Under a variety of pseudonyms, many shared with other authors, he wrote and cowrote more than 70 books for children, including in the Hardy Boys, Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, and Honey Bunch series.
He wrote the series The Happy Hollisters using the pseudonym Jerry West and The Tolliver Family as Alan Stone.
At the News, Svenson became a very close friend of writer Howard R. Garis, author of the Uncle Wiggily children's book series.
By his death in 1975, he had become a full partner in the Syndicate and had shaped the course of multiple children's book series during three challenging decades.
[2] Svenson originated and wrote three children's book series, The Happy Hollisters, The Tolliver Family, and Brett King.
The early books written in the 1920s and 1930s reflected the social era in which they were created; by today's standards, they have many racial stereotypes.
Adams chose Svenson for this series based on his family life, and his contributions to the community; she wanted an author who could create more modern, wholesome Hardy Boys.
Many readers had complained about racial stereotypes in the older volumes, and under pressure from the publishing company, Harriet Adams agreed to a massive re-writing project to update the series.