THREADS OF LOS ANGELES by Ashley Walker, Celebrating the City's Cultural History at the Los Angeles Public Library

Threads if Los Angeles by Ashley Walker, Los Angeles Public Library.

When I was at the Los Angeles Central Public Library in February I encountered six striking fashion models on display at one of the escalator landings. Each model was dressed to reflect a particular neighborhood and time in the cultural history of the city. They are the work of fashion designer Ashley Walker, recipient of a 2025 Creator in Residence award, and are based on research in the LAPL archives. The models will be sent to branch libraries around the city. For more about the project and where you can see the models, and about the Creator in Residence program at LAPL, click HERE. 

This year the Los Angeles Public Library is celebrating its Centennial. One hundred years ago, on July 11th, 1926, the Central Library opened its doors. Ashley Walker's fashion models are just one of many exhibits you can see at the library in this centennial year.

The Rhythm of Rebellion
Theme: The Zoot Suit Riots and Fashion Resistance.

Blueprint of Elegance
Theme: Paul R. Williams Architecture.

When the City Sang
Theme: Jazz on Central Avenue.

South Central 1992
Theme: The 1992 Uprising.

Woven Journeys
Migration, Memory and Cultural Identity in Los Angeles.

From Soul to Soil
Theme: Los Angeles Flora and Environmental Identity.

RICHARD HEWETT'S HOLLYWOOD: Program Feb 18 at LAPL, Los Angeles, CA

Richard Hewett (1929-2006) was a Los Angeles based photographer who illustrated nearly fifty of my books for children. He also took photos for books by his wife Joan Hewett and other children's book authors. But before he turned to children's book illustration, he worked for magazines and newspapers including Life, Look, TV Guide and the Los Angeles Times. Richard Hewett's work is archived in the Los Angeles Public Library. On Wednesday, February 18th at 12:15 pm, Wendy Horowitz, Photo Collection Librarian will present a few of his 1960s photo essays. The presentation will be in Meeting Room A (near the 6th Street entrance) of the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles. The event is free. It will be an opportunity to get a glimpse of LA culture and history of that era as seen through Richard Hewett's unique eye.

REMEMBER THE CARD CATALOG: Celebrating LAPL’s 100th Anniversary

Souvenir catalog card with anniversary stamp of the Central Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library

Do you remember thumbing through the library card catalog, looking for a book to read or to use for a school report? Each drawer of the wooden cabinet was filled with index cards, arranged in alphabetical order and subdivided into sections by topic. Each card had the name of the author, title, publisher, and most importantly for nonfiction books, the Dewey Decimal number indicating where it would be shelved. The cards of popular topics were always well thumbed.

In the early days of my writing career there were no computers and no internet. (My first book was published in 1980.) The card catalog was essential for finding information.  Searching it was always the first step in doing research for one of my books.

Card catalogs have long since been abandoned. Now you just have to sit down in front of a computer screen and type in the topic you are searching for, and Bingo! there is a list of relevant library resources. So, what have libraries done with all those carefully typed cards? The Los Angeles Public Library put them in storage. Some have been used by an artist to decorate an elevator at the Central Library and to create a large sculpture. Now the library needs to get rid of the rest.

So, in celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the Central Library building in downtown Los Angeles, the library will be giving the cards away. Each card is a little bit of history. Last week I helped assemble packets of cards that will be distributed to the branch libraries to give out to patrons. People will be able to have them stamped with a special anniversary stamp (a different stamp for each branch) and use the cards as bookmarks, art projects, or whatever they want. And for those people who are old enough to remember the days when they depended on the card catalog to help them find what they needed in the library, the souvenir cards will bring back memories of days gone by.

Flower Street entrance to the Los Angeles Public Library

Note: Although the history of the Los Angeles Public Library goes back to the 1870s, the Central Branch was not built until 1926. The dedication ceremony was held on July 15th, 1926.

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY! Illustration from my book A DAY AND NIGHT IN THE FOREST

It is February 2nd, the day that groundhogs (also known as woodchucks) are reputed to come out of their holes to check the weather. Here's a groundhog (pictured on a spring day) from my book A DAY AND NIGHT IN THE FOREST wishing you a HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY, where ever you are!

According to Wikipedia: Groundhog Day derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog (Marmota monax, also called "woodchuck"; Deitsch: Grundsau, Grunddax, Dax) emerging from its burrow on this day sees a shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den and winter will persist for six more weeks, and if it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early. While the tradition remains popular in modern times, studies have found no consistent correlation between a groundhog seeing its shadow or not and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.

Look for A DAY AND NIGHT IN THE FOREST in your library, or buy it on KINDLE.

A DAY AND NIGHT IN THE DESERT: Spanish Edition

I just discovered that there is a a Spanish edition of my book A DAY AND NIGHT IN THE DESERT (Capstone/PictureWindow Books, 2015). It is called Un Dia y Una Noche en el Desierto (2021). Look for it at the Capstone website or on Amazon. Here is the description on Amazon.

Tic-tac, tic-tac. Un pájaro carpintero da la bienvenida a la mañana en el desierto de Sonora, y con él, la galardonada autora/ilustradora Caroline Arnold pone en marcha el reloj para un ciclo de 24 horas de actividad animal en el hábitat del desierto. Ilustraciones de papel recortado, texto en forma de historia y características como recuadros, datos curiosos y un glosario educan mientras entretienen. 

Tap-tap, tap-tap! A woodpecker welcomes morning to the Sonoran Desert, and with it, award-winning author/illustrator Caroline Arnold starts the clock ticking on one 24-hour cycle of animal activity in the desert habitat. Cut-paper illustrations, story-like text, and features such as sidebars, fun facts, and a glossary educate as they entertain.

ART PROJECT FOR KIDS: Eyes in the Dark--Drawing Nighttime Animals

When daytime animals go to sleep, nighttime animals wake up. Imagine what it would be like to go on a nighttime walk and see some of these nocturnal animals peering in the dark. 

Here's how you can make your own illustration of the animals you might see.

You will need:

    Black construction paper.

    Chalk.

    Googly eyes. (You can buy these at a craft store.)

    Glue.

Use the chalk to draw your animals on the black paper. Glue the eyes in place. What kind of nighttime scene did you create?

Animals that are active at night are called nocturnal animals. You can read about both daytime and nighttime animals in my Day and Night books.

VISIT TO THE MILL VALLEY PUBLIC LIBRARY, Mill Valley, California

Children's Room of the Mill Valley Public Library, Mill Valley, CA.

On a recent trip to the Bay Area in Northern California, I visited the beautiful Mill Valley Public Library, tucked among the redwoods in the town of Mill Valley in Marin County. The large windows of the library look out onto Mill Park, a grove of giant redwood trees along Mill Creek, which was roaring with water after a week of heavy rain. In the early days of Mill Valley the water power of the creek ran a sawmill. Today the  trees are preserved as a public park.

Redwood trees in Mill Park, Mill Valley, CA.

My parents lived in Mill Valley for thirty-seven years and I often visited both the redwood grove and the library. On the day of my recent visit (during the Christmas holidays) the library was busy with families and people checking out books. When I looked at the catalog I found that the library has 44 of my books in its collection. I was pleased to see that a number of them were checked out, including my book about Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, Keeper of the Light: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog. 

Entrance to the Mill Valley Public Library.