Clara Barton: Founder of the American Red Cross

U.S. Landmark Books #58

by Helen Dore Boylston

A biography of the girl who became known as a fearless battlefield nurse during the Civil War and the founder of the American Red Cross.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, School, Childrens, American History

154 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

An only child, Helen Dore Boylston attended Portsmouth public schools and trained as a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. Two days after graduating, she joined the Harvard medical unit that had been formed to serve with the British Army. After the war, she missed the comradeship, intense effort, and mutual dependence of people upon one another when under pressure, and joined the Red Cross to work in Poland and Albania. This work, often in isolation and with little apparent effect, wasn't satisfying. Returning to the U.S., Boylston taught nose and throat anaesthesia at Massachusetts General for two years. During this time Rose Wilder Lane read Boylston's wartime diary and arranged for it to be published in the Atlantic Monthly. - Source

- More information

Series:
* Sue Barton
* Carol Page

Reviews

[Majenta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this...way, way, way back in elementary school. I remember being a nurse for Halloween, probably right after I read it. I was so glad to find it again and find my favorite parts, and recognize the illustrations that had stayed in my head without suggesting where I'd first seen them.
Yes, this is the Helen Dore Boylston of the SUE BARTON young-nurse series, and I've just discovered a book of hers called "SISTER," the journal of a nurse starting during WWI.
Clara Barton was a Christmas 1821 baby who was actually named "Clarissa Harlowe" after the heroine of Samuel Richardson's 1747-48 novel (which got into my TBR pool as soon as I found it on Kindle), but started calling herself the shorter name. She was the youngest of 5, and her "youngest" sibling was a decade older; guess why this book's first chapter called "Six Fathers and Mothers." (Correct!)
Boylston introduces us to 4-year-old Clara at her birthday party and takes us through her life as a very loving but very shy child and young girl, through the events that awakened and strengthened her heart for nursing, and how she affected the larger and larger world, just by trying to do what she felt she needed to do.
Thanks for reading.

[Donna Tarver · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book wasn’t long enough to tell the whole story of Clara Barton. For a juvenile this is a wonderful, informative book. As an adult I would like more information, which I’m sure I can find. I really like this author, and her storytelling is clear. As for Clara Barton, she seems to have been extraordinary.

[Yaaresse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a bunch of the Landmark series books as a kid. Our school library had a huge collection of them, so I just made my way down the shelves. I remember enjoying them, but I was too young at the time to question the narrative slant. I just liked reading biographies and histories, and there wasn't a lot of interesting non-fiction for kids at that time. Most of what did exist was either boring or more myth than fact. These books did not talk down to the reader, which I appreciated.

Each Landmark Book was written by a different author, each highly respected and invited to contribute to the series. There is a wonderful article on the Landmark Books series on the American Historical Association website: https://www.historians.org/publicatio...

I'm rating them on the memory of enjoyment alone, not on accuracy or how they would go over today. Fortunately, kids today have a lot better from which to choose.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Biography read for school 5th Grade

[Caleb Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first nurse in the US. It was interesting to compare her life to Nightingale's.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boom. Research done. This was actually pretty well written and interesting, and just the right length. Also, if you ever happen to see it sitting around somewhere, like at a yard sale: Chapter 8 is literally the best, simplest, and most concise explanation of how the Civil War started that I have ever read. Just saying.

And now, I'm off to write a paper on this fine lady. Yep. Sorry. Not catching up on reviews now.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a biography meant for children, but I really enjoyed it. I find her story to be inspiring. Notable was her several periods of inactivity due to ill health. It is amazing she accomplished so much!

[Mikayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved reading about Clara Barton but this book was so slanted in its political views it took away from her life story.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspiring.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. It looks to be written for middle grades. A good short History book about Clara Barton and the Red Cross.

[Lori Nemitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read summer of 1980.