William Maxwell Reed

{{short description|American writer}}

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William Maxwell Reed (January 12, 1871 in Bath, Maine – September 1962) was a pioneering U.S. author of illustrated science books for children.{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/facts/11/917252/Reed-William-Maxwell-as-discussed-in-Reed-William-Maxwell |title= Facts about Reed, William Maxwell, as discussed in Britannica Compton's Encyclopedia |accessdate=14 March 2010 |author= |authorlink= |date= |year= |format= |encyclopedia= |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}

After schooling at Harvard, he taught astronomy at Harvard and Princeton University.

Reed later went into the steel industry.

Beginning as a series of letters to his nephew, his first book, The Earth for Sam, was published in 1929. The book remains popular and was republished in 2005.

Earth was followed by a series of popular children's information books, many published by Harcourt, Brace.