Roland Smith

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Roland Smith
Born	November 30, 1951 (1951-11-30) (age 56) Portland, Oregon
Education	Portland State University
Occupation	Author
Spouse	Marie Smith
Children	Bethany, Shawn, and Niki Smith
Parents	--

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Roland Smith (b. November 30, 1951 in Portland, Oregon) is an American author of young adult fiction as well as nonfiction books for children.

Smith graduated from Portland State University and, following a part-time job at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, began a 20-year career as a zookeeper, both at the Oregon Zoo and the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington.^[1] After working to save wildlife following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, in 1990, he published his first book, Sea Otter Rescue, a non-fiction account of the process of animal rescue. Smith continued to draw upon his zoo experiences for other non-fiction titles, including Journey of the Red Wolf, which won an Oregon Book Award in 1996.

In 1997, Smith published his first novel, Thunder Cave. The book continues Smith's animal themes, as teenage protagonist Jacob Lansa follows his biologist father to Africa where the father is researching elephants. The Lansa character also appears in 1999's Jaguar and 2001's The Last Lobo.

Other novels by Smith include The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe, Zach's Lie, Cryptid Hunters, and his most recent, Peak, the story of a teenage boy obsessed with climbing mountains. Smith's books have won "Book of the Year" awards in Colorado, Nevada, South Carolina, and Florida, as well as in his native Oregon.^{[2] [1]}

He lives in Tualatin, Oregon with his wife and stepchildren.^[1]

Contents 1 Books Written 2 Honors and awards 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Books Written

Non-Fiction Books
Series	Title	Publisher	Publish Date	Notes
Millbrook Books	Snakes In The Zoo	Millbrook Press	(October 1, 1992)
Millbrook Books	Primates In The Zoo	Millbrook Press	(October 1, 1992)
Millbrook Books	Whales, Dolphins, Porpoises	Millbrook Press	(October 1, 1994)
Millbrook Books	Cats In The Zoo	Millbrook Press	(October 1, 1994)
	Journey of the Red Wolf	Dutton Juvenile	(April 1st, 1996)
Inside the Zoo Nursery	Vultures	Lerner Publications	(November 1997)
Inside the Zoo Nursery	Arican Elephants	Gulliver Books Paperbacks	(March 15, 1998)
	In The Forest With Elephants	Gulliver Green; 1st ed edition	(March, 1998)
	Sea Otter Rescue: The Aftermath of an Oil Spill	Puffin	(November 1, 1999)
Fiction Books
Series	Title	Publisher	Publish Date	Notes
	Amy's Missing	B Y L S Press; 1 edition	(April 1996)
Jacob Lansa Series	Thunder Cave	Hyperion	(April 1, 1997)
Jacob Lansa Series	Jaguar	Hyperion	(February 3, 1999)
	Sasquatch	Hyperion	(September 25, 1999)
	The Captain's Dog	Harcourt Paperbacks	(August 1, 2000)
Jacob Lansa Series	The Last Lobo	Hyperion	(July 23, 2001)
Zach Granger Series	Zach's Lie	Hyperion	(April 28, 2003)
Alphabet Series	B is for Beaver: An Oregon Alphabet Book	Sleeping Bear Press; 1 edition	(Spetember 12, 2003)
Alphabet Series	E is for Evergreen: A Washington State Alphabet Book	Sleeping Bear Press; 1 edition	(August 20th, 2004)
	Cryptid Hunters	Hyperion; 1 edition	(December 27, 2004)
Alphabet Series	Z is for Zookeeper: A Zoo Alphabet Book	Sleeping Bear Press; 1 edition	(April 1, 2005)
Alphabet Series	N is for Our Nation's Capitol: A Washington D.C Alphabet Book	Sleeping Bear Press; 1 edition	(April 15, 2005)
Zach Granger Series	Jack's Run	Hyperion	(March 27, 2007)
	Peak	Harcourt Children's Books	(May 1, 2007)
	Elephant Run	Hyperion; 1 edition	(September 25, 2007)

[edit] Honors and awards

• Sea Otter Rescue
  • 1990: Outstanding Trade Books for Children designation, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Book

• Thunder Cave
  • 1996: Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, and Notable Books for a Global Society, Children's Literature Reading Specialist Interest Group of the International Reading Association (IRA)
  • 1998: Young Readers Choice Award nomination

• Journey of the Red Wolf
  • 1997: Notable Science Trade Books for Children, National Science Teachers Association/Children's Book Council (CBC), Children's Choices list, IRA/CBC

• Jaguar
  • 1998: IRA Children's Choice Award
  • 1999: IRA Young Adult Choice, Bank Street College of Education Children's Books of the Year designation
  • 2000: Nebraska Golden Sower Award, Florida Sunshine Book Award, Jason Project Novel of the Year

• Sasquatch
  • 1999: Young Adult Library Services Association honor, American Library Association Top-Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant YA Readers List, Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year designation

• In the Forest with the Elephants
  • 1999: Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year designation, Children's Literature Choice List

• The Captain's Dog
  • 1999: Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Children's Book Award
  • 2002: Beacon of Freedom Award;

• Zach's Lie
  • 2003-04: Mark Twain Book Award,
  • 2004-05: Maud Hart Lovelace Award, Nevada Young Readers Award, North Dakota Flickertail Award

• Jack's Run
  • 2007-08: Mark Twain Book Award

• nominations for numerous state reading awards.^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Roland Smith's home page
• Interview with Roland Smith from Scholastic.com