James Otis Kaler


James Otis Kaler was an American journalist and author of children’s literature. He wrote under the name James Otis.

Life and career

Kaler was born on March 19, 1848, in Winterport, Maine. He attended public schools, then got a job with the Boston Journal at 13, and three years later was providing coverage of the American Civil War. Later, he worked as a journalist or editor for various newspapers, superintendent at schools, and a publicity man at a circus.
In 1880 he wrote his first, and still most famous, children's book, Toby Tyler; or, Ten Weeks with a Circus, a story about an orphan who runs away to join the circus. Following the book's success, he went on to author numerous other children's books, mostly historical and adventure novels. Like most writers of his era, he was astonishingly prolific, and a total of nearly 200 books by him have been identified. Most were signed with the Otis name, but he also used the pen names Walter Morris, Lt. James K. Orton, Harry Prentice, and Amy Prentice.
After spending several years in the southeastern states, he returned to Maine in 1898 to become the first superintendent of schools in South Portland. A school named in his honor still stands in that city.
He married Amy L. Scamman on March 19 of that year, and they had two sons, Stephen and Otis.
Kaler died of uremia on December 11, 1912, in Portland, Maine.

List of his works

Boy Spies series

  1. With Lafayette at Yorktown: A Story of How Two Boys Joined the Continental Army
  2. With Washington at Monmouth: A Story of Three Philadelphia Boys
  3. With Warren At Bunker Hill: A Story of the Siege of Boston
  4. Morgan, the Jersey Spy: A Story of the Siege of Yorktown in 1781
  5. With the Swamp Fox: A Story of General Marion’s Young Spies
  6. A Tory Plot: A Story of the Attempt to Kill General Washington in 1776
  7. The Defense of Fort Henry: A Story of Wheeling Creek in 1777
  8. With the Regulators: A Story of North Carolina in 1768
  9. At the Siege of Detroit: A Story of Two Ohio Boys in the War of 1812
  10. ''Commodore Barney's Young Spies: A Boy’s Story of the Burning of the City of Washington''

Navy Boys series

  1. The Capture of the Laughing Mary: A Story of Three New York Boys in 1776
  2. Amos Dunkle, Oarsman
  3. At the Siege of Havana: The Experience of Three Boys Serving Under Israel Putnam in 1762
  4. A Cruise with John Paul Jones: A Story of Naval Warfare in 1778
  5. Afloat in Freedom's Cause: The Story of Two Boys in the War of 1812, as Told by Ezra Brownrigg
  6. The Cruise of the Pickering: A Boy’s Story of Privateering in 1780
  7. ''With Grant at Vicksburg: A Boy’s Story of the Siege of Vicksburg''

Minute Boys series

  1. The Minute Boys of the Green Mountains
  2. The Minute Boys of the Mohawk Valley
  3. The Minute Boys of the Wyoming Valley
  4. The Minute Boys of South Carolina: A Story of How we Boys Aided Marion, the Swamp Fox
  5. The Minute Boys of Long Island: A Story of New York in 1776
  6. The Minute Boys of New York City
  7. The Minute Boys of Boston
  8. The Minute Boys of Philadelphia
  9. ''The Minute Boys of Yorktown''

American Book Company series

  1. Calvert of Maryland: A Story of Lord Baltimore's Colony
  2. Mary of Plymouth: A Story of the Pilgrim Settlement
  3. Peter of New Amsterdam: A Story of Old New York
  4. Richard of Jamestown: A Story of the Virginia Colony
  5. Ruth of Boston: A Story of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
  6. Stephen of Philadelphia: A Story of the Penn's Colony
  7. Hannah of Kentucky: A Story of the Wilderness Road
  8. Benjamin of Ohio: A Story of the Settlement of Marietta
  9. Seth of Colorado: A Story of the Settlement of Denver
  10. Antoine of Oregon: A Story of the Oregon Trail
  11. Martha of California: A Story of the California Trail
  12. ''Philip of Texas: A Story of Sheep Raising in Texas''

Other historical novels

  1. Ezra Jordan's Escape from the Massacre at Fort Loyall
  2. Neal the Miller, a Son of Liberty
  3. An Island Refuge: Casco Bay in 1676
  4. The Boys of 1745 at the Capture of Louisbourg
  5. Under the Liberty Tree: A Story of the Boston Massacre
  6. At the Siege of Quebec
  7. The Boys of Fort Schuyler
  8. The Signal Boys of ‘75: A Tale of Boston During the Siege
  9. Sarah Dillard's Ride: A Story of the Carolinas in 1780
  10. The Boys of '98
  11. The Charming Sally, Privateer Schooner of New York: A Tale of 1765
  12. The Cruise of the Comet: A Story of a Privateer of 1812 Sailing From Baltimore
  13. When Israel Putnam Served the King
  14. A Traitor's Escape: A Story of the Attempt to Seize Benedict Arnold After He Had Fled to New York
  15. Captain Tom, the Privateersman of the Armed Brig Chasseur
  16. Corporal ‘Lige's Recruit: A Story of Crown Point and Ticonderoga
  17. With Perry On Lake Erie: A Tale of 1812
  18. When Dewey Went to Manila, or, Among the Filipinos
  19. Off Santiago With Sampson
  20. Boston Boys of 1775, or When We Besieged Boston
  21. The Armed Ship America, or When We Sailed from Salem
  22. On the Kentucky Frontier: A Story of the Fighting Pioneers of the West
  23. With Preble at Tripoli: A Story of "Old Ironsides" and the Tripolitan War
  24. When We Destroyed the Gaspee: A Story of Narragansett Bay in 1772
  25. With Porter in the Essex: A Story of His Famous Cruise in Southern Waters During the War of 1812
  26. Our Uncle the Major: A Story of New York in 1765
  27. How the Twins Captured a Hessian: A Story of Long Island in 1776
  28. The Cruise of the Enterprise: Being a Story of the Struggle and Defeat of the French Privateering Expeditions Against the United States in 1779
  29. With Rodgers on the President: The Story of the Cruise Wherein the Flagship Fired the First Hostile Shot in the War with Great Britain for the Rights of American Seamen
  30. Across the Delaware: A Boy's Story of the Battle of Trenton in 1777
  31. Defending the Island: A Story of Bar Harbor in 1758
  32. Dorothy’s Spy: A Story of the First Fourth of July Celebration
  33. When Washington Served the King: A Boy’s Story of Border Warfare in 1754
  34. With Porter in the Essex
  35. With Sherman to the Sea: A Boy’s Story of General Sherman’s Famous March and Capture of Savannah
  36. True Adventure Tales from American History in the Stirring Days of the Revolution
  37. True Sea Tales from American History )

Silver Fox Farm series

  1. The Wireless Station at Silver Fox Farm
  2. The Aeroplane at Silver Fox Farm
  3. Building an Airship at Silver Fox Farm
  4. ''Airship Cruising From Silver Fox Farm''

Toby Tyler trilogy

  1. Toby Tyler; or, Ten Weeks with a Circus
  2. Mr. Stubbs' Brother
  3. ''Old Ben, The Friend of Toby Tyler and Mr Stubb's Brother''

Tommy duo

  1. How Tommy Saved the Barn
  2. ''Christmas at Deacon Hackett's: A Sequel to How Tommy Saved the Barn''

School stories

  1. Bob Porter at Lakeview Academy
  2. Reuben Green's Adventures at Yale
  3. ''Tom Dexter Goes to School''

Stories of New York life

  1. In Bottle Alley: A Story of Real Life in New York City
  2. Left Behind, or Ten Days a Newsboy
  3. Josiah in New York, or, A Coupon from the Fresh Air Fund
  4. Jenny Wren's Boarding House: A Story of Newsboy Life in New York
  5. The Boys' Revolt: A Story of the Street Arabs of New York
  6. Jerry's Family: A Story of a Street Waif of New York
  7. ''Teddy and Carrots, Two Merchants of Newspaper Row''

Other works of fiction

  1. After Dark in Boston: A Working Girl's Faith and Fate
  2. Tim and Tip, or, The Adventures of a Boy and a Dog
  3. The Clown's Protege
  4. Raising the Pearl
  5. An Emperor's Son
  6. The Roaring Lions, or The Famous Club of Ashbury
  7. A Monkey Kingdom; or, Ninety Days in Apeland
  8. Silent Pete, or The Stowaways
  9. The Castaways, or On the Florida Reefs
  10. Little Joe
  11. A Runaway Brig, or An Accidental Cruise
  12. The Treasure-Finders: A Boy’s Adventures in Nicaragua
  13. The Braganza Diamond
  14. Jack the Hunchback
  15. An Unprovoked Mutiny
  16. The Search for the Silver City: A Tale of Adventure in Yucatán
  17. The Adventures of a Country Boy at a Country Fair
  18. Dick in the Desert
  19. Chasing a Yacht, or The Theft of the Gem
  20. Jinny and His Partners
  21. Andy's Ward, or The International Museum
  22. Wood Island Light; or, Ned Sanford’s Refuge
  23. The Boy Captain, or From Forecastle to Cabin
  24. Wrecked on Spider Island, or, How Ned Rogers Found the Treasure
  25. On Schedule Time
  26. Admiral J. of Spurwink
  27. A Short Cruise
  28. The Wreck of the Circus
  29. Joel Harford
  30. An Amateur Fireman
  31. Dick in the Desert
  32. A District Message Boy and a Necktie Party
  33. The Princess and Joe Potter
  34. Telegraph Tom's Venture
  35. Chased Through Norway, or Two Million Dollars Missing
  36. Wheeling for Fortune
  37. The Life Savers: A Story of the United States Life-Saving Service
  38. Down the Slope
  39. Messenger #48
  40. Aunt Hannah and Seth: A Story of Some People and a Dog
  41. Larry Hudson's Ambition
  42. Inland Waterways, or The Cruise of the Restless
  43. The Lobster Catchers
  44. The Treasure of Cocos Island
  45. Wan Lun and Dandy. The Story of a Chinese Boy and a Dog
  46. With the Treasure-Hunters: A Story of the Florida Cays
  47. Joey at the Fair
  48. The Light Keepers: A Story of the United States Light-House Service
  49. Among the Fur Traders
  50. Aboard the Hylow on Sable Island Bank
  51. The Wreck of the Ocean Queen: A Story of the Sea
  52. The Cruise of the Phoebe: A Story of Lobster Buying on the Eastern Coast
  53. Two Stowaways Aboard the Ellen Maria
  54. The Sarah Jane, Dickey Dalton, Captain: a Story of Tugboating in Portland Harbor
  55. Found by the Circus
  56. The Cruise of the Sally D.
  57. Adventures in Mexico
  58. Boy Scouts in the Maine Woods
  59. The Camp on Indian Island
  60. Hunting in Africa
  61. "Wanted," and Other Stories
  62. Trapping in the Tropics; or, Adventures on the Great Amazon
  63. The Wreck of the Princess
  64. The Cruise of the Sprite
  65. Ralph Gurney's Oil Speculation
  66. Roy Barton's Adventures on the Mexican Border
  67. Boy Scouts in a Lumber Camp
  68. "Across the Range," and Other Stories
  69. ''The Club at Crow's Corner''

Nonfiction

  1. The Story of American Heroism
  2. The Life of John Paul Jones
  3. Fighting for the Empire: The Story of the War in South Africa
  4. The Story of Old Falmouth
  5. The Story of Pemaquid
  6. ''Geography of Maine''

As by Lt. James K. Orton

  1. The Secret Chart; or, Treasure Hunting in Hayti
  2. Last Chance Mine; or, Dale Wrightman’s Pluck
  3. Beach-Boy Joe, or Among the Life-Savers
  4. ''Tom Havens with the White Squadron''

As by Amy Prentice

  1. Billy Goat's Story
  2. The Brown Owl's Story
  3. Bunny Rabbit's Story
  4. Croaky Frog's Story
  5. Frisky Squirrel's Story
  6. Gray Goose's Story
  7. Mouser Cat's Story
  8. Plodding Turtle's Story
  9. Quacky Duck's Story
  10. ''Towser Dog's Story''

As by Harry Prentice

  1. Ben Burton, the Slate-Picker
  2. The King of Apeland: The Wonderful Adventures of a Young Animal-Trainer
  3. Captured by Zulus: A Story of Trapping in Africa
  4. Captured by Apes; or, How Philip Garland Became King of Apeland
  5. ''The Boy Explorers, or The Adventures of Two Boys in Alaska''