Illinois Authors

Clara Kern Bayliss

Born: 1848 near Kalamazoo, Michigan
Died: 1948

Pen Name: Clara K. Bayliss

Connection to Illinois: Bayliss lived in Sterling, Streator, Springfield and ended up in Macomb, where she is buried.

Biography: Clara Bayliss was a popular writer of children's book, noted for writing about native American life before other children's authors did. She also wrote about folklore from the Philippines. Though not typical for the time, she graduated from High School and went on to Hillsdale College where she graduated in 1871 as the first woman to receive a degree. She also earned an M.S. degree from Hillsdale in Indiana. Bayliss believed that the parents needed to be educated along with their children and that schools and churches should be clubhouses for the community where learning took place. She headed the Education Committee of the Illinois Congress of Mothers and spoke in many towns about the need for parents and teachers working together. Her work and that of others led to the formation of the PTA. She started writing in the 1890's. She focused on Native Americans because she believed it was important for children to learn to appreciate people of other cultures. She wrote many books during thirty years. After the family moved to Macomb, Illinois, where she established The Child Culture Center in 1907. A place to instill her value that parents must set an example for their children - that you cannot live one way and expect your children to be trained in another.

Primary Literary Genre(s): Fiction; History

Primary Audience(s): Children; Young adult readers

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Selected Titles

	A treasury of Eskimo tales. ISBN: 9781780008301 OCLC: 974325308 Copyright Group : [United States] : 2013. The Inuit people occupy a bleak but beautiful landscape. It is a culture we think we have some understanding of but the reality is we know little. In this enchanting book, A Treasury of Eskimo Takes, Clara K Bayliss tells us many stories of Eskimo folklore. It's a wonderful treasure of the culture.
	A treasury of Indian tales ISBN: 1410105482 OCLC: 61820773 Fredonia Books, Amsterdam : 2004.
	In brook and bayou. ISBN: 1290140081 OCLC: 940489827 Hardpress Publishing, [Place of publication not identified] : 2012.
	Philippine Folk-Tales ISBN: 9781546567776 OCLC: 1018399191
	Philippine, Visayan and Tagalog folk-tales, and Bagobo myths / ISBN: 1409919846 OCLC: 988246607