ROUNDS, Glen (Harold) 1906-2002

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born April 4, 1906, near Wall, SD; died September 27, 2002, in Pinehurst, NC. Author and illustrator. Rounds was the author and illustrator of over fifty books for children and young adults, often drawing on his early life growing up in Montana in the early twentieth century. During his early career, he worked various jobs ranging from cowboy and railroad hand to baker, carnival medicine man, and textile designer. His interest in art led him to attend the Kansas City Art Institute from 1926 to 1927 and the Art Student's League in New York City in 1930 and 1931. Rounds began approaching publishers with his work in the mid-1930s, and his tenacity eventually paid off with his first collection of original tall tales about Paul Bunyan, Ol' Paul, the Mighty Logger (1936). This was followed by dozens of other fiction and nonfiction works that were often about frontier life, including the "Whitey" series about a young cowboy, the tall-tale series featuring his character Mr. Yowder, and nature books such as WildOrphan (1961) and The Beaver: How He Works (1976). After contracting severe arthritis in his right arm in 1989, Rounds learned to draw with his left hand and continued to write and illustrate books, including his most recent works, Sod Houses on the Great Plains (1995) and Beaver (1999). In addition to his own books, Rounds also illustrated the works of other authors such as Vance Randolph, Wilson Gage, Jane Yolen, and Eric A. Kimmel.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

books

St. James Guide to Children's Writers, fifth edition, St. James (Detroit, MI), 1999.

Writers Directory, 17th edition, St. James (Detroit, MI), 2002.

periodicals

Los Angeles Times, September 30, 2002, p. B9.

New York Times, September 28, 2002, p. B15.

Washington Post, September 30, 2002, p. B4.