Benjamin Franklin loved to read. When he was young, he borrowed books from anyone who would lend them. He read about all kinds of subjects. Franklin also wanted to write, but he didn't know how. He only had two years of school, so he taught himself. He found stories that he liked and rewrote them. Some he rewrote from memory. Others he turned into poetry and then rewrote back into stories. Sometimes he took notes on a story, then mixed up his notes and tried to put them back in the correct order.

His hard work paid off. When he was 16 years old, he submitted 14 letters to his brother's newspaper, the New England Courant, and his brother published them. But the story isn't quite that simple. Have you ever heard of "Silence Dogood"?