HUMBOLDT COUNTY CHILDREN’S AUTHOR FESTIVAL: Finding Friends in Books

At the Humboldt County Library, Children's Author Festival Exhibit.

I have been going to the bi-annual Humboldt County Children’s Authors Festival in northern California since 2007 and I am just back from this year’s festival, which was October 14-17. Each time it gets better and better!

At Laurel Tree School, with Ruthie Beaudry, Librarian.

In the Laurel Tree school library.

During the festival, twenty-five authors visit more than fifty schools over two days. Amazingly, I’ve almost never been to the same school twice. This year I went to two new schools—Laurel Tree and Trillium and had wonderful visits. 

Trillium School, Arcata, CA.

At Trillium School.

I want to thank the librarians at both schools (Ruthie Beaudry at Laurel Tree, and Courtney Schroeder at Trillium) for doing such a good job of preparing the students and making me feel welcome.

Illustration exhibit, Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, CA.

So many people make the festival possible. I especially want to thank the hardworking Author Festival Committee for coordinating everything--from our travel and transportation to our meals, school visits, a trip to the zoo, the gala banquet on Friday evening, the illustration exhibit at the Morris Graves Art Museum, the book sale and signing at the beautiful Humboldt County Library on Saturday, and more.

Book signing at the Humboldt County Library.

When I came to the festival two years ago I thought it would be my last. I did not have plans for a new book and I thought it was time to make room for a new author. But then, at the end of one of my school presentations, a teacher came up to me and said, “You know, we raise fish in our classroom every year.” My ears perked up. I had written about hatching chicks and butterflies in the classroom, but never fish. And then she showed me the classroom aquarium and told me how the students hatched fish eggs and then released the young fish into the river.” This sounded like the perfect topic for a new book! 

So, the following spring I was back in Humboldt County doing the research and photography for the book. I went in February when the trout eggs were delivered to the schools and again in April when the students were releasing the fish. The book is now finished and will be published next March by Millbrook Press (Lerner). It is called FISH IN SCHOOL: How Kids Are Helping Trout. I couldn’t have done the book without the cooperation of the students and teachers at Big Lagoon and Orick schools, the Humboldt County Office of Education, and the staff of the Mad River Fish Hatchery. I thank them all.

So, when the Author Festival committee asked me if I would come back this year, I knew I had to say yes. As I tell students in my presentations, I never know where I’m going to get the idea for my next book. As it turned out, it was right there in Humboldt County.

ART SHOW: My Children's Book Illustrations at the Morris Graves Art Museum, Eureka, CA

With giclee prints of illustrations from my books A Penguin's World (Capstone 2006) and A Killer Whale's World (Capstone, 2006)

I'm just back from Eureka, California, and the incomparable Humboldt County Children's Author Festival--celebrating its 52nd year! The first event was a reception at the beautiful Morris Graves Art Museum (formerly a Carnegie Library). Prints of two of my illustrations were on exhibit in the Youth Gallery along with art by other participating author/illustrators. Many thanks to Shirley Santino and to the museum director and curator, Jemima Harr, for coordinating the show!

The Morris Graves Museum of Art.

The building, once the town library, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

THE BODLEIAN LIBRARIES, OXFORD, ENGLAND: Home to Ten of My Books

Bodleian Library, Oxford, England.

On my recent visit to Oxford, England, I did a walking tour of the city center and passed by the BodleianLibrary. I didn’t have time to do a library tour, but when I looked up the library catalogue online, I discovered that ten of my books are in the collection. These include my recent book Keeper of the Light: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog, as well as some older titles such as a series I wrote for Ladybird Books in 1990.

The Bodleian Library is the main research library of the University of Oxford. It is one of the oldest libraries in Europe and has over 13 million items in the collection. Every book printed in Britain is deposited in the library. While most of my books are published only in the United States, a few are co-published in the UK as well and those are the ones I found in the catalogue. Here is a list of my books in the Bodleian Libraries:

The Geography Book (Wiley)

Keeper of the Light (Cameron Kids/Abrams)

Animals (Ladybird)

Your Body (Ladybird)

Weather (Ladybird)

The Earth (Ladybird)

Space (Ladybird)

A Day and Night in the Amazon Rainforest (PictureWindow Books)

A Day and Night in the Sonoran Desert (PictureWindow Books)

Weddings, an adaptation of How People Get Married, (Franklin Watts )

PAPER PLATE ANIMAL MASKS: Classroom Projects Inspired by My Books

Paper Plate Animal Masks

Paper plates are one of the most versatile household objects to use for craft projects. At one school I visited, fifth grade students had read many of my books about animals and then created wonderful animal masks using paper plates, construction paper, yarn, fabric, and markers. Every one was unique. I especially like the fuzzy mane on the lion and the long elephant trunk, projecting like a trumpet from the center of the mask! 

LION--available on Amazon as an ebook.

HORSESHOE CRABS, Find Out More in LIVING FOSSILS: CLUES TO THE PAST

Horseshoe crab shell. 

One hundred and fifty thousand years ago, a horseshoe crab crawled onto the shore of a shallow lagoon in what is now southern Germany and searched for worms and shellfish in the damp sand. Nearby, dinosaurs preyed on insects and small animals, and lizards sat in the sun. In the air, winged reptiles soared and one of the earliest birds, archaeopteryx, flapped its wings. Their remains have been preserved as fossils.

The dinosaurs and winged reptiles are long gone, but horseshoe crabs are still with us, changed little from ancient times. They are living fossils. On a recent visit to the beach in Lewes, Delaware, I encountered dozens of horseshoe crabs washed up onto the sand. Every year thousands of horseshoe crabs congregate on the beaches of the eastern United States to mate and lay eggs.

Learn more about horseshoe crabs and other living fossils in my book LIVING FOSSILS: Clues to the Past (Charlesbridge, 2016.) Look for it in your library, online, or at your local bookstore.

Horseshoe crabs coming to shore to lay eggs, pp. 10-11. Illust. by Andrew Plant.

Title page of LIVING FOSSILS: Clues to the Past

LIBRARY VISIT, LEWES, DELAWARE

In front of the Lewes, Delaware, Public Library.

Whenever I travel, I always like to stop in at the local library to meet the children’s librarian, see what is going on, and find out which of my books might be on the library shelves. On my recent visit to Lewes, Delaware, for a family vacation, I went to the Lewes Public Library, conveniently located next to the town history museum, which I also visited.

In the library I had a nice chat with the librarians at the front desk who looked up my books on the library website. (The children’s librarian was not there that day.) I learned that many of my books are available throughout the Delaware state library system, including my very first book Five Nests. I was glad to see that the Lewes town library has three of my books including Hatching Chicks in Room 6, A Warmer World, and A Penguin’s World.

Outside the library is an historic locomotive complete with caboose, an exciting draw for young and old train fans.

FUN WITH ADJECTIVES CHEETAH POSTER: Projects and Activities Inspired by My Books

Class poster about cheetahs.

Many of my books are about animals and when I do school visits I often find that these are the books the children have read, especially if they have done animal reports. At one school I visited the class had read my book about cheetahs, focusing on all the adjectives in the book that described the cheetah. Then, as an art project, they made a large poster of cheetahs and the words they had learned.

My book CHEETAH is available online as an ebook.