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.

DAVID HOCKNEY 1937-2026, IN MEMORIAM

David Hockney Portraits at LACMA, 2018

I think I've found something that I could go on with forever, because people are fascinating, they're mysterious really." David Hockney

David Hockney, one of the 20th and 21st centuries great painters, passed away this week at the age of 88.  He will be greatly missed. He is one of the contemporary artists that I most admire. In his memory, I am reposting my article about his exhibit at LACMA in 2018. 

Entrance to the exhibit with photo of Hockney at work in his studio

If you haven't seen the David Hockney show at LACMA, 82 Portraits and 1 Still Life, I highly recommend it. I went to see it on Sunday. At age 80, David Hockney is still going strong. The portraits are stunning and the red walls of the gallery are a perfect foil for the green and blue background of the paintings.

Julie Green

As I walked around I noticed a woman leading a tour. Then I looked at her dress and realized she was Julie Green, one of the people in the portraits!

Architect Frank Gehry

There are portraits of his studio assistants, massage therapist, housekeeper and cook. Others depict Hockney’s siblings, the children and grandchildren of his friends, and art dealers and prominent cultural figures in Los Angeles. All of the paintings are labeled with the sitter's name and dates of sitting.
Organized by the Royal Academy in conjunction with LACMA, the exhibition opened in London in 2016, then traveled to Venice, Italy; Bilboa, Spain; and Melbourne, Australia. The only U.S. stop is L.A., the city where the portraits were painted and where most of his subjects live.

The 83 paintings line the walls of two large galleries.

The series began in 2013 after David Hockney moved to Los Angeles from his home and studio in rural England.

Each person came to Hockney’s studio for two or three days and sat in the same chair on a small platform while Hockney painted. All of the figures are full length and the canvas size is the same for each portrait. The backgrounds are simple–flat color and just a suggestion of shadow on the floor. What comes across in each painting is the distinct personality of the sitter.

The one still life was painted on a day when one of his subjects had to postpone her session. So Hockney set up a bench with pieces of fruit in the same spot in his studio and painted it instead.   


David Hockney: 82 Portraits and 1 Still-life

Los Angeles County Museum of Aart
April 15, 2018–July 29, 2018

Review in the LA Times by Barbara Isenberg

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: On the Shelf at LAPL

In the Social Science/Philosophy Department of LAPL with my book SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL.

A week ago I was at the Los Angeles Public Library in downtown Los Angeles and I went searching for my book SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota. I knew it was in the collection, but I wanted to see it for myself. After riding down three escalators from the main library floor to the Social Science/Philosophy Department, I found it shelved with other books about the history of settlement houses and the social settlement movement (360.61). 

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL is the thin blue book, 6th from the left.

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL, (360.61A752), was on the top shelf, a few books after several about Jane Addams, the founder of Hull House in Chicago. Down three shelves I found books about Lillian Wald, founder of Henry Street Settlement in New York City. It was a good thing that my husband Art was with me to pull my book off the shelf, because I could barely reach it. It was gratifying to hold it in my hand and know that anyone coming to the library to learn about settlement houses or about my childhood living in one, will be able to find my book. I hope they are tall!