Little Boy Blue

A story from Mother Goose in Prose, by L. Frank Baum

L. Frank Baum, best known for The Wizard of Oz, wrote Mother Goose in Prose in 1897. This story takes the nursery rhyme 'Little Boy Blue' and imagines the life behind it: a boy who works to help his sick mother, makes one mistake when exhausted, and is forgiven by a kind master. It shows children that love, honesty and trying hard are noticed, and that one mistake does not erase goodness. The text reflects its era; a few period terms (Squire, widow, Mistress) have been kept with context to help young readers meet the world of the story.

Band

Purple · Pre-readers and first readers, about 4 to 5

Length

short · about 369 words in 6 sections · 4 pictures

Source

Mother Goose in Prose, L. Frank Baum · Project Gutenberg

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

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.