Glen Rounds facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Glen Rounds
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| Born | April 4, 1906 Wall, South Dakota |
| Died | September 27, 2002 (aged 96) Pinehurst, North Carolina |
| Occupation | Writer and illustrator |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Kansas City Art Institute; Art Students League of New York |
| Period | 1936–1999 |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Notable works | Ol' Paul, the Mighty Logger |
| Notable awards |
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| Spouses |
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| Children | William |
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Glen Harold Rounds (born April 4, 1906 – died September 27, 2002) was an amazing American writer and artist. He wrote and drew pictures for over 100 books during his career, which lasted more than 60 years! He also won over 25 awards for his work.
Contents
Glen Rounds' Early Life
Glen Rounds was born in a unique house made of sod (grass and dirt) in Wall, South Dakota in 1906. This area is known as the South Dakota Badlands. When he was just one year old, his family moved to Montana in a covered wagon. He grew up on a ranch there.
As a young person, Glen had many different jobs. He worked as a baker, a cook, and even a sign painter. He was also a sawmill worker, a cowboy, and a logger. He even worked as a "medicine man" at a carnival!
Becoming an Artist
Glen loved art from a young age. He often sketched people and scenes from his daily life. He studied painting and drawing at the Kansas City Art Institute from 1926 to 1927. Later, he went to the Art Students League of New York from 1930 to 1931.
During his art training, he spent a summer traveling through the Western United States. He went with Jackson Pollock, who was another art student, and Thomas Hart Benton, their teacher. Both Glen and Jackson even posed as models for one of Benton's paintings!
In the early 1930s, Glen visited many publishers in New York City. He wanted to find work as an illustrator. People at the publishing companies noticed his talent. One person described him as a "young, footloose westerner" with a great eye for detail and a lively drawing style.
Writing and Illustrating Career
As Glen tried to get work as an artist, he also became known as a great storyteller. Editors at publishing houses eventually told him to write his own stories so he could illustrate them. This led to his first book, Ol' Paul, the Mighty Logger, published in 1936. This book was a collection of Paul Bunyan stories, which Glen later admitted he mostly made up!
Ol' Paul, the Mighty Logger was a huge success. Reviewers loved the strong drawings and the "homespun look" of the book. After this success, Glen always had plenty of work. He wrote and illustrated his own books, and he also drew pictures for other authors' books for the rest of his life.
Glen wrote many different kinds of books, both fiction and non-fiction. All of his books were for children and young adults. In The Blind Colt (1941), he created a character named Whitey, a young Montana cowboy. Whitey appeared in eleven books between 1941 and 1963. Another character, Mr. Yowder, was a traveling sign painter. He was featured in six books in the 1970s and 1980s.
Many of Glen's books showed his love for nature. He wrote about the wildlife and environment of the Great Plains, where he grew up. He also wrote about North Carolina, where he lived later in life.
One reviewer, Pat Parker, explained why Glen's stories were so appealing. She said he drew people and animals surrounded by space. This showed how small humans can feel in a huge land. But he also added funny touches that made his drawings feel real.
Later in his career, Glen had arthritis in his right arm. By 1989, it was too painful for him to draw with that hand. So, at 83 years old, Glen taught himself to draw with his left hand! He kept working as an illustrator. Even his last book, Beavers (1999), received praise. A reviewer said it was a great example of how to share a lot of information in clear, simple sentences. His drawings were even compared to a beaver building a dam – seeming simple at first, but amazing when finished.
Awards and Honors
Glen Rounds won more than 25 awards for his writing and illustrations. His first book, Ol' Paul, the Mighty Logger, was one of the first books to win the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958. Other books by Glen won this award again in 1960, 1969, 1973, 1976, and 1978.
He also received the Kerlan Award for children's literature in 1980. In 1981, he won the North Carolina Award for literature. Other honors include the Parents' Choice Award and The New York Times Outstanding Book Award.
In 2002, the year he passed away, Glen was honored by the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame. They called him "the last of the great 'Ring-Tailed Roarers'".
Personal Life
Glen Rounds served in the United States Army from 1941 to 1945 during World War II. He was a staff sergeant.
Glen was married three times. He passed away on September 27, 2002, in Pinehurst, North Carolina, at the age of 96. He was survived by his son, William, and two granddaughters.
