Jim Kjelgaard: "A Master Storyteller": Welcome Message

     This blog is dedicated to the work of Jim Kjelgaard (pronounced kel-guard). A writer best known for his young adult novels about wild places and often featuring dogs and animals in their own environment. His most famous being Big Red (1945) and its two sequels Irish Red (1951) and Outlaw Red (1953). Kjelgaard wrote dozens of other excellent young adult novels, including Haunt Fox (1954), Trading Jeff and His Dog (1956), and my favorite, The Spell of the White Sturgeon (1953). His writing won a Boys Club Award, a Spur Award from the Western Writers of America, and a Boys’ Life Award.
     Kjelgaard also wrote a few novels for the adult market—The Lost Wagon (1955) being one—and dozens (perhaps hundreds) of short stories for the best pulp and slick magazines of the 1930s and '40s. Magazines like Argosy, Adventure, Black Mask, Blue Book, Collier's, Saturday Evening Post, Short Stories, and many (many) others. All of it worthy of a modern audience and most with the wilderness settings his readers have come to expect.
     Jim Kjelgaard: "A Master Storyteller"—a moniker coined for Kjelgaard by Kirkus in its review of Swamp Cat (1957)—is a place for new and experienced readers alike. Come and stay awhile, share your thoughts, and help us bring the magic of Jim Kjelgaard’s writing to a new generation of readers.