What an interesting man was that Benjamin Franklin! He came from a tradesman’s family of 17 children in Boston, Massachusetts. He had only two years of formal schooling. At 10 he went to work in his father’s soap and candle shop. So here’s this kid with two years of education who became one of the world’s most famous people!
I starting asking myself what happened in his childhood and youth that caused him to become the amazing man he was—printer, scientist, inventor, writer, diplomat, and patriot. What happened to young Ben that turned him into Dr. Franklin? That was the question that sent me on an in-depth search of the life of Ben Franklin. Fortunately for me a lot of scholarly books have been written about this unique Founding Father. I addition—thank you, Dr. Franklin—as a middle-aged man Ben wrote his life’s story for his son. Ben’s life in Ben’s words! What a fascinating story.
The Young Benjamin Franklin is a six-book series of biographical novels for middle-grade students. The books dip into young Ben’s life at ten years of age, at twelve, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen years old. They are titled, not surprisingly, “Ben at Ten,” “Ben at Twelve,” “Ben at Fifteen,” “Ben at Sixteen,” “Ben at Seventeen,” and “Ben at Eighteen.” These fun glimpses into the life of an amazing man take us from the year his father took Ben out of school and set him to work in the family shop to the devastating event as a teenager when a colonial official promised to support his start as a printer—and hung him out to dry, indeed left him high and dry, in a foreign country.
The Young Benjamin Franklin books are “fictionalized biography” or “biographical fiction.” It means I did research on the life and times of Ben Franklin and filled in with dialogue and plot. I slipped in descriptions of daily life in colonial times. Here’s the description of Ben’s colonial clothing after a bully pushes ten-year-old Ben into a puddle:
“Here I am, Mother. I’m coming,” Ben shouted and started running. He nearly dropped the precious book, and he grabbed for it. That meant he wasn’t watching where he was going and—crash!—Ben ran into a big boy.
Oh no! He had collided with the neighborhood bully, Tom Carter!
“Look who it is, lads,” gloated Tom, holding Ben by the back of his linen shirt. “It’s Ben Franklin who thinks he’s smarter than the rest of us.”
Tom shoved Ben down into a shallow patch of rainwater from the morning’s shower. From his spot on the ground, as water seeped into his clothes, Ben watched Tom and his two mean friends laugh their heads off as they sauntered down the street.
“Never mind,” Ben muttered to himself, as he brushed off his breeches, the brown wool pants that buttoned at his knees. Below the knees, he wore white linen stockings and buckled shoes. His hat had three sides. “I have a plan to even the score with Tom Carter.”
Because I’m a teacher as well as a writer, I think it’s important for young readers to discern the difference between fact and fiction. So, in the “Notes from the Author” sections I give time and attention to telling readers which parts of the story were based on fact and which parts were made up to fill out the story.
Each fictionalized biography book includes relevant or supplementary sections from the autobiography (“Memoirs”) of Benjamin Franklin. According to the “Library of Congress Research Guides,” Benjamin Franklin’s “Autobiography” is “…not only the first autobiography to achieve widespread popularity, but after two hundred years remains one of the most enduringly popular examples of the genre ever written.” Isn’t that cool; our very own Ben contributed to the world of literature! Here is an excerpt from the life of Ben Franklin in Ben’s own words in “Ben at Twelve:”
At ten years old I was taken home to assist my father in his business, which was that of a tallow-chandler and sope-boiler…. Accordingly, I was employed in cutting wick for the candles, filling the dipping mould and the moulds for cast candles, attending the shop, going of errands, etc. I disliked the trade, and had a strong inclination for the sea, but my father declared against it; however, living near the water, I was much in and about it, learnt early to swim well, and to manage boats; and when in a boat or canoe with other boys, I was commonly allowed to govern, especially in any case of difficulty; and upon other occasions I was generally a leader among the boys, and sometimes led them into scrapes, of which I will mention one instance, as it shows an early projecting public spirit, tho’ not then justly conducted. There was a salt-marsh that bounded part of the mill-pond, on the edge of which, at high water, we used to stand to fish for minnows. By much trampling, we had made it a mere quagmire. My proposal was to build a wharf there fit for us to stand upon, and I showed my comrades a large heap of stones, which were intended for a new house near the marsh, and which would very well suit our purpose. Accordingly, in the evening, when the workmen were gone, I assembled a number of my playfellows, and working with them diligently like so many emmets, sometimes two or three to a stone, we brought them all away and built our little wharf. The next morning the workmen were surprised at missing the stones, which were found in our wharf. Inquiry was made after the removers; we were discovered and complained of; several of us were corrected by our fathers; and, though I pleaded the usefulness of the work, mine convinced me that nothing was useful which was not honest…
I wrote about this episode in my novel in these words from “Ben at Twelve:”
Some of his friends were at the millpond. They had decided to fish in the marshy area.
“Hello, Ben,” called the boys.
The tide from the sea came and went in the marsh. The boys went there often to fish at high tide. Their feet had turned the area into a mushy swamp. Ben watched for a few minutes, as the boys kept moving around, trying—without success—to keep their feet dry.
“What we need is a wharf,” Ben said, picturing the docks he’d just left.
“How,” questioned Tom Carter, one of the older boys, “are we to get a wharf?”
Tom used to be an enemy of Ben’s, but Ben had learned to turn his enemies if not into friends at least into friendly acquaintances.
Ben glanced over at a pile of large stones close to a half-built house.
“We’ll build it!” he announced.
Ben organized the boys into teams. Some of the rocks were so big that it took two or three boys to carry each one. Ben told them where to place the stones to form a strong and stable structure.
Soon the boys had their wharf. They stood on it to get out into the deeper water where there was better fishing. And their shoes stayed dry.
“Come fish with us, Ben!” they called….
When he got to the shop [the next morning], his father was helping a customer. He glanced up at Ben. Uh oh. Ben recognized that look.
When the lady left, Mr. Franklin called Ben over.
“Benjamin,” he said. “A builder came to see me early this morning.
He is building his clients a house close to the salt march. I think you know where that is. ‘Tis near the millpond.”
“It’s true,” Ben said. “Yesterday the fellows were standing in water to fish. I saw some stones and thought they would make a good wharf.”
“Did you pay for the stones, my son?” his father asked.
“No, sir.”
“Did you work for the stones?”
“I did not, Father.”
“Did you ask permission to take the stones?”
“No, sir.”
Though Ben pleaded the usefulness of the work, his father convinced him that nothing was useful which was not honest.
After his day’s work with his father, Ben went to the millpond to put the stones back. Several of the other boys were there, those whose fathers had also corrected them as effectively as Mr. Franklin had corrected Ben. They spent the evening putting the stones back next to the house being built.
Ben dropped into bed that night completely exhausted.
All the Ben books include a Study Guide so that if you are a homeschooler, homeschooling parent, or teacher the Ben books can contribute to your history curriculum. All the Study Guides include a summary of the novel, learning objectives, teaching hints and resources, creative activities, student assessments, and answer keys. Here’s an excerpt from the “Ben at Fifteen’s” creative activities, part of the student assessment, and the matching answer key:
Create Your Own Newspaper
Benjamin Franklin’s brother started what many historians consider colonial America’s first independent newspaper. There were other and older newspapers, but they tended to publish news from England and Europe, approved by the British authorities. Please note that The New England Courant was printed on the front and back of a single large sheet of paper. Some experts say it was 18 inches wide and 24 inches long! Tape four sheets of paper together to end up with a single sheet. Because modern paper is more-or-less 8 1/2 inches wide by 11 1/2 inches long, you will end up with a sheet about 17 inches wide and 23 inches long—not quite a big as James’s famous newspaper, but it will do! Design your newspaper with two columns on the front and two columns on the back. Check out the mastheads of the colonial Boston newspapers and create your own masthead at the top of the front page. Now you get to fill in articles on the front and the back about what’s going on in your family, your school, and your neighborhood. Imitate The New England Courant by including some essays (opinions), stories, and poems. You may want to give your newspaper as a gift to loved ones! They will treasure it!
Checking Up (partial)
- In what year was Benjamin Franklin fifteen years old?
- What was going on in Boston the year Ben was fifteen?
- Describe the process of smallpox inoculations in colonial Boston.
- Who was for inoculations and who was against them?
Answer Key (partial)
- In what year was Benjamin Franklin fifteen years old?
1721 - What was going on in Boston the year Ben was fifteen?
There was a terrible epidemic of smallpox and many people died; there was a heated controversy about the new concept of giving people inoculations against smallpox; political unrest rose because of disagreements between the governor and the elected representatives; religious disagreements resulted from the differences between the Puritans and the Church of England, including about how to celebrate Christmas; James Franklin’s newspaper, The New England Courant, was beginning to add to the controversy. - Describe the process of smallpox inoculations in colonial Boston.
The physician took pus from the pustules of a person who was sick with smallpox. When he had enough pus, he then made cuts on the arm of the person being inoculated. He placed the smallpox-infected pus into the cuts. Last he covered the cuts with walnut shells and tied them onto the person’s arm. The inoculated person would get smallpox. But it was supposed to be a light case. And then the patient would never get smallpox again. However, some of the inoculated people died. - Who was for inoculations and who was against them?
Dr. Boylston and the Rev. Cotton Mather were for inoculations. Boston’s two older newspapers supported inoculations. The other doctors in town opposed giving inoculations. James Franklin’s new newspaper, The New England Courant, opposed inoculation.
For the next blog, I’ll share the first chapter of the first book of The Young Benjamin Franklin Series. I hope you enjoy it!
Carol Kerney
Carol Kerney Books
carolkerneybooks@gmail.com (I’d love to hear from you!)
Carol Kerney Books 
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