30 November 1951 |
|Education||Portland State University|
Early life and education
Roland Smith was born in Portland, Oregon, and 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. 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 theme, as teenage protagonist Jacob Lansa follows his biologist father to Africa where the father is researching elephants. Lansa is also seen in 1999's Jaguar and 2001's The Last Lobo, as well as "Tentacles", the sequel to "Cryptid Hunters".
I, Q book series
- I, Q Book One: Independence Hall (2008)
- I, Q Book Two: The White House (2010)
- I, Q Book Three: Kitty Hawk (2012)
- I, Q Book Four: The Alamo (2013)
Marty and Grace series
Other novels written by Smith include:
- The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe
- Zach's Lie
- Jack's Run
- Sasquatch (novel), about a boy who searches for Bigfoot
- Peak, the story of a teenage boy obsessed with climbing mountains
- Elephant Run
- Shatterproof - fourth book in the The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers series
- B is for Beavers - Oregon alphabet book
- Storm Runners series
Smith's books have won "Book of the Year" awards in Colorado, Nevada, South Carolina, and Florida, as well as in his native Oregon. Peak won the 2007 National Outdoor Book Award (Children's Category).