Wild Trek, part of the Snow Dog series by Jim Kjelgaard.

In 1941 Jim Kjelgaard wrote FOREST PATROL , his first book for children.

He did not believe in writing down to kids. He told how "kids spot weaknesses in a juvenile book that would get by in a book for adults." His philosophy was: "You have to struggle to get up to the kids' level." (4)

Forest Patrol was about a young man learning to become a Forest Ranger. The book was based on the experiences Jim had while visiting his brother who was a forest ranger.

Most of Jim's books featured a young man or boy learning about the world, and using his knowledge to survive in the wilderness. His books are not only gripping adventure stories, but also provide real information on wilderness skills.

Big Red, first edition with dust jacket.

Kjelgaard loved and owned dogs his entire life. He owned many mixed breeds, as well as purebred dogs, including an Airedale, cocker spaniel, and an Irish setter. Many of his books feature dogs as the main character.

Jim is probably best known for his Irish setter books; Big Red, Irish Red and Outlaw Red. The model for the main character, Red, was a black setter cross that Jim knew as a boy.

Disney made a movie out of the book Big Red (1962) VHS , which was released in 1962, starring Walter Pidgeon.

Some of his other books about dogs include: A Nose for Trouble and Trailing Trouble with a bloodhound. Snow Dog featured a husky; Double Challenge had a collie; Stormy was a retriever cross; and Desert Dog was about a greyhound. Jim featured other wildlife in his books like coyotes, beavers, moose, bear and deer, as well.

Double Challenge, Ted and his collie, Tammie, feature in the Jim Kjelgaard 1966 book.

Jim also wrote non-fiction books for children and adults, including The Explorations of Pere Marquette and The Coming of the Mormons.

He spent many hours every day writing, often seven days a week, in order to ensure a living for his family. Jim had hundreds of short stories and articles published in magazines and several books were published posthumously. A couple were collections of his short stories repackaged into book form.

The Hunter Returns was based on Jim's book Fire Hunter, with new material added by science fiction author David Drake.

Hidden Trail from 1962.

Many of his books have been reprinted, and continue to be popular today. Jim's books can be found in the gallery and price guide section of petguide.co.nz with links at the bottom of this article.

His manuscripts are housed in the Kerlan Collection, University of Minnesota. http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/html/clrc/clrc0152.html Footnotes: 4. Obituary from The Milwaukee Journal, July 14, 1959, http://home.sprintmail.com/~charterbus/obituary.htm Additional Sources: Stories within stories: The Author Jim Kjelgaard, by Henk ten Klooster, from The Irish Times, Christmas 1998.

In looking at some of the many sites about Jim Kjelgaard on the internet, I was fortunate to find the wonderful site created by Gary L. Charter. Mr. Charter has collected several obituaries, articles and lists, along with pictures and descriptions of some of Jim's books. There is also a memoir written by Jim's daughter Karen, created specifically for this site.

In addition to the complete listing of his books, Mr. Charter has also compiled an extensive list of articles and short stories written by Jim. If you would like a more in depth look at Jim Kjelgaard and his life, I would highly recommend you visit this site and read the material at: http://home.sprintmail.com/~charterbus/kjelgaard.htm