“After all, I believe that legends and myths are largely made of ‘truth’, and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received in this mode and long ago certain truths and modes of this kind were discovered and must always reappear.” – J.R.R. Some of them have very noticeable common threads, elements that ring true even today.

Gold rush miners, lumberjacks, missionaries, and native peoples all have their legends. Much of the information we have about cryptids, especially in California, dates back to old stories and folk tales. After Grace and Marty’s parents die, they move in with their Uncle Wolfe, who they did not know even existed before. Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith is the first novel in the Cryptid Hunters series and was released in 2004. Sightings of cryptids are common in wilderness areas such as parts of California, but conclusive proof is vanishingly rare.īy their very nature, cryptids are not documented by clear photography or scientific evidence. The series is meant for kids, but that does not mean that adults will not enjoy things too. Or perhaps the frantic words of a camper scared out of his wits by what he swears he saw while backpacking alone. Smith lives in Tualatin, Oregon with his wife and stepchildren.Updated – An inexplicably shaped animal track, an odd noise in the woods or a disquieting shape barely glimpsed through the underbrush. Smith's books have won 'Book of the Year' awards in Colorado, Nevada, South Carolina, and Florida, as well as in his native Oregon. In 2008, Smith published the first book in the series I, Q, titled Independence Hall. Peak, the story of a teenage boy obsessed with climbing mountains, Elephant Run and Tentacles(novel).

Other novels by Smith include The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe, Zach's Lie, Jack's Run, Cryptid Hunters, Sasquatch (novel), about a boy who searches for Bigfoot. The book continues Smith's theme, as teenage protagonist Jacob Lansa follows his biologist father to Africa where the father is researching elephants. In 1997, Smith published his first novel, Thundercave. 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. 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. Marty and Grace return for their third rare-animal adventure (Tentacles, 2009, etc.). 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. Roland Smith is an American author of young adult fiction as well as nonfiction books for children.

Roland smith cryptid hunters series