# Ethel Barrett

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{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{short description|American Christian author and storyteller}}

'''Ethel Barrett''' (December 28, 1913 – May 10, 1998) was a [Christian](/source/Christians) writer, speaker and storyteller, whose popularity peaked between the early 1950s and the mid-1980s. She sold millions of copies of over 40 different books for publishers like [Zondervan](/source/Zondervan), Gospel Light and Regal Books. The latter printed and sold more than four million copies of her work. She also performed on 30 audio records and tapes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barrett |first=Michael |date=2016-04-14 |title=How an LAPD Officer Kept a Man from Becoming a Killer |url=https://lamag.com/crimeinla/soundcityhostage |access-date=2024-05-06 |website=LAmag - Culture, Food, Fashion, News & Los Angeles |language=en}}</ref>

==Biography==

Barrett started her storytelling career as a [Sunday School](/source/Sunday_school) teacher in [Schenectady, New York](/source/Schenectady%2C_New_York) in the early 1940s. She was asked to teach the Boys Brigade class, made up of the most unruly boys in the area. She had so much trouble keeping their attention that she began telling Bible stories using character voices and full dialog to capture their attention. That Sunday School class became a great success and her local fame and storytelling talent landed her some weekend radio jobs where she would tell Bible stories on local [Christian radio](/source/Christian_radio) stations.

Barrett's most recognized works included the retelling of John Bunyan's Holy War: "The War for Mansoul, A John Bunyon Classic As Told By Ethel Barrett," published previously as "Holy War, With Apologies to John Bunyon," and "The Chronicles of Mansoul."  "Storytelling – It's Easy" which had more than 21 different printings. ''Don't Look Now'' sold over 80,000 copies, ''The Secret Sign'' sold over 165,000, ''Will the Real Phony Please Stand Up'' over 150,000 and ''There I Stood in All My Splendor'' 640,000.

Barrett was nominated for a [Grammy Award](/source/Grammy_Award) in 1978 in the "Best Record for Children" category for "Ethel Barrett Tells Favorite Bible Stories" and was posthumously awarded the Great Christian Storyteller Award for the last 100 years at the Christian Storytelling Convention in 2007.

==Select bibliography==
*''Barrett : A Street Cop Who Cared''
*''Don't Look Now, But Your Personality is Showing''
*''Ethel Barrett Tells Favorite Bible Stories''
*''Ethel Barrett Tells Bible Stories to Children Volume 1''
*''Ethel Barrett Tells Bible Stories to Children Volume 2''
*''[Fanny Crosby](/source/Fanny_Crosby)'' (includes hymns and music)
*''God and a Boy Named Joe''
*''God, Have You Got It all Together?''
*''If I had a Wish''
*''It Didn't Just Happen, and Other Talk-About Bible Stories''
*''It Only Hurts When I Laugh: A Letter from [Peter](/source/Saint_Peter)''
*''[https://www.christianfocus.com/en-us/product/9781781916049/john-welch-the-man-who-couldnt-be-stopped-paperback John Welch: The Man Who Couldn't be Stopped]''
*''Our Family's First Bible Storybook''
*''Peace and Quiet and Other Hazards''
*''The People Who Couldn't be Stopped''
*''Rules, Who Needs Them?''
*''The Secret Sign''
*''Steve Paxon: Can't Lose for Winning''
*''Storytelling, It's Easy''
*''"The Strangest Thing Happened..."''
*''There I Stood in All My Splendor''
*''[https://christianlight.org/the-war-for-mansoul The War for Mansoul: A John Bunyan Classic As Told by Ethel Barrett]''<br />This book has been revised and renamed a few times:
**''Ethel Barrett's Holy War: with Apologies to John Bunyan'' (1969)
**''The Great Conflict: The Story of Satan's Struggle for Possession of Your Soul'' (1970)
**''Chronicles of Mansoul: A John Bunyan Classic'' (1980)
**''The War for Mansoul:  A John Bunyan Classic'' (1998)
*''What Makes a Teenager Say, "Sometimes I Feel Like a Blob"''
*''Which Way to Nineveh''
*''Will the Real Phony Please Stand Up?''

===''Great Heroes of the Bible'' series===
*''[Abraham](/source/Abraham): God's Faithful Pilgrim''
*''The Disappearing Prophets and Other Stories About [Elijah](/source/Elijah) and [Elisha](/source/Elisha)''
*''Doomed or Delivered and Other Stories about [Daniel](/source/Daniel_(biblical_figure))''
*''The Giant Slayer: [David](/source/David)''
*''[Joseph](/source/Saint_Joseph)''
*''Journey into the Unknown and Other Stories About [Joshua](/source/Joshua)''
*''The Man Struck Down by Light and Other Stories About [Paul](/source/Saint_Paul)''
*''Master of Mystery and Dreams: [Daniel](/source/Daniel_(biblical_figure))''
*''Men of Mystery and Miracles: [Elijah](/source/Elijah) and [Elisha](/source/Elisha)''
*''[Moses](/source/Moses), Mission Impossible''
*''[Paul](/source/Saint_Paul): One Man's Extraordinary Adventures''
*''[Peter](/source/Saint_Peter), the Story of a Deserter Who Became a Forceful Leader''
*''[Ruth](/source/Book_of_Ruth)''

===''Stories to Grow On'' series===
A series of children's books

====First series illustrated by Jim Padgett====
Many of these were released as audiobooks and 2-in-1 volumes
*''Blister Lamb: Learning to Obey''
*''Buzz Bee: Learning Respect for Authority''
*''Cracker: The Horse Who Lost his Temper''
*''Gregory the Grub: Learning about Eternal Life''
*''Ice, Water, and Snow''
*''Muffy and the Mystery of the Stolen Eggs: Learning Honesty and Truthfulness''
*''Quacky and Wacky: Learning You are Special''
*''Sylvester, the Three-Spined Stickleback: Learning the Importance of Being Unselfish''

====Second series illustrated by David Gaddy====
*''Jasper the Jealous Dog Learns the Value of Friendship''
*''Puff the Uppity Ant Learns the Value of Helping and Cooperation''
*''Smarty the Adventurous Fly Learns Not to Wander too Far From Home''
*''Sunny the Greedy Goat Learns the Value of Self-Control''

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Ethel}}
Category:1913 births
Category:1998 deaths
Category:American Christian writers
Category:American storytellers
Category:American women storytellers
Category:20th-century storytellers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ethel Barrett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Barrett) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Barrett?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.