Purple bandReady now · Open and print today

The Wise Men of Gotham

A tale retold from Fifty Famous Stories, by James Baldwin

This reader is retold from Fifty Famous Stories by James Baldwin, first published in 1896. The tale of Gotham is an old English folk story about clever people who pretend to be fools to outsmart a cruel king. Baldwin collected classic tales from history and legend so children could meet the stories that have shaped our world. This story shows that sometimes wit and imagination are stronger than power. This text reflects its era.

Band

Purple · Pre-readers and first readersTypical starting range: ages 4–5

Length

short · about 332 words in 5 sections · 4 pictures

Source

Fifty Famous Stories Retold, James Baldwin

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (6 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Colouring page
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

Report a concern about this reader · What’s in a HummingRead reader