CALIFORNIA STORIES: Caroline Arnold Books about California

I live in California, and not surprisingly, the subjects of nearly fifteen percent of my 170 books for children are found in California. The books range from one of my earliest publications, The Biggest Living Thing (1982) about giant sequoia trees in the Sierra Nevada, to Keeper of the Light (2022), about Juliet Fish Nichols, the lighthouse keeper on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay from 1902 to 1914. 

Recent titles, including the three books in my Room 6 series, can be purchased from my publishers or online. But most of my older books are out of print. Many of them are now available as e-books. And most of my books, even many of the old ones, can be found in public libraries.

I love learning about the world around me. As I researched the subjects in each of these California stories, I discovered new and fascinating things about the state I call home.

Here are the titles of my books connected to California history, people, places and animals, with links to my website or to updated or e-book editions.

Keeper of the Light: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog (2022)

Planting a Garden in Room 6: From Seeds to Salad (2022)

Butterflies in Room 6: See How They Grow (2019)

Hatching Chicks in Room 6 (2017)

A Day and Night in the Desert (2015)

Trapped in Tar: Fossils from the Ice Age , original (1987 and updated (2017)

A Bald Eagle’s World (2010)

When Mammoths Walked the Earth (2002)

Baby Whale Rescue: The True Story of J.J. (1999)

Bobcats (1997)

Bat (1996)

Fox (1996)

Stories in Stone: Rock Art Pictures by Early Americans (1996)

Killer Whale (1994)

Sea Lion (1994)

Watching Desert Wildlife (1994)

On the Brink of Extinction: The California Condor (1993)

House Sparrows Everywhere (1992)

A Guide Dog Puppy Grows Up (1991)

Tule Elk (1989)

The Golden Gate Bridge (1986)

Saving the Peregrine Falcon (1985)

Pets Without Homes (1983)

The Biggest Living Thing (1983)

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025 from CAROLINE ARNOLD ART AND BOOKS

Caroline, ice skating at Bottineau Park, Northeast Minneapolis, 1950.

"By New Year’s Day, the pine needles of the Christmas tree are dry and brittle. It is time to take the tree down. After the lights and ornaments are removed and boxed for next year, we take the tree outside to the roof deck, propping it up in the snow. Decorated with strings of bread cubes and cranberries, it is ready for the birds to enjoy. With the excitement of Christmas over, it is now time to write thank-you notes and to enjoy skating at Bottineau Park, sledding at the Columbia Park golf course, and other winter activities."

From Chapter 7: Family Christmas at NENH, SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I have fond memories of celebrating the holidays when I was a child in Minneapolis. Now, many years later, from my home in California, I send best wishes to you and all my faithful readers.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025

 

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS from CAROLINE ARNOLD ART AND BOOKS

Scheaffer family Christmas in apartment at NENH, 1950.

"On Christmas Eve, after my brothers and I are asleep, my parents arrange “Santa’s” gifts under the tree. On Christmas morning, after everyone is awake, my father turns on the tree lights and gives the signal to enter. We rush in, each going straight to our own pile. Santa’s gifts are unwrapped and it is obvious who they are for—a doll for me, a train for Steve, stacking blocks for Peter, a stuffed toy for Tom."  

From Chapter 7: Family Christmas at NENH, SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

 I have fond memories of celebrating Christmas when I was a child growing up in Minneapolis. Now, many years later, from my home in California, I send best wishes to you and all my faithful readers.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

2024

 

 

BOOKLIFE PRIZE (Publishers Weekly) Review of SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL

I was pleased to receive the following positive review from BookLife Prize (Publishers Weekly) of my memoir,  SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Plot/Idea: Arnold's focused memoir depicts the lesser-known institution of settlement houses from the unique perspective of a director’s child. The book provides a snapshot of a place in a particular time period while also constructing the cultural memory of a small community organization in mid-century America.

Prose: Settlement House Girl is broken into bite-sized sections, subverting the typical narrative structure of similar books. That strategy works well to give the text an informative vibe, and the memoir's first-person perspective deftly establishes its context while painting the subject matter in an appealing light.

Originality: Arnold recounts her largely unique life experience living in a settlement house in 1950s Minnesota, with her social worker parents. The narrative presents a wealth of historical information as well as an insider's view of an uncommon subject matter. 

Character/Execution: Though the book's somewhat choppy structure and first-person present tense can detract from the flow, the topic is interesting and enjoyable. Arnold delivers an intimate glimpse into a microculture that curious readers will find fascinating.

The BookLife Prize winners were announced December 15, 2024.

16th BLOG ANNIVERSARY: Time to Celebrate!

Sixteen years ago, in November 2008, I launched this blog. At first my plan was to use it to feature my art, which is why the link is carolinearnoldart. But a little more than a year later I decided to expand the blog to include my writing as well and changed the name to Caroline Arnold Art and Books (the link is still carolinearnoldart) with the plan of putting up a new post once a week--sometimes two. 

For me, this blog is a way to keep track of my book and art related activities, including school and library visits, publishing, reviews, activities for children and teachers, announcements of prizes and awards and more.  Since launching the blog I have posted more than 900 items that have been viewed by more than 470,000 visitors!
Thanks to all of you who have been following this blog either on Google or by email. I appreciate your support.

(Note: The Comments section is no longer active. If you would like to comment you can reach me at Facebook or by email.)

 

MEMORIAL BRICK at the CHAPEL HILL PUBLIC LIBRARY, Chapel Hill, NC

In 2012, my daughter ‘s Jennifer and her family purchased a memorial brick in honor of my books in support of the new Chapel Hill Public Library. On my recent visit to North Carolina we visited the library, a beautiful spacious building, and paid a visit to the patio which is made of all the memorial bricks. (The letters on the bricks are still there but a bit weather worn.) 

Inside the library I left a copy of my new book SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL as a donation to the library collection to be considered for acquisition. We also stopped for a nice chat with the children’s librarians in the large children’s room. The library has 33 of my books in their collection! I was happy to see how busy the library was on the Sunday morning of our visit. As the librarian scrolled through the list of my books on the computer she commented how my book GIANT SHARK was one of the children’s favorites. I'm pleased to know that kids are still enjoying it nearly 25 years after it was first published!

FOCAL AWARD PRESENTATION 2024: Celebrating COOKIES AND MILK by Shawn Amos

FOCAL Award Ceremony, LAPL, with Shawn Amos and Dewi Ochoa.

On Saturday, November 16th, I joined friends, family, and members of FOCAL (Friends of Children and Libraries) gathered at the Mark Taper Auditorium of the LAPL Central Library for the annual FOCAL Award presentation, this year given to Shawn Amos for his book Cookies and Milk, a semi-autographical novel about a boy growing up in Los Angeles. In the tradition of the award, he was presented with a puppet of the main character of the book. A second identical puppet will go on display in the children's room of the library, joining puppets from previous years. The puppets were created by Jesse Kingsley and Moira MacDonald.  

The program was introduced by Marilyn Robertson, FOCAL President. After the presentation of the puppets and a short speech by Shawn Amos about how he came to write the book, the essay contest winners were introduced by Sandy Schuckett. The four students read their excellent essays to the audience. They wrote about how they responded to the book, a favorite part or character, and why they would like to meet the author. The program ended with a Q & A session with Shawn Amos led by Dewi Ochoa, Chair of Social Media for FOCAL. Then we all enjoyed chocolate chip cookies in the library patio.

Refreshments at the FOCAL event included chocolate chip cookies from the Homebay Bakery.

I have been a member of FOCAL for many years. In order to be awarded the FOCAL book award, the book must be of the highest literary and artistic quality, and must have California content. I know how hard it is to choose a winner–I served on the committee for four years. This year’s choice is excellent and a fitting book to celebrate.

Set in Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard, Cookies and Milk features Ellis Bailey Johnson, a black kid in a white world, and his father, who start a cookie store in an abandoned A-frame

shack that they fix up. The book deals with racism, family issues, family secrets,

growing up, and character-building as well as business-building. The awards committee found it a lively and compelling read for all ages.