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.