CHILDREN’S BOOK PROJECT, San Francisco, CA: Free Books for Children

Entrance to the Book Bank of the Children's Book Project, San Francisco, CA.

Over the years I’ve accumulated many boxes of books—extra books sent by my publishers and books that I’ve ordered. Many of the books have been given away or taken to my school visits. But I still have quite a few boxes and need to clean out my closet. Last week, when I was in the Bay Area, I made a trip to the Children’s Book Project in San Francisco to donate many of those books. The Children’s Book Project collects new and gently used books and gives them to children and people in the community who work with children—teachers, daycare providers, social workers and others working with low-income children at Title 1 schools, public health clinics and hospitals, subsidized daycares and afterschool programs, and many more   Every month they distribute 12,000 books!

I had made an appointment to deliver my books and was met at the door by Alexander who helped me carry them in. Inside, volunteers were busy sorting donations into categories. In the last month alone more than 30,000 books had been donated! Kathleen, on the Book Bank team, gave me a brief tour and explained how the program works. Although it mainly serves the San Francisco Bay area, I learned that people who work with children all over California come to get books. I am happy to have my books now available to help children build their home libraries and develop a life of reading.

I thank children’s book author Gennifer Choldenko for making me aware of the Children’s Book Project when she posted about her visit there on Facebook.

You can find out more about the Children’s Book Project and see photos of the facility at their website https://www.childrensbookproject.org/

DRAWING DINOSAURS WITH GLUE: Projects and Activities Inspired by My Books

During my nearly fifty years as a published author I have visited hundreds of schools to talk about my books and what it is like to be an author. I am always impressed by the creative projects teachers have done with their students in connection with my books. When kids do these projects it reinforces the concepts of the book and expands their impact. Over the next few weeks/months I will share some of these projects on this blog.

Dinosaur projects never grow old. At one school I visited the students had used Elmer's Glue to draw the outline of their favorite dinosaurs on black paper. After the glue dried and became transparent, they filled in the rest of the drawing with pastel crayons. The bumpy glue outlines gave the dinosaurs a 3-D look and suggested their scaly bodies. And the dark background provided an eerie quality as if we were looking into the past.

The students had read my book Dinosaurs All Around, about an artist who creates dinosaur models for museums. Some of my other books about dinosaurs include Dinosaur Mountain and Dinosaurs Down Under. You can find all these books as e-books on Amazon.

LIFE-SIZE PAPIER MACHE SHARK: Projects and Activities Inspired by My Books

Paper Mache Model Shark.

During my nearly fifty years as a published author I have visited hundreds of schools to talk about my books and what it is like to be an author. I am always impressed by the creative projects teachers have done with their students in connection with my books. When kids do these projects it reinforces the concepts of the book and expands their impact. Over the next few weeks/months I will share some of these projects on this blog.

One of my all-time favorite projects inspired by my books is the life-size papier mache shark created by fourth graders at a school in California. Making a model like this requires close observation of the shark's body shape and characteristics. Sharkeel O'Neal remained in their classroom long after my visit, reminding the students of my author visit and all they had learned about sharks from my books.

My books about sharks include Watch Out for Sharks illustrated with photographs by Richard Hewett and Giant Shark: Megalodon, Prehistoric Super Predator  illustrated with beautiful watercolor paintings by Laurie Caple. Both books are available is e-books on Amazon.

FOSSILS FROM THE ICE AGE: Projects and Activities Inspired by My Books

Model tar pit with fossil bones made of clay.

During my nearly fifty years as a published author I have visited hundreds of schools to talk about my books and what it is like to be an author. I am always impressed by the creative projects teachers have done with their students in connection with my books. When kids do these projects it reinforces the concepts of the book and expands their impact. Over the next few weeks/months I will share some of these projects on this blog.

Model tar pit with Fossil "bones" made of clay:

One of my all-time favorite school projects is a model tar pit made by fourth grade students studying California history. After reading TRAPPED IN TAR: Fossils from the Ice Age, they created fossil bones of Ice Age animals--mammoths, sabertooth cats, camels, dire wolves and more. The teacher made a tar pit by slathering roofing tar on a piece of plywood. Then the students embedded their "fossils" in the tar for a realistic depiction of the La Brea Tar Pits in miniature. (The dinosaur on the edge is a mistake--dinosaurs lived millions of years earlier.) 

As part of the project each student wrote a poem. Here's a sample.

Trapped in tar,

Stuck in goo,

With bundles of others,

Sticky as glue.

Stuck as can be,

They try to get out,

Twisting and turning

Knowing they will die without a doubt.

You can learn more about the fossils of the La Brea Tar Pits and life in Southern California during the Ice Age in my book TRAPPED IN TAR: Fossils from the Ice Age, available in both paperback and as an ebook.

LIFE-SIZE CALIFORNIA CONDOR MODEL: Projects and Activities Inspired by My Books

Life-size California condor model.

During my nearly fifty years as a published author I have visited hundreds of schools to talk about my books and what it is like to be an author. I am always impressed by the creative projects teachers have done with their students in connection with my books. When kids do these projects it reinforces the concepts of the book and expands their impact. 

Over the next several weeks I will share some of my all-time favorite book related projects on this blog.

Life-size condor model:

The California condor is the largest flying bird in North America and has a wingspan of more than 11 feet. A third-grade class made this impressive life-size model with construction paper. Every single feather was cut out separately and glued on. Condor facts are displayed above. I'm sure that the students will remember creating the condor, long after my visit to their classroom. 

You can learn about the California condor and the efforts being made to save it from extinction in my book ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION: The California Condor, available as an ebook on Amazon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEATRIX POTTER! Celebrating the Tale of Peter Rabbit

Yesterday, July 28, was the 160th birthday of Beatrix Potter, perhaps the most celebrated children's book author of all time. Her first published book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, came out in 1902. I remember it from my childhood and it was a favorite of my children and grandchildren. I read it aloud to them so many times I almost had it memorized! "'Now, my dears,' said old Mrs. Rabbit one morning, 'you may go into the fields or down the lane, but don't go into Mr. McGregor's garden. Your father had an accident there; he was put into a pie by Mrs. McGregor." ... "But Peter, who was very naughty, went straight away to Mr. McGregor's garden."

Miniature model of Farmer McGregor's garden from the Tale of Peter Rabbit

On my desk I now have a miniature garden featuring a scene from The Tale of Peter Rabbit. It is a treasured gift from my daughter Jennifer.  She made the ground and garden plants from art clay, baking it to make it hard. The fence is made of craft sticks. The figures of Peter and his family—Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail—and of Farmer McGregor were purchased on the internet, as were the tiny garden tools.

The miniature garden is a delightful reminder of my real garden outdoors and working with Mrs. Best and her students on my book PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6: From Seeds to Salad. 

Jennifer was inspired to make the miniature garden after our visit to the Flowering Bridge in Lake Lure, North Carolina, where we saw tiny figures nestled among the plants. See my blog post from September 8,  2021.

EL NINO--WHEN THE WEATHER GOES WACKY! Look for my El Nino book on Amazon

El Nino is coming! You can learn more about this powerful weather phenomenon and how it may affect you in my book El Nino: Stormy Weatherfor People and Wildlife.  You can find the ebook on Amazon and read it for free if you subscribe to KindleUnlimited or you can download it for $5.99. Used copies of the hardback, paperback and audio versions are also available at Amazon.

Drought in Southeast Asia, brutal storms in Australia, and spring-like temperatures in the northeastern United States--all of these seemingly unrelated events are caused by El Nino. Disrupting weather all over the globe every three to seven years, El Nino is second only to the change of the seasons in its influence on the climate.
El Nino is the name given to the unusual increase in ocean temperatures along the Peruvian and Ecuadorian coasts that is part of a larger pattern of changes in wind and weather throughout the Pacific region and beyond. With El Nino come violent storms and upsets in the global food chain that dramatically affect both humans and wildlife.
With the use of photographs, charts and maps, this updated edition of El Nino: Stormy Weather for People and Wildlife makes clear how this remarkable weather pattern is formed, how scientists track it, what its effects are, and why following its path is of such importance.

El Nino: Stormy Weather for People and Wildlife was originally published by Clarion Books in 1998.