The Whistle

From Fifty Famous People, by James Baldwin

This story is from Fifty Famous People, a collection by James Baldwin. It tells how Benjamin Franklin learned an important lesson when he was seven years old. Benjamin Franklin grew up to be one of the great leaders of early America—a scientist, inventor, writer and statesman who helped win American independence. This story shows that even great people made mistakes as children, and that wise lessons stay with us all our lives.

Band

Yellow · Emerging readers, about 6 to 8

Length

medium · about 585 words in 5 sections · 4 pictures

Source

Fifty Famous People: A Book of Short Stories, James Baldwin · 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 (8 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.