ValueTales is a series of simple biographical children's books published primarily by the now-defunct Value Communications, Inc. in La Jolla, California. The books were written by Dr. Spencer Johnson

Spencer Johnson (writer)

Spencer Johnson is known for the ValueTales series of children's books, and for his 1998 motivational book Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life, which recurred on the New York Times Bestseller list, on the Publishers Weekly Hardcover nonfiction list...

 and Ann Donegan Johnson, and illustrated by Stephen Pileggi. Thirty books were authored by Ann Donegan Johnson from 1977 to 1997. Fifteen books were authored by Spencer Johnson from 1977 to 1988.

Each book gave a simplified and fictionalized biography of a historical figure as an allegory

Allegory

Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...

, illustrating the value of a positive characteristic. Each volume was a white pictorial glossy hardback book around 60 pages long with a brightly colored cartoon of the figure, along with some anthropomorphic item or animal that would narrate the subject's life throughout the book.

The title of each book would be The Value of x: The story of y , where x is the characteristic being exemplified and y is the subject (i.e. The Value of Determination: The Story of Helen Keller

Helen Keller

Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....

). Early editions of the books used a different format: The Valuetale of y: The value of x . So for instance the first edition of the Helen Keller book was called The ValueTale of Helen Keller : the value of determination

The books were quite popular in homes, elementary school

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

 libraries, pediatrics offices, and sunday school

Sunday school

Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...

s across North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. Most of the ValueTales books are out of print

Out of print

Out of print refers to an item, typically a book , but can include any print or visual media or sound recording, that is in the state of no longer being published....

. In October 2010, Simon & Schuster Children's Books published anthologized five of the ValueTales books in an edition with new illustrations by Dan Andreason.

Books

Value	Subject	Author	Publication Date	ISBN	Notes
Adventure	Sacagawea Sacagawea Sacagawea ; was a Lemhi Shoshone woman, who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting as an interpreter and guide, in their exploration of the Western United States...	Ann Donegan Johnson	1981 February 1	ISBN 0-916392-59-7
Facing a Challenge	Fox, Terry Terry Fox Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox , was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research...	Ann Donegan Johnson	1985 November 1	ISBN 0-7172-8134-5
Saving	Franklin, Benjamin Benjamin Franklin Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...	Spencer Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1978 August	ISBN 0-916392-17-1
Imagination	Dickens, Charles Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...	Spencer Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1977 December	ISBN 0-916392-15-5
Foresight	Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...	Ann Donegan Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1980 February	ISBN 0-916392-42-2
Kindness	Elizabeth Fry Elizabeth Fry Elizabeth Fry , née Gurney, was an English prison reformer, social reformer and, as a Quaker, a Christian philanthropist...	Spencer Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1977 March	ISBN 0-916392-09-0 ISBN 0-916392-04-X
Creativity	Thomas Edison Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...	Ann Donegan Johnson, Steve Pileggi (Illustrator)	1984 November	ISBN 0-916392-72-4
Boldness	Captain Cook	Johnson, Ann Donegan Johnson	1986 June	ISBN 0-7172-8188-4
Positive Attitude	Michael Landon Michael Landon Michael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is widely known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in Bonanza , Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie , and Jonathan Smith in Highway to Heaven...	Ann Donegan Johnson	1992 January 1	ISBN 0-7172-8263-5
Understanding	Margaret Mead Margaret Mead Margaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist, who was frequently a featured writer and speaker in the mass media throughout the 1960s and 1970s....	Spencer Johnson, Steve Pileggi (Illustrator)	1979 June	ISBN 0-916392-37-6
Dedication	Albert Schweitzer Albert Schweitzer Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...	Spencer Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1980 February	ISBN 0-916392-44-9
Leadership	Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...	Ann Donegan Johnson, Steve Pileggi (Illustrator)	1989 August	ISBN 0-86679-046-2
Charity	Paul-Emile Léger	Ann Donegan Johnson	1983	ISBN 0-7172-1884-8
Courage	Jackie Robinson Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...	Spencer Johnson	1977 August	ISBN 0-916392-12-0
Believing in Yourself	Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...	Spencer Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1977 March	ISBN 0-916392-06-6 ISBN 0-916392-01-5	aka Believing
Determination	Helen Keller Helen Keller Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....	Ann Donegan Johnson	1977 March	ISBN 0-916392-02-3 ISBN 0-916392-07-4
Helping	Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...	Ann Donegan Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1980 February	ISBN 0-916392-41-4
Respect	Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...	Ann Donegan Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1977 June	ISBN 0-916392-14-7
Friendship	Jane Addams Jane Addams Jane Addams was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace...	Ann Donegan Johnson, Steve Pileggi (Illustrator)	1980 February	ISBN 0-916392-45-7
Fairness	Nellie Bly Nellie Bly Nellie Bly was the pen name of American pioneer female journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochran. She remains notable for two feats: a record-breaking trip around the world in emulation of Jules Verne's character Phileas Fogg, and an exposé in which she faked insanity to study a mental institution from...	Ann Donegan Johnson	1977 December	ISBN 0-916392-16-3
Giving	Beethoven	Ann Donegan Johnson	1979 June	ISBN 0-916392-34-1
Humility	Mother Teresa Mother Teresa Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...	Ann Donegan Johnson	1993	ISBN 0-7172-8316-X
Patience	Wright Brothers Wright brothers The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...	Spencer Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1977 March	ISBN 0-916392-08-2
Honesty	Confucius Confucius Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....	Steve Pileggi, Spencer, M.D. Johnson	1979 June	ISBN 0-916392-36-8
Tenacity	Maurice Richard Maurice Richard Joseph Henri Maurice "the Rocket" Richard, Sr., was a French-Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League from 1942 to 1960. The "Rocket" was the most prolific goal-scorer of his era, the first to achieve the feat of 50 goals in 50...	Ann Donegan Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1984 June	ISBN 0-7172-8143-4
Love	Johnny Appleseed Johnny Appleseed Johnny Appleseed , born John Chapman, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois...	Ann Donegan Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1979 June	ISBN 0-916392-35-X
Discipline	Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....	Ann D. Johnson, Steven Pileggi (Illustrator)	1985 April	ISBN 0-7172-1887-2 ISBN 0-7172-8176-0	aka Self-Discipline, June 1985
Responsibility	Ralph Bunche Ralph Bunche Ralph Johnson Bunche or 1904December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Palestine. He was the first person of color to be so honored in the history of the Prize...	Ann Donegan Johnson	1978 November	ISBN 0-916392-29-5
Curiosity	Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...	Spencer Johnson	1977 November	ISBN 0-916392-13-9
Caring	Eleanor Roosevelt Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...	Ann D. Johnson, Steve Pileggi (Illustrator)	1977 July	ISBN 0-916392-11-2
Overcoming Adversity	Wilma Rudolph Wilma Rudolph Wilma Glodean Rudolph was an American athlete. Rudolph was considered the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s and competed in two Olympic Games, in 1956 and in 1960....	Ann Donegan Johnson	1996	ISBN 0-7172-8731-9
Dignity	Arthur Ashe Arthur Ashe Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. was a professional tennis player, born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. During his career, he won three Grand Slam titles, putting him among the best ever from the United States...	Ann Donegan Johnson	1994	ISBN 0-7172-8339-9
Sharing	Mayo Brothers Mayo brothers The Mayo brothers were Charles Horace Mayo and William James Mayo, who with the help of their partners, co-founded the Mayo Clinic. The original partners in the practice were the Mayo brothers, Drs. Stinchfield, Judd, Graham, Plummer, Millet and Balfour...	Spencer Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1978 November	ISBN 0-916392-28-7
Humor	Will Rogers Will Rogers William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....	Spencer Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1977 March	ISBN 0-916392-05-8
Conviction	Cesar Chavez César Chávez César Estrada Chávez was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers ....	Ann Donegan Johnson	1995	ISBN 0-7172-8482-4
Compassion	Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...	Ann Donegan Johnson	1987 July	ISBN 0-7172-8482-4
Commitment	Jacques Cousteau	Ann Donegan Johnson	1998	ISBN 0-7172-8820-X
Optimism	Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...	Ann Donegan Johnson	1997	ISBN 0-7172-8780-7
Fantasy	Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...	Spencer Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1980 Feb	ISBN 0-916392-43-0
Truth and Trust	Cochise Cochise Cochise was a chief of the Chokonen band of the Chiricahua Apache and the leader of an uprising that began in 1861. Cochise County, Arizona is named after him.-Biography:...	Spencer Johnson, Steve Pileggi	1980 Jan	ISBN 0-307-69957-9
Learning	Marie Curie Marie Curie Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...	Spencer Johnson, Ann D. Johnson	1979 June	ISBN 0-686-98175-8
Laughter	Lucille Ball Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...	Ann Donegan Johnson	1990 May	ISBN 0-7172-8217-1
Imagination	Jim Henson Jim Henson James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...	Ann Donegan Johnson	1992	ISBN 978-0717282531

External links

• ValueTales.com
• Dan Andreasen, children's book illustrator