Laura Rountree Smith

Born in Chicago on July 30, 1876, Laura Rountree Smith was an American writer whose books were aimed largely at children. Library and public-domain records show that she published a wide range of story collections, including animal tales, holiday pieces, play stories, and easy, cheerful books for young readers.

Her titles suggest the kind of world she liked to build: friendly bunnies, bears, fairy babies, and other playful characters appear again and again. Books such as The Tale of Bunny Cotton-Tail, Little Bear, and The Roly-Poly Book helped define her warm, storytime style, and many of her works were issued by well-known children's publishers of the period.

Smith died on February 22, 1924. Although she is not as widely known today as some of her contemporaries, her work remains accessible through collections like Project Gutenberg and the Library of Congress, where modern readers can still enjoy a glimpse of the gentle, imaginative children's literature of her era.