James Arthur Kjelgaard (December 6, 1910 – July 12, 1959)[1] was an American author of young adult literature.
He and his siblings lived on a seven hundred and fifty acre farm in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania during his childhood.
He was brought to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, where his problem was diagnosed as a tumor but he did not have to have surgery at the time.
Kjelgaard also wrote short fiction for several magazines, including The Saturday Evening Post, Argosy, and Adventure.
[3] After suffering for several years from chronic pain and depression,[4] in 1959 Kjelgaard committed suicide at the age of 48.