boy, George Carver: Boy Scientist, and Clara Barton: Girl Nurse, helping make biography feel approachable for children rather than formal or distant.

Stevenson also wrote the Children's Classics in Dramatic Form books, first published in the early 1900s, adapting well-known tales for classroom and home reading. Reliable sources agree that she was a remarkably productive children's author, though exact totals for her published books vary, so it's safest to say she wrote more than thirty books and left a lasting mark on historical reading for children.