50,000 Page Views!

Today marks a total of 50,000 page views since I started posting regularly a little more than three years ago.  Thanks to all of you who have been following my blog and to those of you who stop by occasionally! Stay tuned for the announcement of my new books that will be officially published in January.

HOLIDAY GREETINGS! Nativities from Iberoamerica

Chess set with facing Nativities, on exhibit at Great Masters of Iberoamerican Folk Art

Every year at holiday time I get out our collection of creches, or nativity scenes, that we have accumulated over the years.  They come from all over the world and often have memories of travels associated with them. We have no new nativities this year.  However, I have photos of some amazing pieces currently on exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in a terrific show, Great Masters of Iberoamerican Folk Art. They are among more than 1500 items in an exhibit of crafts ranging from clay and wood to fibers and textiles. The exhibit is from the collection of Fomento Cultural Banamex.

Clay nativity from Mexico, on exhibit at Great Masters of Iberoamerican Folk Art

             I am looking forward to celebrating the holidays with family and friends.
                                            With very best wishes to you for a
                     HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON!

STONE AGE FARMERS BESIDE THE SEA now at StarWalk KidsMedia

My book Stone Age Farmers Beside the Sea: Scotland's Prehistoric Village of Skara Brae has recently been republished as an e-book at StarWalk Kids Media. and as an Amazon Kindle book.  It has been redesigned and has a new cover, which depicts the Ring of Brodgar, a circle of standing stones and ancient henge monument. The hardcover version is out of print so I am pleased to have this book available again.
Skara Brae is one of Europe's oldest known prehistoric settlements.  For about 600 years, from 3100 B.C. to 2500 B.C. people farmed, herded, hunted, and fished there, raising families in houses built of stone and supported by midden--a mixture of trash, soil, and plant matter.  A violent storm uncovered Skara Brae in 1850.
In 1992 I visited Skara Brae with my husband Art, whose photographs illustrate the book. 

Read more about my visit to Skara Brae at my travel blog The Intrepid Tourist.

FOCAL Luncheon Honoring H. Joseph Hopkins, Author of TREE LADY

H. Joseph Hopkins with puppet of Kate Sessions created by Jesse Kingsley

On Saturday, December 6th, 2014, the annual luncheon honoring the winner of the FOCAL Award was held at the Border Grill in downtown Los Angeles across the street from the Los Angeles Central Library. As always, it was a gala event with delicious food, great company, and an inspiring program. The tables were decorated with wonderful centerpieces created by students of art teacher Ray Moszkowicz at Noble Middle School after reading The Tree Lady.  A looping slideshow created by Mara Alpert at LAPL of past FOCAL winners played at the front of the room.

Centerpiece depicting Kate Sessions planting a tree created by Noble Middle School students

As a member of the award committee I had the pleasure of sitting at the head table with the author, H. Joseph Hopkins, and the four winners of the essay contest, who had won the opportunity to meet the author and engage him conversation over lunch. The students (grades 3, 4, 5 and 8) read their essays as part of the program. I was impressed at the excellent job the students had done. As one of them wrote: "Kate Sessions was a woman with guts." Clearly she is a role model.

Tribute to Puppeteer Carol Onofrio

A special part of the program this year was a tribute to puppeteer Carol Onofrio who, until this year, had created all the puppets inspired by the winning book–one to give to the author and another for the permanent collection of the Children’s Literature Department of LAPL’s Central Library.  Sadly, Carol passed away this past year.  This year’s puppet, a wonderful rendition of Kate Sessions, the “tree lady” of the book, was created by Jesse Kingsley. After receiving the award, H. Joseph Hopkins gave a presentation about how he created the book and about the life of Kate Sessions.

Renny Day, VP Correspondence and Membership, and Caroline Gill, President of FOCAL

After four years as part of the FOCAL Award Committee and I am going to miss reading the books and going to the meetings. But I will always look forward to the luncheon. And I want to thank the award committee and  Caroline Gill, Renny Day and all the members of the FOCAL Board for all the hard work that makes the luncheon such a success and one of the highlights of my year.

The FOCAL Award was instituted in 1980 and is presented annually for a book of merit that features some aspect of California history and/or geography.
Friends of Children and Literature (FOCAL) is a support group of the LAPL Children’s Literature Department at the Central Library.

ABFFE Holiday Auction on EBay--ONE DAY LEFT TO BID!

Just one more day to go! Don't forget to check out the ABFFE holiday auction on EBay of wonderful art by children's book illustrators!  It's a great chance to get a unique holiday gift for someone you know and support the freedom to read at the same time.
There are 97 terrific items to choose from in the auction. Scroll down to find my giclee print of a mother eagle feeding her eaglets (from my book, A Bald Eagle's World.)
Click on this link to go to the auction page: http://www.ebay.com/sch/abffe/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

UPDATE December 13:

ABFFE Holiday Auction Is a Success  

    

          

      NEW YORK, NY, December 11, 2014--The bidding was fast and furious in the final hours of the holiday auction of children's book art sponsored by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE). When the final gavel fell in the eBay auction yesterday, more than $14,000 had been raised to support ABFFE's defense of the free speech rights of kids, an increase of 40 per cent over the previous year. The auction included nearly 100 pieces by leading illustrators. The highest prices were paid for works by Jon Muth, Jared Chapman, William Wegman, Melissa Iwai, Eric Carle, Adam Rex, LeUyen Pham, and Leslie Patricelli. One sold for $2,750. "We are delighted by the success of this year's holiday auction. We are so grateful to the artists who donated and to the booksellers who helped us promote the auction," ABFFE President Chris Finan said

  

The children's art auction is a mainstay of ABFFE's fundraising for the Kids' Right to Read Project (KRRP), which it co-sponsors with the National Coalition Against Censorship. The auction, which is also held at the ABA Winter Institute and at BookExpo America, will continue after ABFFE becomes the ABFE Group at ABA next year. The ABFE Group will support KRRP as well as Banned Books Week, the national celebration of the freedom to read.

NEW BOOK! How Smart is a Lemur?

Brain power: Lemurs are amazing animals. These small creatures look like a cross between a cat and a squirrel. Scientists at Duke University are testing them to find out how smart they really are. Find out what they are discovering in this book.

Illustrated with spectacular color photographs, this 24 page book is written for fourth grade readers.  It is part of the Fountas Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention program. Like my book Octopus, Escape Artist of the Sea, How Smart is a Lemur? is in the Intriguing Animals series. My book Sneezes and Sniffles is also in the Fountas Pinnell LLI program.

I visited the Duke Lemur Center in Durham, North Carolina to learn about lemurs and meet with some of the people who work with them.  You can read about my visit at my travel blog, The Intrepid Tourist.

ABFFE Holiday Auction Begins Dec 1

Illustration of Eagle and Eaglets from A Bald Eagle's World

Once again I have contributed a piece of my art to the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), the bookseller's voice in the fight against censorship,  to help raise money to defend the free speech rights of kids in an online auction that launches on December 1. The week-long eBay auction will include work by Eric Carle, Rosemary Wells, Jon J Muth, Laura Vaccaro Seeger and Steve Light and many others. I have contributed a giclee print of one of my cut paper art illustrations for A Bald Eagle’s World.

Proceeds of the auction help support the Kids' Right to Read Project (KRRP), which is co-sponsored by ABFFE and the National Coalition Against Censorship. Since the start of the school year, KRRP has been fighting a rash of book challenges in school districts from Texas to New York. KRRP helped reinstate seven banned books in Highland Park, Texas, including The Art of Racing in the Rain, The Working Poor: Invisible in America, Siddhartha, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, An Abundance of Katherines, The Glass Castle: A Memoir and Song of Solomon.

AUTHOR VISIT AT THOMAS JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, Eastlake, Ohio

Arriving at Thomas Jefferson on a Snowy Morning

On Friday, November 14th, I had a wonderful author visit at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Eastlake, Ohio (near Cleveland).  I spoke to three groups of very enthusiastic students and teachers in the auditorium and then had a lively young author question and answer session with representatives from all the classrooms.

In the school auditorium

Before my visit the students had been introduced to my books Wiggle and Waggle, Too Hot? Too Cold?, A Warmer World and The Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers, purchased by the PTO for the school library, as well as numerous other of my books checked out from the public library, so they were well prepared. Questions ranged from “How do you get a book published?” to “Have you ever written a book about snakes?” (Yes.)

With Tim Hammon, Principal of Thomas Jefferson Elementary

I thank the principal, Tim Hammon, for coordinating the schedule, for introducing me at each presentation and making sure that everything during the day ran smoothly. I was also pleased to meet the school superintendent and assistant superintendent, who came to observe the young author session. And I thank Laurie in the office for ordering a very delicious lunch! And most of all, I thank Julie Pattie, PTO President, and her husband Chris for working so hard to raise the funds to make my visit possible, for arranging my stay at the Radisson Hotel (graciously donated), and for driving me to and from school and the airport in below freezing weather.

With Julie Pattie, PTO President, in the school library

I arrived in Cleveland in the midst of a snowstorm and, miraculously, the school district was the only one in the county not closed for the weather.  After a year of planning, it was a great pleasure to spend the day at Thomas Jefferson and meet all the people who make it such a great school. Thank you PTO for making it possible!

ANCIENT CLIFF DWELLERS OF MESA VERDE: One of 13 Great Books at StarWalk Kids Media Celebrating Native American Month

I was delighted to learn that my book ANCIENT CLIFF DWELLERS OF MESA VERDE is featured in this month's newsletter from StarWalk KidsMedia. From Maine to Hawaii, North Carolina to Alaska, StarWalk Kids Media has more than a dozen books that feature Native American history, culture and folklore. There are picture books with legends, myths and folktales illustrated by Indian artists, nonfiction for middle school with primary source documents, and exciting historical fiction. 

THE ANCIENT CLIFF DWELLERS OF MESA VERDE, is about the Anasazi, Native Americans who inhabited the cliffs and mesa tops of Mesa Verde, Colorado, a thousand years ago.  It is illustrated with beautiful photographs by Richard Hewett.  This book was originally published in 1992 as a hardback and paperback book by Clarion Books. It is now available again as an e-book at StarWalk Kids. You can also find it at Amazon as a Kindle book.
 

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: The Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde

Grade 4-6-- Sharply focused and dramatic full-page, full-color photographs are an outstanding feature in this book on the Anasazi people of the American Southwest. Mesa Verde serves as the backdrop and focal point. Photos of the spectacular cliff dwellings can be found throughout, but there are also pictures of archaeologists at work and many of the artifacts that have been found there. Chapters include a description of the discovery of the area by ranchers in the late 19th century and the development of the area into a national park. Readers will also see how painstaking archeology has re-created the probable scenario of how people lived when the area was at its height of development and various theories concerning the fate of the Anasazi. An engrossing introduction to the culture, the place, and the time, and how we have learned about them. --David N. Pauli, Missoula Pub . Lib . , MT

Sign up NOW for the December 6 FOCAL Award Luncheon

You may now register now for the December 6 FOCAL Award Luncheon!!!   And tell your friends.

Go to www.focalonline.org

FOCAL (Friends of Children and Literature, the support group of the Children’s programs of the Los Angeles Public Library) has chosen  The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins as the award winner for 2014. This beautifully written book chronicles the life of Kate Sessions, who led a campaign to plant trees in San Diego, California, thus turning the city from a seaside desert to a urban garden. Colorful illustrations by Jill McElmurry convey Kate Session’s passion for plants. 

Don't delay.  The luncheon is just four weeks away!

BOOK QUILT: Treasured Souvenir of Author Visit to Taft Primary School Many Years Ago

Detail of Quilt made by students at Taft Primary School, Taft, California

One of the most treasured souvenirs of my many author visits to schools through the years is the book quilt made for me by the students and parents of Taft Primary School in Taft, California. Well in advance of my visit, students had read a variety of my books.  They then chose a topic or scene from one of the books and made their own drawings which were then transferred to fabric by some very hardworking parents and sewn into a quilt.

Scenes from the Winter Olympics

The visit was made almost thirty years ago, around 1985. I can tell because many of the drawings feature events from The Summer Olympics and The Winter Olympics, books that were published at the time of the 1984 Summer Olympics which were held in Los Angeles.

Scene from My Friend From Outer Space

Some of the other quilt squares feature scenes from my book about giant sequoia trees, The Biggest Living Thing, which was illustrated with my own drawings and printed using preseparated colors. Other squares feature one of my favorite and most popular fiction books, My Friend From Outer Space, a story inspired by the imaginative games of my own children. All of the books pictured on the quilt are long out of print.  But every time I get out the quilt, I am not only reminded of the books, but of my wonderful visit to Taft Primary and the tremendous love of books and reading promoted throughout the community.

Scene depicting a page in The Biggest Living Thing

Project: THE SALTY SEA, Making Salt Crystals

Salt Crystals

Ocean and sea water is salty.  Some lakes are also made of salt water, but most have fresh water.  Great Salt Lake in Utah, the Salton Sea in California, and Lake Nakuru in Kenya are all salt lakes.
You may have swum in the ocean or a salt-water lake.  Even though the water was clear, you would have been able to taste the salt on your tongue.  When salt dissolves in water, it disappears.  Here is an experiment you can do to make it reappear.

Making Salt Crystals
You will need:

• 1 cup sea water (If you do not live near the ocean or a salt lake, you can make your own sea water by mixing 2 teaspoons table salt with 2 cups [.5 liter] water.)

• pie pan

• magnifying glass

1. Pour the sea water into the pan.  Put the pan in a warm, dry place and let the water evaporate.  This will take a few days.  What do you see when the water is gone?
2. Look at the salt crystals with the magnifying glass.  What shape are they?  Each kind of mineral forms its own crystal shapes.  Can you see the X-shaped indentation on the top of each crystal.

About two-thirds of the salt that is dissolved in sea water is sodium chloride, or ordinary table salt. When water evaporates from the sea, the salt is left behind, just as it was in your salt crystal project.  This means that the water vapor in the atmosphere, which falls back to Earth as rain, is fresh water.

You can find this project and many others in my book The Geography Book: Activities for Exploring, Mapping, and Enjoying Your World. It is available both in paperback and as a Kindle book.

CLCSC Fall Gala Featuring Author/Illustrator Bryan Collier

Martin's Big Words by Bryan Collier

A week ago on Saturday it was a pleasure once again to participate in the annual Fall Gala of the Children’s Literature Council of Southern California honoring outstanding authors and illustrators and the winner of the Dorothy C. McKenzie Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Field of Children’s Literature, this year given to much loved Dr. Claudette S. McLinn, Director, Center for the Study of Multicultural Literature. The featured speaker was author/illustrator Bryan Collier, recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration for several of his books and the 2002 Caldecott Honor Award for Martin’s Big Words.  In an entertaining and passionate speech he spoke about his childhood and the strong influence of books like Harold’s Purple Crayon and Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats on his own work.

This year the Gala was held at the Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge in a large hall near the entrance to the gardens. The morning began with a delicious breakfast and introductions. I was one of many authors attending the event. I enjoyed the opportunity see old friends and to chat with the librarians sitting at my table. After the event was over, my fellow author Joan Graham and I took a lovely walk through the gardens and visited the small art museum, which had a water themed exhibit. Although the weather was warm, the shady paths were pleasant as we walked through the various habitats on our way to the museum.  All in all, it was a lovely day!

DO AUTHOR VISITS MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Take the Survey

Have you ever hosted an author visit at a school or been part of a planning committee to bring an author to your community? I know from my own experience that author visits are one of the best ways to promote reading and writing and provide the opportunity for students and teachers to interact with a “real live” author/illustrator such as myself.
My friend Alexis O’Neill, author of The Recess Queen and many other well loved books, has been working on a study to provide statistics and stories to assist teachers and librarians in making a case for bringing authors and illustrators to their schools. But first, she needs to “take the temperature” of anyone who has hosted an author visit at their school or library.
If your answer is yes to the above question, it would be much appreciated if you would take the 2-minute survey at the following link. You responses may help bring more authors into schools and classrooms. http://tinyurl.com/kzjnutv
This study is being sponsored by the Ventura County Reading Association (California) and is the first of its kind. We’re hoping that this can offer helpful insights to schools as well as to published authors and illustrators.
As you may know, since the start of the recession and the No Child Left Behind initiative, teachers and librarians have had to fight harder to convince their administrators to host an author visit. Now that it’s the era of Common Core, will it be the same, worse or better climate for author visits?
Thanks a million for helping to get the word out!

Radical Changes in the Editing Process: Santa Barbara Breakfast With the Authors

Greg Trine, Joan Graham, Heidi Gill, Susan Casey, Valerie Hobbs, Alexis O'Neill, Sherry Shahan, Mel Gilden, Sara Kras, Marianne Richmond, Caroline Arnold, Robin Mellom, Amy Koss

Last Saturday I participated, along with thirteen other authors, in the 62nd annual Breakfast with the Authors sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Office of Education.  After time to mingle and chat and eat a delicious breakfast we each had the opportunity to address the question:  What is the most radical change you have made to your manuscript in the editing and rewriting processes?

For me, the answer was easy.  It was the conversion of my 24 page nonfiction picture book A Panda’s World (PictureWindow Books, 2006) to a 20 page board book.  First of all, the page sizes were shrunk from 11 by 11 inches, to 8 by 8 inches. (The illustrations remain the same, except smaller.) Then all the front matter (information about panda size, weight, etc.) was eliminated along with three pages of back matter (map, fun facts, glossary, etc.).  Then, the text on each page spread had to be shortened from two paragraphs to about two sentences! That's a radical change! And, the sidebars with fun facts were also eliminated. What was left were the essentials of the story.  Net result: a new book perfectly suited for a parent to read to a young child or for a beginning reader to read alone.  The board book edition of A Panda’s World will be published in February 2015, along with three other titles from the same series–A Penguin’s World, A Zebra’s World and A Polar Bear’s World.  I am delighted to have the new board book versions of these books, which make the stories available to a whole new audience.

The morning’s program also included a panel of teen readers who responded to anonymous first pages.  It was fascinating to hear their opinions and find out how they identified with the characters in the stories.
Thanks so much to Rose, Matt, Fred and Doris for all the hard work to organize the breakfast.  It is always a pleasure to participate!

Children’s Literature Class, Santa Barbara City College

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to speak to Elizabeth Bowman’s children’s literature class at Santa Barbara City College in Santa Barbara, California.  The students are current or pre-experience teachers at preschool and elementary grades.  They were a lively and appreciative audience with lots of excellent questions.  I talked about my books and life as an author and offered a variety of ways that books like mine can be used in the classroom both for reading and as jumping off places for related projects.  At the end of my presentation the last question was: “As you have visited schools over the years, what is the most memorable question you have had from a student?” I will never forget the student who asked, “If you could be a dinosaur, what kind of dinosaur would you be?”  My answer: a feathered dinosaur!
Thank you Elizabeth for inviting me to your class!

BANNED BOOKS WEEK, September 21-27, 2014, Celebrating the Freedom to Read

(reposted from the ABFFE September 26 Newsletter)
Booksellers around the country are participating in Banned Books Week, the national celebration of the freedom to read. Hundreds have created displays of banned and challenged titles, and many have organized events.

Independent bookstores are enthusiastic supporters of Banned Books Week, but as small businesses many do not have the resources to participate. To make it as easy as possible, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), the bookseller's voice in the fight against censorship, has joined the Ingram Content Group in distributing a free promotional kit that contains everything a bookstore needs to create a display, including a full-sized poster, "Caution" tape, bookmarks, stickers, and a flyer with detailed information about last year's book challenges. One hundred and sixty bookstores ordered the kit. 

Censorship affects all of us. To find out more about Banned Book Week celebrations and events, go to www.bannedbooksweek.org .

The ANCIENT CLIFF DWELLERS of MESA VERDE now at STARWALK KIDS

THE ANCIENT CLIFF DWELLERS OF MESA VERDE, my book about the Anasazi, Native Americans who inhabited the cliffs and mesa tops of Mesa Verde, Colorado, a thousand years ago, is now available again as an e-book at StarWalk Kids. It is illustrated with beautiful photographs by Richard Hewett. You can also find it at Amazon as a Kindle book.  This book was originally published in 1992 as a hardback and paperback book by Clarion Books and may still be available in your library.  I am thrilled to now have it as an ebook as well!

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: The Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde

Grade 4-6-- Sharply focused and dramatic full-page, full-color photographs are an outstanding feature in this book on the Anasazi people of the American Southwest. Mesa Verde serves as the backdrop and focal point. Photos of the spectacular cliff dwellings can be found throughout, but there are also pictures of archaeologists at work and many of the artifacts that have been found there. Chapters include a description of the discovery of the area by ranchers in the late 19th century and the development of the area into a national park. Readers will also see how painstaking archeology has re-created the probable scenario of how people lived when the area was at its height of development and various theories concerning the fate of the Anasazi. An engrossing introduction to the culture, the place, and the time, and how we have learned about them. --David N. Pauli, Missoula Pub . Lib . , MT

AUTHOR SHOWCASE, Bakersfield, CA

With Tina Nichols Coury at the SCBWI Author Showcase, Bakersfield, CA

A week ago on Saturday I had a great time in Bakersfield at the SCBWI CenCal PAL Showcase and met lots of enthusiastic parents and educators. Along with eleven other children's book authors, I had eight minutes to show some of the things I do during my school visits.  During the breaks, attendees came to our tables to collect information and book school visits for the coming year.  I am now looking forward to a number of visits to Kern County Schools.  Many thanks to Rebecca, Mary Ann and Allison for organizing the day!  Afterwards, all the authors had a delicious dinner at Mexicali restaurant and a chance to relax together.

All Twelve Showcase Authors!

Don’t Miss Santa Barbara’s BREAKFAST WITH THE AUTHORS, Oct 4, 2014

On Saturday, October 4th I will be one of the authors speaking at the 62nd annual Breakfast With the Authors.  This has been a highlight of the fall much longer than I’ve been an author and I always enjoy taking part.
You can enjoy a delicious brunch featuring several types of quiche, fresh fruit, and baked goods while mingling with well-known and much-loved authors & illustrators of children’s literature.
The program includes a panel discussion, an open mic forum, authors’ comments, brunch, and the chance to purchase personally autographed books.

This year’s guest authors include:

Caroline  Arnold
Susan  Casey
Mel  Gilden
Heidi  Gill
Joan Bransfield Graham
Valerie  Hobbs
Amy Goldman Koss
Sara Louise Kras
Robin  Mellom
Alexis  O’Neill
Marianne  Richmond
Sherry  Shahan
Greg  Trine
Eugene  Yelchin

TO REGISTER, click HERE.

THE WRITING PROCESS: Where Do I Write?

At my desk in my office

A number of years ago I moved to a new house and got a new office.  One of its attractions is that it has a huge closet for storing my many boxes with the research material for my books.  In many ways I have found my perfect work space--it is no longer in the center of the house, it is light and airy with a view of the garden, it has room for desks, filing cabinets and bookshelves, and it has plenty of space for the proliferating equipment of the modern home office.  My desk and office are where I conduct the business of writing.  Yet, when I am in the midst of a writing project, my favorite place to work is still at the dining room table.  Not only does the table have a comfortable familiarity, but it takes me away from the distractions of my office and gives me the space I need to write.

WOMBAT Coloring Page

As darkness falls in Australia, a mother and baby wombat come out of their burrow.  They spend the night digging up grasses and roots to eat.  Soon the young wombat will be big enough to live on his own.
For a coloring page of a wombat on its nightly search for food, click here.
You can find out more about wombats in my book A WOMBAT'S WORLD (Picture Window Books, 2008.)  Look for the hardback book in your library.  The interactive e-book is available at http://www.capstonepub.com/library/products/wombat-s-world-2/ .

PLATYPUS Coloring Page

The platypus is one of the world's strangest mammals.  It has fur like a beaver, a bill and webbed feet like a duck, and, unlike all other mammals except the echidna, it lays eggs.  Found only in Australia, this elusive animal only comes out of its burrow at night.  Then it dives into a lake or stream to search for food.
To download a coloring page of a mother platypus and her two youngsters, click HERE.
You can learn more about platypuses in my book A PLATYPUS' WORLD (Picture Window Books, 2008.) Look for it in your library.  It is also available as an interactive e-book at http://www.capstonepub.com/product/9781404897618 .

FOCAL Writing Contest for Kids: THE TREE LADY

 (reposted from UTLA United News "Grapevine" section, August 2014)

The Tree Lady

An Essay Contest for Grades 3-8

An exciting opportunity to develop writing skills in your students is available from now until November 1st.  Enter your students in the FOCAL Award essay contest! Teachers in grades 3-8 may contact us on a first come, first served basis, for the award winning book, The Tree Lady, by H. Joseph Hopkins, to read to your students.  Then, encourage your students to write about why they liked the book and what it means to them. Three winners will share their essay at the award luncheon where they will meet the author and receive an autographed copy of the book!

Can you imagine the lovely city of San Diego as a desert town in the 1800’s? That’s what Kate Sessions, who became known as the tree lady, discovered when she moved there after college. Kate’s love of trees and her persistence are the reason we all enjoy the variety of trees in Balboa Park today.

The award is given annually by FOCAL (Friends of Children and Literature) to an excellent book with strong California content.  For more information visit:  http://www.focalonline.org  Complimentary copies of the book are available to teachers (to use with students who are writing essays) at the Children’s Literature Department of Los Angeles Public Library’s Central Library while supplies last.  Call ahead to reserve your free copy at 213-228-7250.

GRUNT, QUACK, OINK: Focus on Animal Books for Kids in SLJ

Many thanks to Barbara Wysocki for the nice mention, along with authors Gail Gibbons and Seymour Simon, in her July 23, 2014 post in School Library Journal!  I am delighted that nonfiction books like ours, and the wonderful new titles that she lists are becoming a focus of Common Core.  Kids always love learning about animals!

GRUNT, QUACK, OINK: Focus on Animal Books

By Barbara Wysocki

While the nation’s schools align their curricula with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), school and public librarians serving children remain constant in their task of connecting young people with age-appropriate, meaningful materials. As Olga Nesi, a library services coordinator in the NYC Department of Education, notes, “While public and school librarians differ, our common patron base of children gives both groups fertile ground for growing ever stronger collaborative bonds.” Implementing CCSS for elementary students emphasizes content-rich text, and that means a wider range of carefully chosen nonfiction titles will end up in classrooms, backpacks, and, hopefully, even tucked into suitcases for family vacations. Linda Williams, children’s services consultant for the Connecticut State Library, highlights trade books found through reliable review sources. “Many books are advertised as suitable for Common Core use,” says Williams, “but librarians are looking for high-quality, complex texts.” She sees librarians as being well suited to help teachers find the materials they need, and is developing a webpage to assist in that effort.

As teachers team up with librarians to create go-to book lists and recommended websites, this is a starter set of animal-related nonfiction titles suitable for the elementary set. “Moo” and “Baa” are among a toddler’s first words, so it’s no surprise that young readers are fascinated by critters that swim, hop, and fly. (You’ll find some suggestions for classroom use tucked into the annotations.) While the focus is on outstanding books from the past three years, also recommended are standouts by authors such as Gail Gibbons, Caroline Arnold, and Seymour Simon, who’ve written excellent volumes for years. With a wealth of choices, this list covers a wide range of animals, but does not include insects. The books are divided into land, sea, and air, with a section devoted to more encyclopedic titles.

[Follow the link above for SLJ to see the list of books.]

FOLD THE FLOCK: Passenger Pigeon Origami Project

Origami Passenger Pigeon from Audubon

2014 marks the centennial anniversary of the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon. Once millions of these birds gathered in huge flocks across the eastern part of North America.  Now they are gone.To help remember the Passenger Pigeon, the Audubon Society is promoting the folding of origami pigeons as a symbolic way of recreating the great flocks of 100 years ago and raise awareness of the need to protect all our wildlife. A beautiful preprinted origami pigeon and directions for folding is included inside the May-June issue of Audubon Magazine.  You can also download a copy (for free) from the web at foldtheflock.org  or order sets of printed birds ready for folding.  Recently, my granddaughter helped me fold the pigeon that came in my magazine. When we finished, we logged onto the www.foldtheflock.org site and added ours to the flock.  As of August 3, 2014 the total number in the flock was 248,859.  By now it will be much more! You can fold yours and help the flock to grow.  Learn more about why Passenger Pigeons went extinct in the May-June 2014 issue of Audubon Magazine.

BIRDS: NATURE'S MAGNIFICENT FLYING MACHINES Now Translated into Chinese

Recently, the mailman delivered a package, and, to my surprise, it contained a copy of my book BIRDS: NATURE'S MAGNIFICENT FLYING MACHINES (Charlesbridge, 2003) translated into Chinese.  I am always thrilled to find out that my books have been translated into other languages and to think that children in other parts of the world are reading what I wrote. I also like to see what the text looks like in other languages.  In this case, I was particularly fascinated to see the Chinese characters that are used for the word "birds" in the title and for my name.  I was inspired to get out the chop (or "official" seal) of my name that I had made when I was in Shanghai in 2005 for an author visit.  Only my first name fit, but now that I have my book, I can see how my last name is written as well.

CALIFORNIA READERS CLOSING ITS DOORS

As of August 2014, California Readers will be closing its doors. The main reason is the fact that LAUSD has not been funding personnel for its school libraries for the past several years and the people needed to coordinate the program in the schools are not there.
I am so sad to learn that California Readers will no longer exist.  It has been a wonderful organization and done so much to help connect authors like me with the many schools in the LA area.  I have really enjoyed the opportunity to do school visits both during the regular school day and after school for the LA's Best program.  And I will miss the annual luncheon, which has always been a highlight of the year.  I thank California Readers for honoring me as a Leo Politi author and for everything else it has done to promote reading, writing and the love of books.

GIRAFFE, with photos by Richard Hewett, Now Available at StarWalk Kids

Informative and engaging, Giraffe offers a close-up look at this gentle giant of the African plains. A clear text and forty extraordinary full-color photographs highlight the giraffe’s unusual physical features and present a fascinating view of its day-to-day life and behavior, both in captivity and in the wild.
My book, GIRAFFE, originally published by Morrow Junior Books, is now available as a digital book at StarWalk Kids and also soon at Amazon as a Kindle book. It is illustrated with captivating photos by Richard Hewett. I am thrilled to see this book available again.  Through the month of July you can read all of the books in the StarWalk Kids catalogue for free.  It is a great opportunity!

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Review of Giraffe

Most photos of giraffes are interesting: that powerful neck and the long slim body that go with it make every movement unusual. Here they crane toward their favorite food leaves from the acadia trees, posing awkwardly to drink water without tipping over in one picture, then galloping gracefully with all four legs off the ground in the next, twisting around in a knot for a drink of mother's milk. The concise text offers a general introduction to the giraffe and includes a close-up look at a newborn calf young giraffe. Arnold also passes on other information, like the animal's zoological name, which translates to "camel leopard." Hewett's well-placed, full-color photos reveal both the elegant and goofy sides of the giraffe. These two have collaborated on Koala, Kangaroo and, more recently, Zebra. Ages 7-10.

2014 FOCAL AWARD: The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins

Written by H. Joseph Hopkins, Illustrated by Jill McElmurry

FOCAL (Friends of Children and Literature, the support group of the Children’s programs of the Los Angeles Public Library) has chosen  The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins as the award winner for 2014. The award will be presented at a luncheon December 6, 2014. This beautifully written book chronicles the life of Kate Sessions, who led a campaign to plant trees in San Diego, California, thus turning the city from a seaside desert to a urban garden. Colorful illustrations by Jill McElmurry convey Kate Session’s passion for plants.
I have been a member of the FOCAL Award Committee for four years, this year (my final year) as the past chair. Books that are considered for this award must have a California connection, and I must say I always learn more about my state after reading the books nominated for each year. This book gave me a new perspective on the beautiful city of San Diego and on a determined woman who followed her dream.

Katherine Olivia Sessions was born on Nob Hill in San Francisco November 8, 1857. After graduation from high school in Oakland,she entered the University of California at Berkeley in 1877, where she studied science and graduated in 1881. Her horticultural career began after teaching briefly in San Diego where she accepted a position in 1884. As owner of a flower shop and a succession of nurseries in Coronado, City Park, Mission Hills and Pacific Beach, she became a central figure in California and national horticultural circles with her landscaping, plant introductions, and classes.
It is in Balboa Park that the legacy of Kate Sessions is most obvious. She leased land in what was then called "City Park" in 1892 for a nursery. For this privilege, she was to plant one hundred trees a year in the park and furnish three hundred more for planting throughout the city. In 1902 she was instrumental in the formation of the park Improvement Committee with her friends George Marston and Mary B. Coulston. Their work resulted in assuring the park's place in the life of the community. Kate Sessions died March 24, 1940. She has come to be called the "Mother of Balboa Park" and a bronze statue of her was erected there in 1998.
(Excerpted from the San Diego History Center)

LLAMA is Now Available at StarWalk Kids

Llama offers youngsters a close-up view of these gentle, elegant-looking natives of the high Andean plateaus. They are used to transport goods in places where cars and trucks cannot go, and their wool is woven into beautiful, warm clothing.

My book, LLAMA, originally published by Morrow Junior Books, is now available as a digital book at StarWalk Kids and also soon at Amazon as a Kindle book. It is illustrated with captivating photos by Richard Hewett. I am thrilled to see this book available again.  Through the month of July you can read all of the books in the StarWalk Kids catalogue for free.  It is a great opportunity!

SPONGE SPROUTER: Garden Activity for Young Children

One of my first illustration assignments was for a book about gardening activities with children.  At that time, most books for children were illustrated with black and white art so I made pencil drawings.  Here is one of the activities meant for younger children.  It would work well with pre-school or kindergarten children.

SPONGE SPROUTER

Squeeze most of the moisture out of a large wet sponge and attach a string to it as illustrated.  Have the children sprinkle alfalfa or cress seeds on the sponge and hang it in a sunny window. Lightly spray with water each day.

Materials needed: Large sponge, string, alfalfa or cress seeds.

From Children’s Gardens: A Field Guide for Teachers, Parents and Volunteers by Elizabeth Bremner and John Pusey, Illustrations by Caroline Arnold