Who Was ...? biography series for middle grade brings fascinating character of P. T. Barnum – a legendary showman, one of the world’s greatest entertainers.
Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891) was born in Bethel, Connecticut. In Bethel, people liked playing pranks and telling tall tales. It influenced Taylor to develop his sense of humor.
In school, he enjoyed writing essays. He didn’t like working on his father’s farm. Thus, he was thinking of ways to make money in a different way. He sold candy, cookies, and drinks in town.
When he was sixteen, his father died. He got a job at a store to support the family. It led him to other opportunities, eventually he opened his own store where he ran lotteries, which became very profitable.
Another of his ventures was starting a newspaper which took him to NYC, where he opened a small boardinghouse. There, he heard of an enslaved woman who performed a live stage show. His first shows involving Joice were big success. This is when he found his true passion – show business.
For a few years, he worked as a manager of performers. This gave him valuable experience to start his own show business. But life on the road was a life away from his family. Then, he found a way to do his entertainment from one place.
In 1841, when Scudder’s American Museum decided to sell its entire collection, he grabbed this opportunity. At the time, museums were becoming one of the most popular forms of entertainment, which included lectures and educational shows. He knew how to attract crowds to his museum and became the most successful in the city. But he never stopped adding to his museum. He sent agents around the world to find something unusual.
Discovering Tom Thumb made them both rich and well-known across the US and Europe. With his success, he got involved in developing the city of Bridgeport in Connecticut. He ended up spending more money than he made. He slowly worked his way out of bankruptcy.
After his museum got burned twice, he thought of retiring at the age of fifty-eight. But he got bored quickly and accepted an offer from two circus managers.
This biography personifies the true nature of an entertainer, a man who early at his age was influenced by his community to create his own sense of humor, which further led him to discovering his true passion which was entertainment.
This illustrated biography series for young readers, ages 8-12, is presented in a relatable way, with simple sentences and enriched with insightful inserts.
Published
in 2019 by Penguin Workshop
TRENDING
INSPIRATION: Search Your Childhood Experience to Find Your Passion (experience
that happened at the age of 10-13 which is a research finding)
Traits:
·
His childhood experience led him to find his
true passion
·
He was a genius for publicity
·
He never stopped improving on whatever business
he was working on at the time
·
His many businesses led him to realization that
he was a showman at heart
·
He was successful because he knew how to get
people interested in new ideas
·
He built up excitement months before a big show
(a method that is still used in some businesses such as movies)
·
He loved his audiences and he loved
entertaining
“Fortunes always favors the brave, and never helps a man who does not help himself.” – P.T. Barnum
“Literature is one of the most interesting and significant expressions of humanity.” – P.T. Barnum
“Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Work at it, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now.” – P.T. Barnum
“Money
is in some respects life’s fire: it is a very excellent servant, but a terrible
master.” – P.T. Barnum