Authors and Books
for Children

From Stratemeyer to Uncle Wiggily: Howard R. Garis Etexts

If you aren't familiar with the Uncle Wiggily stories, you might not remember the name Howard R. Garis, but chances are you know his books. Garis was one of the most amazingly prolific of the Stratemeyer Syndicate ghostwriters, who entertained a generation of children and changed the face of popular juvenile literature.

As Victor Appleton writing about Tom Swift and his fabulous inventions, as Laura Lee Hope detailing the adventures of the Bobbsey Twins and the Six Little Bunkers, as Lester Chadwick telling the stories of Baseball Joe, as Roy Rockwood penning the Great Marvel series, as Clarence Young taking readers on journeys with the Motor Boys, Garis created or contributed to innumerable series and was responsible for hundreds upon hundreds of children's books--and his wife, Lilian C. Garis, and their children, Roger and Cleo, churned out books for Stratemeyer as well. (For more about Lilian C. Garis, see Stratemeyer's Other Garis Ghost: Lilian C. Garis Etexts.)


He is most famous for a series of stories he wrote under his own name: the enduring Uncle Wiggily Longears series, starring a pink-nosed, elderly gentleman bunny and featuring such other characters as Baby Bunty, Skillery Scallery Alligator, and Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy; the Uncle Wiggily stories are still being read by children today, and the Uncle Wiggily game is still available.

Most of Garis's books were volumes in series, and several appear on the Web, under both his own name and various pseudonyms.

Garis was born in Binghamton, New York, on April 25, 1873, and died in Amherst, Massachusetts, on November 6, 1962. In 1966 his son, Roger C. Garis, wrote the memoir My Father Was Uncle Wiggily: The Story of the Remarkable Garis Family, a loving look at the family of children's writers.

Bedtime Stories
#1 Sammie and Susie Littletail, 1910
#2 Johnnie and Billie Bushytail, 1910
Buddy and Brighteyes Pigg
Curly and Floppy Twistytail

Bobbsey Twins (as Laura Lee Hope)
#4 The Bobbsey Twins at School, 1913
#5 The Bobbsey Twins at Snow Lodge, 1913
#6 The Bobbsey Twins on a Houseboat, 1915
#7 The Bobbsey Twins at Meadowbrook, 1915
#12 The Bobbsey Twins in Washington, 1919
#13 The Bobbsey Twins in the Great West, 1920

Three other Bobbsey Twins books on the Web were ghostwritten by other writers: #1 The Bobbsey Twins, or Merry Days Indoors and Out, 1904, by Edward Stratemeyer; and #2 The Bobbsey Twins in the Country, 1907, and #3 The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore, 1907, by Howard R. Garis's wife, Lilian C. Garis (see Stratemeyer's Other Garis Ghost: Lilian C. Garis Etexts). Information on the ghostwriters of the various volumes is from Who Wrote the Bobbsey Twins?

Bunny Brown (as Laura Lee Hope)
#1 Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue, 1916

Circus Animal Stories
Umboo, the Elephant, 1918

Curlytops
#2 The Curlytops on Star Island, or Camping Out with Grandpa, 1918
#4 The Curlytops at Uncle Frank's Ranch, or Little Folks on Ponyback, 1918

Daddy
Daddy Takes Us Skating, 1914

Dick Hamilton
#6 Dick Hamilton's Airship, or A Young Millionaire in the Clouds, 1914

Great Marvel (as Roy Rockwood)
#3 Five Thousand Miles Underground, or The Mystery of the Centre of the Earth, 1908
#4 Through Space to Mars, or The Longest Journey on Record, 1910
#5 Lost on the Moon, or In Quest of the Field of Diamonds, 1911

Another Great Marvel book on the Web, #6 On a Torn-Away World, or The Captives of the Great Earthquake, 1913, was ghostwritten by W. Bert Foster. Information on the ghostwriters of the various volumes is from The Great Marvel Series: A Discursive Bibliography.

Motor Boys (as Clarence Young)
#1 The Motor Boys, or Chums Through Thick and Thin, 1906
#2 The Motor Boys Overland, or A Long Trip for Fun and Fortune, 1906
#8 The Motor Boys on the Pacific, or The Young Derelict Hunters, 1909

Tom Swift (as Victor Appleton)
#1 Tom Swift and His Motor-cycle, or Fun and Adventures on the Road, 1910
#2 Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat, or The Rivals of Lake Carlopa, 1910
#3 Tom Swift and His Airship, or The Stirring Cruise of the Red Cloud, 1910
#4 Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat, or Under the Ocean for Sunken Treasure, 1910
#5 Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout, or The Speediest Car on the Road, 1910
#6 Tom Swift and His Wireless Message, or The Castaways of Earthquake Island, 19??
#7 Tom Swift Among the Diamond Makers, or The Secret of Phantom Mountain, 1911 [probable author]
#8 Tom Swift in the Caves of Ice, or The Wreck of the Airship, 1911 [probable author]
#9 Tom Swift and His Sky Racer, or The Quickest Flight on Record, 1911 [probable author]
#10 Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle, or Daring Adventures in Elephant Land, 1911 [probable author]
#11 Tom Swift in the City of Gold, or Marvelous Adventures Underground, 1912 [probable author]
#12 Tom Swift and His Air Glider, or Seeking the Platinum Treasure, 1912 [probable author]
#13 Tom Swift in Captivity, or A Daring Escape by Airship, 1912 [probable author]
#14 Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera, or Thrilling Adventures While Taking Moving Pictures, 1912 [probable author]
#15 Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight, or On the Border for Uncle Sam, 1912 [probable author]
#16 Tom Swift and His Giant Cannon, or The Longest Shots on Record, 1913 [probable author]
#17 Tom Swift and His Photo Telephone, or The Picture That Saved a Fortune, 1914 [probable author]
#18 Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship, or The Naval Terror of the Seas, 1915 [probable author]
#19 Tom Swift and His Big Tunnel, or The Hidden City of the Andes, 1916
#20 Tom Swift in the Land of Wonders, or The Underground Search for the Idol of Gold, 1917
#21 Tom Swift and His War Tank, or Doing His Bit for Uncle Sam, 1918 [probable author]
#22 Tom Swift and His Air Scout, or Uncle Sam's Mastery of the Sky, 1919 [probable author]
#23 Tom Swift and His Undersea Search, or The Treasure on the Floor of the Atlantic, 1920
#24 Tom Swift Among the Fire Fighters, or Battling With Flames From the Air, 1921

Other Tom Swift books on the Web were ghostwritten by other writers: #25 Tom Swift and His Electric Locomotive, or Two Miles a Minute on the Rails, 1922, by W. Bert Foster, #39 Tom Swift and His Giant Telescope, 1939, by Thomas M. Mitchell, and #40 Tom Swift and His Magnetic Silencer, 1941, author unknown. Information on the ghostwriters of the various volumes was based on The Ultimate Tom Swift® Collector's Guide, which is no longer available online.

Trippertrots
"The Trippertrots Are Lost," from #1 Three Little Trippertrots, 1912

Uncle Wiggily
"Uncle Wiggily's Automobile," 1913
"Uncle Wiggily in Wonderland, Part I," 1916
"Uncle Wiggily's Snow Man," 1927?