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 went on to work 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

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

    Minute Boys series

  18. The Minute Boys of the Green Mountains
  19. The Minute Boys of the Mohawk Valley
  20. The Minute Boys of the Wyoming Valley
  21. The Minute Boys of South Carolina: A Story of How we Boys Aided Marion, the Swamp Fox
  22. The Minute Boys of Long Island: A Story of New York in 1776
  23. The Minute Boys of New York City
  24. The Minute Boys of Boston
  25. The Minute Boys of Philadelphia

    American Book Company series

  26. Calvert of Maryland: A Story of Lord Baltimore's Colony
  27. Mary of Plymouth: A Story of the Pilgrim Settlement
  28. Peter of New Amsterdam: A Story of Old New York
  29. Richard of Jamestown: A Story of the Virginia Colony
  30. Ruth of Boston: A Story of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
  31. Stephen of Philadelphia: A Story of the Penn's Colony
  32. Hannah of Kentucky: A Story of the Wilderness Road
  33. Benjamin of Ohio: A Story of the Settlement of Marietta
  34. Seth of Colorado: A Story of the Settlement of Denver
  35. Antoine of Oregon: A Story of the Oregon Trail
  36. Martha of California: A Story of the California Trail
  37. Philip of Texas: A Story of Sheep Raising in Texas

    Other historical novels

  38. Ezra Jordan's Escape from the Massacre at Fort Loyall
  39. Neal the Miller, a Son of Liberty
  40. An Island Refuge: Casco Bay in 1676
  41. The Boys of 1745 at the Capture of Louisbourg
  42. Under the Liberty Tree: A Story of the Boston Massacre
  43. At the Siege of Quebec
  44. The Boys of Fort Schuyler
  45. The Signal Boys of ‘75: A Tale of Boston During the Siege
  46. Sarah Dillard's Ride: A Story of the Carolinas in 1780
  47. The Boys of '98
  48. The Charming Sally, Privateer Schooner of New York: A Tale of 1765
  49. The Cruise of the Comet: A Story of a Privateer of 1812 Sailing From Baltimore
  50. When Israel Putnam Served the King
  51. A Traitor's Escape: A Story of the Attempt to Seize Benedict Arnold After He Had Fled to New York
  52. Captain Tom, the Privateersman of the Armed Brig Chasseur
  53. Corporal ‘Lige's Recruit: A Story of Crown Point and Ticonderoga
  54. With Perry On Lake Erie: A Tale of 1812
  55. When Dewey Went to Manila, or, Among the Filipinos
  56. Off Santiago With Sampson
  57. Boston Boys of 1775, or When We Besieged Boston
  58. The Armed Ship America, or When We Sailed from Salem
  59. On the Kentucky Frontier: A Story of the Fighting Pioneers of the West
  60. With Preble at Tripoli: A Story of "Old Ironsides" and the Tripolitan War
  61. When We Destroyed the Gaspee: A Story of Narragansett Bay in 1772
  62. With Porter in the Essex: A Story of His Famous Cruise in Southern Waters During the War of 1812
  63. Our Uncle the Major: A Story of New York in 1765
  64. How the Twins Captured a Hessian: A Story of Long Island in 1776
  65. The Cruise of the Enterprise: Being a Story of the Struggle and Defeat of the French Privateering Expeditions Against the United States in 1779
  66. 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
  67. Across the Delaware: A Boy's Story of the Battle of Trenton in 1777
  68. Defending the Island: A Story of Bar Harbor in 1758
  69. Dorothy’s Spy: A Story of the First Fourth of July Celebration
  70. When Washington Served the King: A Boy’s Story of Border Warfare in 1754
  71. With Porter in the Essex
  72. With Sherman to the Sea: A Boy’s Story of General Sherman’s Famous March and Capture of Savannah
  73. True Adventure Tales from American History in the Stirring Days of the Revolution
  74. True Sea Tales from American History )

    Silver Fox Farm series

  75. The Wireless Station at Silver Fox Farm
  76. The Aeroplane at Silver Fox Farm
  77. Building an Airship at Silver Fox Farm
  78. Airship Cruising From Silver Fox Farm

    Toby Tyler trilogy

  79. Toby Tyler; or, Ten Weeks with a Circus
  80. Mr. Stubbs' Brother
  81. Old Ben, The Friend of Toby Tyler and Mr Stubb's Brother

    Tommy duo

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

    School stories

  84. Bob Porter at Lakeview Academy
  85. Reuben Green's Adventures at Yale
  86. Tom Dexter Goes to School

    Stories of New York life

  87. In Bottle Alley: A Story of Real Life in New York City
  88. Left Behind, or Ten Days a Newsboy
  89. Josiah in New York, or, A Coupon from the Fresh Air Fund
  90. Jenny Wren's Boarding House: A Story of Newsboy Life in New York
  91. The Boys' Revolt: A Story of the Street Arabs of New York
  92. Jerry's Family: A Story of a Street Waif of New York
  93. Teddy and Carrots, Two Merchants of Newspaper Row

    Other works of fiction

  94. After Dark in Boston: A Working Girl's Faith and Fate
  95. Tim and Tip, or, The Adventures of a Boy and a Dog
  96. The Clown's Protege
  97. Raising the Pearl
  98. An Emperor's Son
  99. The Roaring Lions, or The Famous Club of Ashbury
  100. A Monkey Kingdom; or, Ninety Days in Apeland
  101. Silent Pete, or The Stowaways
  102. The Castaways, or On the Florida Reefs
  103. Little Joe
  104. A Runaway Brig, or An Accidental Cruise
  105. The Treasure-Finders: A Boy’s Adventures in Nicaragua
  106. The Braganza Diamond
  107. Jack the Hunchback
  108. An Unprovoked Mutiny
  109. The Search for the Silver City: A Tale of Adventure in Yucatán
  110. The Adventures of a Country Boy at a Country Fair
  111. Dick in the Desert
  112. Chasing a Yacht, or The Theft of the Gem
  113. Jinny and His Partners
  114. Andy's Ward, or The International Museum
  115. Wood Island Light; or, Ned Sanford’s Refuge
  116. The Boy Captain, or From Forecastle to Cabin
  117. Wrecked on Spider Island, or, How Ned Rogers Found the Treasure
  118. On Schedule Time
  119. Admiral J. of Spurwink
  120. A Short Cruise
  121. The Wreck of the Circus
  122. Joel Harford
  123. An Amateur Fireman
  124. Dick in the Desert
  125. A District Message Boy and a Necktie Party
  126. The Princess and Joe Potter
  127. Telegraph Tom's Venture
  128. Chased Through Norway, or Two Million Dollars Missing
  129. Wheeling for Fortune
  130. The Life Savers: A Story of the United States Life-Saving Service
  131. Down the Slope
  132. Messenger #48
  133. Aunt Hannah and Seth: A Story of Some People and a Dog
  134. Larry Hudson's Ambition
  135. Inland Waterways, or The Cruise of the Restless
  136. The Lobster Catchers
  137. The Treasure of Cocos Island
  138. Wan Lun and Dandy. The Story of a Chinese Boy and a Dog
  139. With the Treasure-Hunters: A Story of the Florida Cays
  140. Joey at the Fair
  141. The Light Keepers: A Story of the United States Light-House Service
  142. Among the Fur Traders
  143. Aboard the Hylow on Sable Island Bank
  144. The Wreck of the Ocean Queen: A Story of the Sea
  145. The Cruise of the Phoebe: A Story of Lobster Buying on the Eastern Coast
  146. Two Stowaways Aboard the Ellen Maria
  147. The Sarah Jane, Dickey Dalton, Captain: a Story of Tugboating in Portland Harbor
  148. Found by the Circus
  149. The Cruise of the Sally D.
  150. Adventures in Mexico
  151. Boy Scouts in the Maine Woods
  152. The Camp on Indian Island
  153. Hunting in Africa
  154. "Wanted," and Other Stories
  155. Trapping in the Tropics; or, Adventures on the Great Amazon
  156. The Wreck of the Princess
  157. The Cruise of the Sprite
  158. Ralph Gurney's Oil Speculation
  159. Roy Barton's Adventures on the Mexican Border
  160. Boy Scouts in a Lumber Camp
  161. "Across the Range," and Other Stories
  162. The Club at Crow's Corner

    Nonfiction

  163. The Story of American Heroism
  164. The Life of John Paul Jones
  165. Fighting for the Empire: The Story of the War in South Africa
  166. The Story of Old Falmouth
  167. The Story of Pemaquid
  168. Geography of Maine

    As by Lt. James K. Orton

  169. The Secret Chart; or, Treasure Hunting in Hayti
  170. Last Chance Mine; or, Dale Wrightman’s Pluck
  171. Beach-Boy Joe, or Among the Life-Savers
  172. Tom Havens with the White Squadron

    As by Amy Prentice

  173. Billy Goat's Story
  174. The Brown Owl's Story
  175. Bunny Rabbit's Story
  176. Croaky Frog's Story
  177. Frisky Squirrel's Story
  178. Gray Goose's Story
  179. Mouser Cat's Story
  180. Plodding Turtle's Story
  181. Quacky Duck's Story
  182. Towser Dog's Story

    As by Harry Prentice

  183. Ben Burton, the Slate-Picker
  184. The King of Apeland: The Wonderful Adventures of a Young Animal-Trainer
  185. Captured by Zulus: A Story of Trapping in Africa
  186. Captured by Apes; or, How Philip Garland Became King of Apeland
  187. The Boy Explorers, or The Adventures of Two Boys in Alaska