James Otis Kaler
James Otis Kaler (March 19, 1848 — December 11, 1912) was an American journalist and author of children’s literature. He used the pen name James Otis.
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[edit] Life and career
Kaler was born on March 19, 1848, in Winterport, Maine. He attended public schools during his childhood. Kaler got a job with the Boston Journal when he was in his teens. Later, he went on to work as a journalist or editor for various newspapers, superintendent at schools, and a publicity man at a circus.[1]
In 1880, under the pen name James Otis, he authored his first children’s book, Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus, a story about an orphan who runs away to join the circus. Following the book's success he went on to author numerous other children’s books.
After spending several years in the southeastern states, he returned to Maine to become the first superintendent in South Portland.[2] Kaler married Amy L. Scamman on March 19, 1898, and, together, they had two children named Stephen and Otis. Kaler died of uremia on December 11, 1912, in Portland, Maine.[1]
[edit] Books
- Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1880)
- Tim and Tip (1880)
- Left Behind (1882)
- Raising the Pearl (1883)
- Mr. Stubb’s Brother (1883; sequel to Toby Tyler)
- Silent Pete (1885)
- The Castaways
- A Runaway Brig; or, An Accidental Cruise (1888)
- The Adventures of a Country Boy at a Country Fair (1893)
- The Boy Spies at the Defense of Fort Henry
- The Boy Spies at the Battle of Bunker Hill
- The Boy Spies at the Siege of Detroit
- The Boy Spies With Lafayette
- The Boy Spies on the Chesapeake Bay
- The Boy Spies With the Regulators (1901)
- The Boy Spies With the Swamp Fox
- The Boy Spies at Yorktown
- The Boy Spies of Philadelphia
- The Boy Spies of Old New York
- When Washington Served the King published by A.L. Burt Company 1905
- Morgan the Jersey Spy
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b Lost Classic Books Author Bio Page, James Otis (last accessed 1 September 2007)
- ^ South Portland Public, James Otis Kaler Collection. (last accessed 1 September 2007)
[edit] External links
- Works by or about James Otis Kaler in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Works by James Otis at Internet Archive (original edition scanned books illustrated color)
- Original edition scanned books with illustrations at Google Books
- Works by James Otis at Project Gutenberg (plain text and HTML)
"Kaler, James Otis". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1892.- James Otis (Kaler), a site devoted to Kaler and his work
