Flora L. (Flora Leona) Carpenter

Flora L. Carpenter, also listed as Flora Leona Carpenter, was an American writer and teacher best known for the eight-volume Stories Pictures Tell series. Project Gutenberg records her dates as 1877–1963 and lists all eight books, which were created as accessible introductions to art for young readers.

Her books present well-known paintings through short narratives, questions, and teacher-friendly guidance. In the prefatory material to the series, Carpenter explains that she gathered this material to help classroom teachers who wanted to teach picture study but did not have time to research each artist and artwork on their own.

The books also identify her as an instructor in drawing at Waite High School in Toledo, Ohio, and formerly a supervisor of drawing in Bloomington, Illinois. That background helps explain the warm, practical feel of her writing: these works were made not just to inform, but to make art feel approachable in everyday classrooms.