William Fordyce Mavor was a Scottish educationist. Born in Aberdeenshire, Mavor travelled to England at the age of seventeen, where he briefly lived in London before taking up a position as assistant master of a school in Burford, Oxfordshire. He would remain at Burford until 1782 when he travelled to Woodstock and established an academy. At Woodstock, Mavor offered tuition to the children of the Duke of Marlborough and in later life became headmaster of the grammar school and ten times served as mayor of the town.

Aside from his work as a teacher, Mavor was a prolific author, writing books on a great variety of subjects, from guidebooks, histories and travel accounts to grammars, miscellanies and magazines aimed at women.
This was one of his most popular books aimed at children. It contained short amusing moral stories with wood engravings by Thomas Bewick. The book had sold well over two million copies by 1823, eventually running to 500 editions.