CELEBRATING 40 YEARS WITH ANDREA BROWN

Forty years ago Andrea Brown began the Andrea Brown Literary Agency and I became one of her first authors. I had already published a few books, but I knew that if I had an agent, I would be better able to negotiate my book contracts. It was one of the best writing decisions I ever made and the beginning of a fruitful relationship.Since then Andrea's business has expanded to include a whole host of other agents and I have gone on to publish more than one hundred books. I couldn't have done it without her. Thank you Andrea Brown for 40 super successful years!

Illustration by Cece Bell.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

When Art was in high school he was an exchange student, living for a year with a family in Berlin, Germany, it was the beginning of a life-long friendship. After Art and I were married, his German family sent us annual gifts of beautiful Christmas plates from the KPM porcelain factory in Berlin, each year with a different design. (Weihnachten is the German word for Christmas or Christmas Eve.) We get the plates out each year during the holidays and are reminded of all the wonderful times spent together both in Germany and here in the United States.
The holidays are a time to connect with family and friends near and far. As I celebrate with my friends and family this year in California, I send you my best wishes for

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
and a
JOYOUS NEW YEAR! 

TRAPPED I N TAR: THE PERFECT GIFT FOR A YOUNG FOSSIL LOVER

Ice Age fossils of mammoths, sabertooth cats, dire wolves and more, discovered in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles and displayed in the George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries. TRAPPED IN TAR: Fossils from the Ice Age tells the story behind the fossils and about life in the Ice Age when these animals were alive and examines the work of the paleontologists who excavate and study them. During the Ice Age, over 400 different kinds of animals lived on the grassy plain that is now Los Angeles. Then, as now, pools of tar sometimes seeped to the surface of the earth. Unwary animals stepped into the sticky tar and were trapped. There they died. Gradually their bones sank to the bottom of the tar seep. In time, the tar penetrated the bones and preserved them. This book tells the story of the Rancho La Brea fossils and examines the work of the paleontologists who excavate and study them at the George C. Page Museum in Los Angeles, California.

TRAPPED IN TAR is available at Amazon for $9.95 (paperback.) It is the perfect introduction to a trip to the La Brea Tar Pits or as a vicarious visit from afar. It is also available as an e-book.

ANIMAL PRINTS MAKE GREAT GIFTS! See My Art on Etsy

GREAT GIFTS! Consider purchasing one of my limited edition giclee prints made from my original cut-paper illustrations I created for my children’s books in the Caroline Arnold's Habitats series published by Picture Window Books (Capstone). The quality of the scan is impressive. Even though the paper of the print is flat, it retains the three-dimensional quality of the layered paper of the original art.Each large print is 10 1/4 inches by 20 inches with a one inch white border.The print of the mother and baby panda is 10 1/4 inches square with a white border. Art is shipped in a sturdy mailing tube.

Go to https://www.etsy.com/shop/CarolineArnoldArt to see the available art at my Etsy site.

BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6 WORD SEARCH at TeachingBooks.net

Did you know that you can create a word search of vocabulary words from my book BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6? After you have chosen the words (up to twenty) you can print it out for yourself or your students.

I just discovered this wonderful feature at TeachingBooks.net. Click on this link to go to the page for BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6. https://www.teachingbooks.net/qla2am5

On the left side of the page you will see an icon for the word search. Click on it and it will take you to the word search activity. You can use the suggested words or go to the back of the book and select words from the glossary. Good luck!

TeachingBooks.net is an online database that can be used by teachers, students, librarians, and families to explore children's books and young adult literature and their authors. Twenty of my books have pages at TeachingBooks. At each one you can find a blurb about the book, how to pronounce my name, author interviews and more.

Other Caroline Arnold titles you can find at TeachingBooks.net. (You can find them by using the search function at the top of the TeachingNet home page.)
A WARMER WORLD: From Polar Bears to Butterflies, How Climate Change Affects Wildlife
BIRDS: Nature’s Magnificent Flying Machines
A KILLER WHALE’S WORLD
TOO HOT? TOO COLD? Keeping Body Temperature Just Right
HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6
BUTTERLFIES IN ROOM 6
THE ANCIENT CLIFF DWELLERS OF MESA VERDE
WIGGLE AND WAGGLE
YOUR SKELETAL SYSTEM
GLOBAL WARMING AND THE DINOSAURS
GIANT SEA REPTILES OF THE DINOSAUR AGE
A POLAR BEAR’S WORLD
LIVING FOSSILS: Clues to the Past
A WALK IN THE DESERT
THE TERRIBLE HODAG AND THE ANIMAL CATCHERS
A WALK IN THE WOODS
A WOMBAT’S WORLD
A PLATYPUS’ WORLD
THE SKELETAL SYSTEM
HAWK HIGHWAY IN THE SKY

PRESS RELEASE for KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog

I am so excited that KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog (Cameron Kids, April 15, 2022) is soon to be available. I am beginning to work with the marketing director at Cameron Books to promote the book. Printed books will not be available until April, but a press release with a peek at the book and the beautiful illustrations by Rachell Sumpter is available now. 

Click HERE to go to my Angel Island web page where you can download the press release.

I have visited Angel Island numerous times. I loved learning about Juliet and her lighthouse and about Angel Island. My book is based on historical records and her log, which I read at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Stay tuned for more information about KEEPER OF THE LIGHT!

OGE MORA: Keynote Speaker at the CLCSC 2021 Virtual Fall Gala

Oge Mora, Caldecott Winner for Thank You Omu

In an ordinary year, the Children’s Literature Council of Southern California would be celebrating children’s books at their annual Fall Gala, with delicious food, a keynote speaker, and awards to authors, illustrators, and people with distinguished service in the field of children’s literature. But this year, as in the fall of 2020, the Fall Gala was virtual, and was held on Saturday, November 13. While not as much fun as being there in person, it was a pleasure to attend virtually.

The featured speaker was children’s book author/illustrator Oge Mora (pronounced oh-gay), who gave an inspirational talk about the collage technique she uses to illustrate her books. Using examples from her Caldecott winning book Thank You Omu and other titles, she showed how she gets her ideas, selects her papers--sometimes creating them herself--and the secret of the tiny bits of paper that may look like scraps but can turn out to be the key to an illustration. Here are a few samples of slides she used in her talk.

 

After Oge Mora’s presentation, this year’s honorees of the CLCSC awards were announced: Masha D’yans, Cindi M. Alvitre and Carly Lake, Keith Calabrese, Ernesto Cisneros, Jordan Ifueko and Alana Weisberg. Carly Lake and Jordan Ifueko could not attend, but each of the others gave a thoughtful and gracious acceptance speech. The final part of the program was a panel discussion with Oge Mora and the award winners. 

Panel Discussion: Alethea Allarey, Moderator; Oge Mora, Keith Calabrese, Alana Weisberg, Ernesto Cisneros

Congratulations to the winners, and to the 2021 Fall Gala Committee and Awards Committee for a terrific program. Many thanks to CLCSC President Jennifer Driscoll for chairing the event.

Jennifer Driscoll, CLCSC President

For more about the program and winners please go to the CLCSC website: www.childrensliteraturecouncil.org .

PREVIEW OF NEW BOOK: PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 From Seeds to Salad

HOORAY! My advance copy of PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6: From Seeds to Salad (Charlesbridge, 2022) just arrived in the mail. It looks beautiful! Many thanks to my editor, Alyssa Pusey, and Catherine Schaad, the designer of the book, for making this such a special book. The official publication date is not until March 15, 2022, so this is just a sneak peak.

This is my third book with Mrs. Best and her kindergarten students. During the three months of the growing cycle, the children planted flowers and vegetables in raised garden beds in the play yard outside their classroom, measuring, caring for, and observing the plants up close as they learned firsthand about the growth cycle. The children’s enthusiasm was contagious as they learned about the garden plants and watched them grow. I am extremely grateful to Jennifer Best for her cooperation with this project and for being my expert reader. I couldn’t have done this book without her.

PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 is a Junior Library Guild Gold selection. Although you won’t be able to buy PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 until March, you can preorder it on Amazon now. Meanwhile, you can look for the other two books in the series, HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6 and BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6. 

 

THE ANCIENT CLIFF DWELLERS OF MESA VERDE on the November SCBWI Recommended Reading List

I am pleased to have my book THE ANCIENT CLIFF DWELLERS OF MESA VERDE featured on this month’s SCBWI recommended reading list in the nonfiction section. Each month, SCBWI features books written and illustrated by its members. And every month highlights a new theme that will foster discussions, activities, and enjoyment!

The theme for November is Native, First Nations, and Indigenous Heritage, featuring books that celebrate the diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. On this list, you will find fiction, nonfiction, Own Voices books, bilingual books, and more. So pick up a book and become immersed in this rich culture.

THE ANCIENT CLIFF DWELLERS OF MESA VERDE is available as an ebook from Amazon. It was originally published by Clarion Books in 1992. 

My first visit to Mesa Verde National Park was on a family vacation when I was fourteen. We pitched our tent on the edge of the mesa and, like the ancient Anasazi, cooked our meals over an open fire. It was easy to imagine our campsite as a place where the Anasazi might have tilled the ground to plant corn and beans or hunted with bows and arrows for deer or wild turkey. As we looked into the canyon below our campsite we could see Spruce Tree House, a complex of square buildings that had been built into the cliff wall one thousand years ago. Protected from wind and weather by the overhanging rocks, they looked much as they had when they were new. My brothers and I delighted in scrambling up and down the ladders of the cliff dwellings and investigating the open rooms. I also spent hours inside the park museum learning about the people who had once lived at Mesa Verde. As I viewed the fine baskets, intricately decorated pots, carved stone and bone tools and other artifacts, I wondered about the ancient Americans known to us as the Anasazi and about why they had abandoned their homes around 1300 AD. 

When I returned to Mesa Verde thirty years later with Richard Hewett to research and photograph our book, I discovered that even more ancient sites had been excavated and opened to the public. I was intrigued by the archeological process--how people discover evidence of ancient cultures and how they figure out what it means. The buildings and household objects that the Anasazi left behind are like pieces of a puzzle, which reveal what life was like on that high tableland over a thousand years ago.

VIRTUAL AUTHOR VISIT at Verdugo Woodland School, Glendale, CA

When Mammoths Walked the Earth, Japanese and English editions

Last Tuesday I had a terrific virtual visit with the first and second graders at Verdugo Woodland School in Glendale, California, including two classes in their Japanese dual language program. I shared my book WHEN MAMMOTHS WALKED THE EARTH, which has been translated into Japanese, and my mammoth tooth--an exact copy of a real fossil tooth. 

Like elephants, mammoths had very large teeth, all of them molars and ideal for chewing the leaves, grass and other plant foods that they ate. 

 

 

We talked about birds and feathers and spread out our arms to measure our wingspans. I also read my book A ZEBRA'S WORLD and demonstrated how I make the cut paper art illustrations. At the end, the students had the chance to ask me questions. 

A Guide Dog Puppy, English and Japanese editions

Many thanks to the Assistance League of Glendale for sponsoring my visit.

CELEBRATE BATS during INTERNATIONAL BAT WEEK and during The Whole Year

 

Bat Week is an annual international celebration of the important role of bats in nature. While we often think about bats during the weeks before Halloween, we need to be aware of their critical role in the ecosystem during the whole year. You can learn more at the Bat Week website. 

You can also learn about bats in my book BAT (Morrow Junior Books, 1996) illustrated with close-up photographs by Richard Hewett, now available as a digital book on Amazon.There are more than 950 species of bats in the world today. This book focuses on two species of bats found commonly in the United States--the big brown bat and the Mexican free-tailed bat.

Bats play an essential role in the balance of nature-eating millions of insect pests nightly and pollinating hundreds of different types of plants. Yet unfounded superstitions and fear, plus the destruction of their habitats, are endangering many species of bats the world over. The clear text and forty up-close full-color photographs highlight bats' unusual physical characteristics and present a fascinating view of their day-to-day life and behavior.

Learn some cool facts about bats and other animals in this issue of the National Geographic newsletter.

BACK TO SCHOOL WITH CHICKENS

Author Carolyn Combs blog for Sept 2021

I was pleased to discover my book HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6 featured on author Carolyn Combs blog. Each month she presents books about a different animal. The theme for September 2021 was AN-ANIMAL-A-MONTH: CHICKENS. 

Many thanks to Carolyn Combs! Check out her blog and learn about my book and four other fascinating books about chickens and their relatives! 

HUMBOLDT COUNTY CHILDREN'S AUTHOR FESTIVAL PROMOTION VIDEO

A year from now, in October 2022, I will be participating in the biannual Humboldt County Children's Author Festival. In anticipation of that I have made a video for the Humboldt County Office of Education to help promote enthusiasm and prepare students and teachers for the festival. You can see my video on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/602047329 . Here is the text of the video:

I am CAROLINE ARNOLD, author of Butterflies in Room 6 and 170 other books for children.

I am so excited about the Author Festival coming up in October 2022.

            I always love to come to beautiful Humboldt County.

            I love visiting schools like yours to share my books and learn how you are using them in your classrooms and libraries.

            I love viewing the exhibit of children’s book illustrations at the Morris Graves Museum and seeing how other artists like me illustrate their books.

            And I always look forward to meeting old friends and making new ones at the festival.

 I love the theme of the 2022 Festival– Take Flight with Books.

            It is perfect for my books about birds and butterflies–true masters of the air.

            Books help us take flight in our imaginations–to faraway places, to other times in history, to the secrets of the natural world–even when we are stuck at home as we have been in this last year.

            When I was ten years old I met a girl who loved to read as much as I did. We went to the library together and checked out stacks of books. In the summer, we would spread out a blanket in the shade of the maple tree in my back yard and read our books together, sharing our favorite parts.

            I didn’t know then that I would grow up to be a writer. But I realize now that my love of reading helped me to become a writer. I was learning how other writers made their books exciting and made me want to turn the page. That’s my job today.

            Some of you may want to be writers or illustrators when you grow up. My advice is simple:  practice, practice, practice!

One way that you can practice your writing is by keeping a diary. I always keep a diary or log when I travel, which helps me remember all the exciting things I did and saw after I get home.

One way you can practice your art is by drawing in a sketch book. I like to go on sketching trips at the park with my granddaughter, who also loves to draw. Last summer during the pandemic it was a perfect outdoor activity when we couldn’t meet inside.

            I still love to read and draw and I belong to two book groups–one to discuss adult books and the other for children’s books.

            I also belong to a writer’s group. We share our stories and offer comments, helping one another to become better writers.

            By October 2022 I will have two new books to share with you-- Planting a Garden in Room 6: From Seeds to Salad, my third book with Mrs. Best and her kindergarteners, and Keeper of the Light: Juliet Fights the Fog, the true story of an intrepid lighthouse keeper in San Francisco Bay at the time of the 1906 earthquake.

            What I missed most during the pandemic were my in person visits to schools and libraries.

            I look forward to joining you in 2022 to Take Flight with Books at another wonderful Humboldt County Children’s Author Festival.

            Until then, have fun reading, writing, and drawing!

            Thank you!

           

MAKE A HODAG SCULPTURE WITH CLAY

Clay sculpture of a Hodag

What creature has the head of an ox, feet of a bear, back of a dinosaur, and tail of an alligator? The HODAG! You can read stories about the Hodag in my books The Terrible Hodag and The Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers. (The Terrible Hodag is also available on Kindle in Spanish as El Terrible Hodag.)

The Hodag is the mascot of Camp Bovey, the camp for children and families in northern Wisconsin operated by East Side Neighborhood Services in Minneapolis. 

At the recent Night Under the Stars celebration of Camp Bovey at ESNS, children had the chance to make their own Hodags with clay. 

You can enjoy doing this project too! Remember, that even though the Hodag might look scary, it is really a friendly creature who loves the forest.

 

BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6 JIGSAW PUZZLE at TeachingBooks.net

Did you know that you could turn the cover of my book BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6 into an online jigsaw puzzle and time yourself to find out how long it takes to put the puzzle pieces back together? I just discovered this wonderful feature at TeachingBooks.net. Click on this link to go to the page for BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6. https://www.teachingbooks.net/qla2am5

On the left side of the page you will see an icon of a puzzle piece. Click on it and it will take you to the puzzle activity. You can choose a 4, 16, 36 or 64 piece puzzle. The pieces will go to the side and you can slide them back to the frame with your mouse. A clock will time you as you put them back together to make the cover of the book. Good luck!

TeachingBooks.net is an online database that can be used by teachers, students, librarians, and families to explore children's books and young adult literature and their authors. Twenty of my books have pages at TeachingBooks. At each one you can find a blurb about the book, how to pronounce my name, author interviews and more. 

Other Caroline Arnold titles you can find at TeachingBooks.net. (You can find them by using the search function at the top of the TeachingNet home page.) You can do these as puzzles too!

A WARMER WORLD: From Polar Bears to Butterflies, How Climate Change Affects Wildlife
BIRDS: Nature’s Magnificent Flying Machines
A KILLER WHALE’S WORLD
TOO HOT? TOO COLD? Keeping Body Temperature Just Right
HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6
BUTTERLFIES IN ROOM 6
THE ANCIENT CLIFF DWELLERS OF MESA VERDE
WIGGLE AND WAGGLE
YOUR SKELETAL SYSTEM
GLOBAL WARMING AND THE DINOSAURS
GIANT SEA REPTILES OF THE DINOSAUR AGE
A POLAR BEAR’S WORLD
LIVING FOSSILS: Clues to the Past
A WALK IN THE DESERT
THE TERRIBLE HODAG AND THE ANIMAL CATCHERS
A WALK IN THE WOODS
A WOMBAT’S WORLD
A PLATYPUS’ WORLD
THE SKELETAL SYSTEM
HAWK HIGHWAY IN THE SKY

WIN A PRIZE at the HUMBOLDT COUNTY AUTHOR FESTIVAL 2021 CHALLENGE

Take the Author Festival 2021 Challenge to get ready to Take Flight With Books in 2022!

Under normal circumstances, October 2021 would be another wonderful Humboldt County Children’s Author Festival, with authors, like me, doing in-person visits at schools and libraries.. But, because of the pandemic, the festival has been postponed a year. Instead, there will be a free virtual challenge for kids and teens that includes reading, learning about authors and their books, and writing, drawing or making video book reviews.
Author Festival 2021 Challenge begins Monday, September 20 and ends Saturday, October 23. To learn more and how to sign up, go to the Festival website: https://www.authorfest.org/home. Watch the video for an overview of the festival and a sneak peek at authors who have participated in the past. And when you sign up for the challenge you will find longer videos of all the authors–including me!
Have fun with the challenge! Everyone who completes the challenge wins a prize!
And get ready to Take Flight with Books in 2022.

A NIGHT UNDER THE STARS, Celebrating Camp Bovey

Family fun with live music, food trucks, crafts, singing, dancing.

I learned to love nature at Camp Bovey, the summer camp for kids and families of Northeast Minneapolis, located in the woods of northern Wisconsin. Come celebrate–in person or in spirit--at A Night Under the Stars with G.B. Leighton on October 1st at East Side Neighborhood Services and help the next generation of Camp Bovey families enjoy high quality experiences in nature. Every donation helps! Proceeds will go towards the Camp Bovey restoration campaign. Click HERE for the link to tickets/donations.

Camp Bovey

Camp Bovey is operated by East Side Neighborhood Services in Minneapolis and was founded by my father when he was the director. My first visit to Camp Bovey was in 1949 and I went there every summer after that until 1966, when our family moved to California. I went swimming, fishing, boating, made lanyards in the craft cabin, played Capture the Flag, and sat around the campfire listening to stories about the Hodag, a creature with the head of an ox, feet of a bear, back of a dinosaur, and tail of an alligator. The Hodag is the camp’s mascot. After I became a children's book writer, the Hodag became the subject of two of my fiction books.

Visiting Camp Bovey in 2018. Wearing my staff sweatshirt, saved from 1966.

I have been involved in a fund raising effort to make much needed upgrades to keep Camp Bovey the wonderful place it has always been for kids and families of Northeast Minneapolis. I’d love to have you participate. 

ROSALYNN CARTER BUTTERFLY TRAIL

Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail at Lake Lure, NC

From roses to succulents, pollinator gardens to art installations, the Flowering Bridge at Luke Lure, in the mountains of western North Carolina, is a wonder of nature and testament to the volunteers who turned an abandoned bridge into a beautiful floral walkway.

The Lake Lure Flowering Bridge is a stop along the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail, which begins in Plains, Georgia, at the home of President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter. The mission of the trail is to promote the full life cycle of butterflies common in this area with a special emphasis on the monarch.

Monarch butterfly.

When Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter learned of the struggling Monarch Butterfly population and threatened migration from North America to Mexico, she called on her neighbor and friend Annette Wise for advice on planting the right native plants in her garden.  When friends and neighbors in Plains learned what she was doing, they wanted to provide habitat in their gardens to help pollinators. Eventually, a "trail" started of butterfly gardens one house at a time, one church at a time, one library, one state, and so on.

The more butterfly gardens that exist, the greater the population of Monarch Butterflies, which have been so threatened for the past several decades primarily due to the removal of milkweed plants from farms and properties.  Monarch butterflies need milkweed on which to lay their eggs. Otherwise, the cycle of life for butterflies ends.  All pollinators benefit from native nectar and host plants. Find out more about the relationship between monarchs and milkweed at my earlier post on this blog.

On an informational board at the beginning of the bridge is a panel describing common butterflies of the area.

I visited the Flowering Bridge and learned about the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail on a trip to North Carolina in August. I was pleased to see information about the Painted Lady Butterfly, the subject of my book BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6.  It was a rainy day and I didn’t see any butterflies, but I am sure that when the sun comes out, the garden will be full of them, feeding on nectar produced by the abundance of flowers.

You can read more about my visit to the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge at my travel blog The Intrepid Tourist.

All Text and Photos copyright Caroline Arnold