Children's Literature Research Collection
113 Elmer L. Andersen Library
University of Minnesota
222 21st Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Children's Literature
Research Collection
113 Elmer L. Andersen Library
University of Minnesota
222 21st Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Summary Information
Collection Number: CLRC-152
Collection Size: Ca. 2.7 linear ft. (Manuscript materials)
Abstract/Notes: Jim (James Arthur) Kjelgaard's papers focus on his work as an author of young adult novels. The collection contains production material for seventeen titles published between 1941 and 1969; several titles were published after the author's death in 1959. The collection also contains production material for one title, Cochise, Chief of Warriors not verified as published. Production materials include typescripts, proofs, notes, front matter, layout notes, and paste-ups with illustrations. The collection also contains a small amount of correspondence.
Part of this collection was originally given to Dr. Irvin Kerlan who in turn donated his collection to the University of Minnesota. Mrs. Jim Kjelgaard gave additional materials to the University of Minnesota between 1970 and 1973.
Collection is non-circulating, in-house use only.
This collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all the necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials.
Prepared by Christina Cowan, March 1999.
This collection was processed with financial assistance from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical/Historical Notes
Jim (James Arthur) Kjelgaard was born December 5, 1910 in New York City. He grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania and later studied for two years at Syracuse University in New York. In 1938 he decided to pursue a career in writing and in 1941 published his first book for young adults, Forest Patrol. The story was based on the wilderness experiences of his brother, a forest ranger, and himself. During the next eighteen years, Jim Kjelgaard wrote many books for young adults, including Big Red in 1945. His stories featured "engaging" animals, "colorful" characters, and "distinctive" settings. Some of his books drew on his own experiences while others were works of historical fiction. The wilderness "either contemporary or historical" served as the "setting for most of Kjelgaard's books," and he researched his settings carefully through travel and reading. Critics and reviewers praised his works for "telling a good story with simplicity" and for "his fine plots and action." In 1957, Jim Kjelgaard received the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Wolf Brother, a story about an Apache Indian warrior who is forced to take refuge with a renegade band. Jim Kjelgaard died on July 12, 1959 in Milwaukee.
Scope and Content Notes
The collection contains production material for seventeen titles published between 1941 and 1969; several titles were published after the author's death in 1959. The collection also contains production material for one title, Cochise, Chief of Warriors not verified as published. Production materials include corrected typescripts, corrected galley and page proofs, a page proof, notes, front matter, layout notes, and paste-ups with illustrations. The collection also contains a small amount of correspondence. The materials are arranged by title with folder and box level control.
See attached inventory for folder and box contents.
Collection Inventory
Cochise, Chief of Warriors [not verified as published]
-Typescript and notes, corrected, incomplete,
72 p.
(M.F. 516, folders 1-2)
-Correspondence [from 1959],
1 p.
(M.F. 516, folder 2)
Coyote Song, 1969
-Typescript, corrected,
104 p.
(M.F. 516, folders 1-2)
-Typescript, corrected,
145 p.
(M.F. 516, folders 3-5)
-Galley proof, corrected,
61 p.
(M.F. 516, folder 6)
-Galley proof,
47 p.
(M.F. 516, folder 7)
Dave and His Dog, 1966
-Typescript, corrected,
167 p.
(M.F. 516, folders 1-3)
The Duck-Footed Hound, 1960
-Typescript, corrected,
149 p.
(M.F. 516, folders 1-3)
Forest Patrol, 1941
-Typescript, corrected,
215 p.
(M.F. 517, folders 1-5)
-Typescript, corrected,
10 p.
(M.F. 517, folder 5)
-Correspondence [from 1941],
4 p.
(M.F. 517, folder 5)
Furious Moose of the Wilderness, 1965
-Typescript, corrected,
165 p.
(M.F. 517, folders 1-3)
Haunt Fox, 1954
-Typescript, corrected,
171 p.
(M.F. 517, folders 1-4)
Hi Jolly, 1959
-Typescript, corrected,
145 p.
(M.F. 517, folders 1-3)
-Promotional material on author for book,
1 p.
(M.F. 517, folder 3)
Lion Hound, 1955
-Typescript, corrected,
239 p.
(M.F. 518, folders 1-5)
The Lost Wagon, 1955
-Typescript, corrected, "Chapters 1-5,"
128 p.
(M.F. 518, folders 1-2)
-Typescript, corrected, "Chapters 6-10,"
183 p.
(M.F. 518, folders 3-5)
-Typescript, corrected, "Chapters 11-13,"
95 p.
(M.F. 518, folders 6-7)
Rescue Dog of the High Pass, 1958
-Typescript, corrected,
97 p.
(M.F. 519, folders 1-2)
-Galley proof, corrected,
86 p.
(M.F. 519, folders 3-4)
-Page proof,
36 p.
(M.F. 519, folder 5)
-Front matter,
10 p.
(M.F. 519, folder 6)
-Layout notes,
9 p.
(M.F. 519, folder 6)
Snow Dog, 1948
-Typescript,
30 p.
(M.F. 519, folder 1)
-Typescript,
9 p.
(M.F. 519, folder 1)
-Typescript, corrected,
181 p.
(M.F. 519, folders 2-5)
-Typescript, corrected,
29 p.
(M.F. 519, folder 6)
-Typescript, corrected,
15 p.
(M.F. 519, folder 6)
-Correspondence,
1 p.
(M.F. 519, folder 6)
The Spell of the White Sturgeon, 1953
-Typescript, corrected,
177 p.
(M.F. 520, folders 1-4)
-Typescript, corrected carbon,
166 p.
(M.F. 520, folders 5-8)
-Front matter,
7 p.
(M.F. 520, folder 1)
The Story of Geronimo, 1958
-Typescript, corrected,
100 p.
(M.F. 520, folders 1-2)
-Typescript, corrected, incomplete,
47 p.
(M.F. 520, folder 3)
-Typescript, corrected carbon,
141 p.
(M.F. 520, folders 4-6)
-Notes,
2 p.
(M.F. 520, folder 7)
-Notes, carbon,
2 p.
(M.F. 520, folder 7)
-Notes, photocopy,
3 p.
(M.F. 520, folder 7)
Swamp Cat, 1957
-Typescript, corrected,
131 p.
(M.F. 521, folders 1-3)
-Front matter,
9 p.
(M.F. 521, folder 3)
-Galley proof, corrected,
61 p.
(M.F. 521, folders 4-5)
-Galley proof, corrected,
51 p.
(M.F. 521, folder 6)
-Layout notes [with illustrations],
7 p.
(M.F. 521, folder 7)
-Page proof, corrected,
45 p.
(M.F. 521, folder 8)
Tigre, 1961
-Typescript, corrected,
160 p.
(M.F. 521, folders 1-4)
-Paste-up [with illustrations,
25 p.
(M.F. 521, folder 5)
Trading Jeff and His Dog, 1956
-Typescript, corrected [revised manuscript],
146 p.
(M.F. 522, folders 1-3)
-Biographical material on author for end paper or jacket,
1 p.
(M.F. 522, folder 3)
We Were There at the Oklahoma Land Run, 1957
-Typescript, corrected carbon,
89 p.
(M.F. 522, folders 1-2)
-Correspondence [from 1956],
1 p.
(M.F. 522, folder 2)
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