The Value of Sharing: The Story of the Mayo Brothers

In this installment of the ValueTales series, Spencer Johnson examines the role that sharing played in the lives of William James (1861-1939) and Charles Horace (1865-1939) Mayo. The book tells the life stories of Will and Charlie, two brothers living in Minnesota, where their father worked as a doctor. Their whole family worked to learn as much as possible about medicine. Will and Charlie worked hard to become doctors, too. And they worked together for the rest of their lives, sharing their knowledge to conduct research and develop better medical care. Like other books in the ValueTales series, this book uses a real-life person to exemplify an important value. It is suitable for reading by children in the later elementary school grades. A "Historical Facts" section at the book's end summarizes the Mayo Brothers' lives in a single-page bio form suitable for adults. Closing quote: "Of course not everyone has the same things to share. You may not have much money and you probably don't have a microscope. You may not even want to share what you have with anyone. That is for you to decide. But if you do choose to give something to someone else, or accept what others are giving to you, you may just discover something very important about yourself. You may discover that sharing makes you feel happy, just as it did our good friends the Mayo brothers." (pp. 61-62)