REVIEW OF PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 at THE NONFICTION DETECTIVES

I was delighted to discover PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6: From Seeds to Salad reviewed on THE NONFICTION DETECTIVES, the excellent blog by librarians Cathy Potter and Louise Capizzo. It posted on April 22, 2022, Earth Day! Thank you for helping to spread the word about my new book!

Here is the review:

Planting a Garden in Room 6: From Seeds to Salad

Written and photographed by Caroline Arnold

Charlesbridge. 2022

Another addition in Arnold’s Life Cycles in Room 6 series, has this kindergarten class planting a garden. In beautiful, colored photos we follow this special teacher as she shares her love of science with her students.

This year, Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Best, has brought some lettuce, kale, radish, spinach, carrots, and pea sees for student to plant in their classroom garden. Readers follow students as they discover each plant has it own kind of seed, preparing the soil to watching the seeds emerge. As they learn about helpful insects, weeding, and garden care the best part comes at harvest time when they can all enjoy the fruits of their labor with a yummy salad. 

The book includes garden vocabulary, garden questions, online sources and suggestions for further reading. *The fun part is learning that the chickens pictures in this book are the ones hatched in Arnold’s book, Hatching Chicks in Room 6. I wish I had a Mrs. Best as my Kindergarten teacher.

Visit the author's website for more information on her books. 

 

REVIEW in BOOKLIST of KEEPER OF THE LIGHT

 The following review of KEEPER OF THE LIGHT appeared in Booklist, April 15, 2022.

Keeper of the Light: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog.

By Caroline Arnold. Illus. by Rachell Sumpter

Apr. 2022. 40p. Cameron Kids, $18.99 (9781951836375). PreS–Gr. 3

 

In 1902, Juliet Fish Nichols became the lighthouse keeper on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. Written in first person from her point of view, this fictional narrative describes the actual woman’s solitary life, spent reading, writing reports in the log book, and maintaining the lamp that guided boats at night, as well as the machine that rang a heavy bell, warning sailors away from the island when fog hid it from view. Early one morning, her bed thrashed “like a boat in a storm.” The 1906 earthquake had struck San Francisco. Months later, when the bay was crowded with ships, the bell-ringing machine broke down. Grabbing the mallet, she struck the bell twice every 15 seconds throughout the night, saying, “The fog is fierce, but so am I.” Though not inherently dramatic, the story is well told and interesting. Sumpter contributes illustrations portraying a confident young woman within colorful surroundings including the lighthouse, her hillside garden, and the sun setting over the bay. An attractive picture book celebrating a lighthouse keeper's dedication to her work.

 

UKRAINIAN EASTER EGGS

As I do most years in the days before Easter, I made Ukrainian eggs, this time with my granddaughter. Her egg is on the left. I added mine to our collection of eggs through the years. This year the eggs take on a special meaning.

My family celebrated Easter last Sunday, but in Ukrainian Orthodox churches, Easter in 2022 will be celebrated on April 24th, a week after the celebration in Protestant and Catholic churches. That is because the date is calculated by two different methods.  

Easter as it's commonly celebrated in the United States falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the spring equinox (always between March 22 and April 25), while Orthodox Easter is celebrated on the Sunday after the first full moon after Passover (between April 4th and May 8th.) 

I became fascinated with the beautiful designs on Ukrainian eggs when I was growing up in Northeast Minneapolis. I started to make them myself when I was a teenager. The designs are drawn in wax with a stylus (kistka) and the colors are added successively.   The eggs can be kept year after year because the inside moisture simply evaporates over time.  (The designs are made on raw eggs.  The eggs are not meant to be eaten but used for decoration.) Some of the eggs in the bowl were made by my children when they were much younger, others by me. Getting them out at Easter time is a well-loved tradition.

 

BEHIND THE STORY: The Birth of the Idea for KEEPER OF THE LIGHT

 

Ferry landing at Angel Island State Park, San Francisco Bay, California

I love to travel and sometimes, when I least expect it, a travel experience becomes the source of an idea for a new book.

My new book, KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog, which came out last week, was inspired by a visit to Angel Island State Park in San Francisco.

Tram ride around Angel Island

In July 2012, my husband Art and I took a ferry from Tiburon to Angel Island to meet friends who had sailed their boat from Alameda across San Francisco Bay to the harbor at Angel Island. We had a delicious lunch on the boat and then took a tram ride around the island narrated along the way with historic details about the buildings and the people who once lived there when it was the site of an army post, immigration facility, and a light and fog bell station. 

Point Knox, once site of the light and fog bell station. The giant bell remains.

Near an overlook on the south side of the island we heard about Juliet Nichols, the keeper of the Angel Island lighthouse at Point Knox, who, during the summer of 1906, when the bay was filled with supply boats after the devastating San Francisco earthquake, heroically rang the fog bell by hand for more then twenty hours before the fog lifted.

Card catalogue, Oakland Public Library.

Juliet’s story intrigued me. It sounded like the perfect subject for a book. I began to research Juliet’s life and the history of Angel Island. I searched the internet. I went to the Oakland library to read newspaper articles and other items in the archives. (Juliet grew up in Oakland and lived there after she retired.) I looked up Census records on Ancestry.com . 

Angel Island Light House log book, 1904-1912. National Archives, Washington, DC.

I visited the National Archives in Washington, DC, to read Juliet’s lighthouse log. I went back to Angel Island several times. Although her house is gone, the giant bell can still be seen at Knox Point.

Keeper of the Light Illustration by Rachell Sumpter

It took me eight years and many rewrites to tell Juliet’s story, then two more years to see it published. I am thrilled that the book is now available and I can share it with the world. Keeper of the Light: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog is published by Cameron Kids/Abrams and is illustrated with beautiful watercolor paintings by Rachell Sumpter. It is available at many book stores as well as Amazon and other online sources.

For samples of Juliet's entries in her log book and other information related to the book go to http://www.carolinearnoldbooks.com/angelisland.html .

REVIEW in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL of KEEPER OF THE LIGHT

The following review, by Elissa Cooper, appeared in the April 1, 2022, issue of School Library Journal.

PreS-Gr 2—In a story inspired by real journals, this picture book gives readers a fictional glimpse into the day-to-day activities of a dedicated lighthouse keeper. In 1902, Juliet Fish Nichols began working at Angel Island to guide ships safely to San Francisco. Set in a journal format, descriptive language and hazy illustrations put the readers in her place as she tends to the mundane, everyday chores, while “the fog, my foe,” is a constant concern. Eventually, the story’s pace picks up when the 1906 San Francisco earthquake hits, followed months later with the lighthouse’s machinery breaking. Every 15 seconds, through a long night, Juliet must strike the bell to warn ships in the fog. Readers will admire her bravery and steadfastness, but might struggle to stay interested during the story’s slower sections. The specialized focus may also narrow the audience to local readers. There are intriguing tidbits dropped along the way, like how both Nichols and her mother were lighthouse keepers at the same time in different locations, but those are not explained until the back matter.

VERDICT For patient readers with a demonstrated interest in lighthouses or historical fiction.

 

KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog, NOW AVAILABLE

My newest book, KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog (Cameron Kids/Abrams), beautifully illustrated with watercolor paintings by Rachell Sumpter is now available. Hurrah! Many thanks to my editor Amy Novesky and everyone at Cameron Kids for all their hard work to bring this book to fruition!

KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog tells of the heroic efforts of Juliet Fish Nichols, lighthouse keeper on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay from 1902 to 1914, who stood at her post for three fog shrouded days in the summer of 1906, ringing the fog bell by hand when the automated mechanism failed. At the time, the bay was filled with ships bringing supplies to San Francisco after the recent devastating earthquake.  With reduced visibility, boats needed the bell to warn them away from the rocky shoreline. Juliet Fish Nichols’ perseverance at her post during those foggy days was key to preventing further possible disaster. This is the dramatic story of a woman who didn’t give up, despite bad weather and equipment failure.