He found work designing heating and ventilating equipment, switchboards for submarines, and window and interior displays for Macy's and Bloomingdale's.
He then went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he began a yearlong journey on a houseboat down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico.
The Augustus series of books takes place along the Mississippi, based on this trip down the river.
Le Grand is best known for his folklore series (9 books, including Cap'n Dow and the Hole in the Doughnut[2] and Cats for Kansas)[3] for children 4 - 8.
[4] He is also known for his Augustus series (12 books) depicting the country-wide adventures of a "Huck Finn"-type lad, for children 8 - 12.