Alfred Szklarski was born in Chicago in 1912 as a son of political emigrant and a journalist, Andrzej Szklarski, and Maria (maiden name Markosik). He started to attend school in Chicago, but in 1928 he moved with his father to Poland, when he went to II Jan Długosz gymnasium in Włocławek, which he graduted in 1931r. In years 1932 - 1938 he studied at Consular - Diplomatic Faculty at Academy Of Political Science in Warsaw getting his diploma in 1938. During the World War II he stayed in Warsaw, where he took part in Battle for Warsaw as volonteer shooter in 2nd Plutoon of Air Company in Batallion "Thunder". After defeat of the Battle for Warsaw he moved to Cracow and than in February 1945 to Katowice.

Szklarski made his debut with novels for adults serialised during the war (1942 - "The Iron Claw", 1943 - "Blood diamenonds", 1944 - "The mystery of the grave"). After the war he used pseudonyms: Alfred Borowski and Fred Garland (1946 - "Hot trace", "Three sisters", 1947 - "St. Elmo's lights", "Men with names", "Don't wait for me", 1948 - novel for youth "Tomek in trouble"). Publishing company encourged Szklarski - under his own name - to start to write literature for kids. And than started adventure-traveling series about Tomek Wilmowski: Tomek in the land of cangaroos, Adventures of Tomek on the Black Land, Tomek at war pace, Tomek in a search for Yeti, Tomek's mysterious expedition, Tomek among head hunters, Tomek at wells of Amazonca, Tomek in Gran Chaco. In 1971 he got Smile Medal.

He died at April, 9th, 1992, not finishing adventures of Tomek. His close friend Adam Zelga ended it. First edition of last volume of Tomek's adventures was published in 1993r.