Jim Kjelgaard

Born in New York City on December 6, 1910, he spent much of his childhood on a large farm in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. That early life outdoors shaped the subjects he returned to again and again: wilderness, animals, hunting, and the people who live close to the land.

After high school, he worked a range of jobs and wrote for outdoor and nature magazines before turning to books. He went on to publish more than forty novels for young readers, with Big Red becoming his most famous title. The story was popular enough to be adapted by Walt Disney a few years after his death.

His fiction is remembered for its fast pace, strong sense of place, and respect for the natural world. He died on July 12, 1959, but his animal adventures have remained a steady part of classic American juvenile fiction.