Edward Eggleston crafted this American treasure for the benefit of children in a new country, seeking an identity and something to be proud of. He stated that “the primary aim of this book is to furnish the little learner reading matter that will excite his attention and give him pleasure”.<br><br>The author gives a sense of the pioneer spirit in the new American colonies in an ideal way, with adventures and bravery and an excellent combination of well-known figures and the ordinary person engaged in extraordinary change. These stories were written with the objective of informing and entertaining the children who would build whatever America would become. <br><br>The book is crammed with great captains and political men, but they are far from alone in the quilt of American stories that work together to create a pleasantly hopeful idealism. Wise women, wily hunters, brave children and the all-encompassing fight for the independence of America are everywhere in these stories. The Founding Fathers tower over the charming stories in this book and help to embody the ideals that Eggleston hoped to see dominate the new country and its next generation. <br><br>Whilst ‘Stories of Great Americans: For Little Americans is an authentic historical work and in that capacity it is tremendously informative to the adult reader, it remains excellent for its original purpose, teaching the young. It lends itself to bedtime stories or teaching younger readers about the development of a colonial society within a realistic and faithful but generally uplifting volume.