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| Author Carolyn Combs blog for Sept 2021 |
Many thanks to Carolyn Combs! Check out her blog and learn about my book and four other fascinating books about chickens and their relatives!
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
BACK TO SCHOOL WITH CHICKENS
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
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!
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
MAKE A HODAG SCULPTURE WITH CLAY
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| 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.
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
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!
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
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