AUTHORS AND SCHOOLS FESTIVAL, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA

With welcome poster at Sts. Simon and Jude School, Huntington Beach, CA.

After a hiatus during the Pandemic, it was wonderful to be back doing an author visit in Huntington Beach for the Authors and Schools Festival (sponsored by FOTCL--Friends of the Children's Library.) On Tuesday, May 23^rd, I had an excellent visit with students at Saints Simon and Jude School in Huntington Beach. I gave two presentations, one to pre-K through Grade 3, and another to students in grades 4 and 5 and I was pleased with the excellent response by both students and teachers. And I loved the colorful welcome poster made by a group of artistic 5^th grade students. Many thanks to librarian Petra Garcia for selecting me for her school, doing an excellent job of preparing the students, organizing the day, managing the book orders, and for a delicious lunch. Some of my older books were on the shelf in the library already, from a visit I made to the school in 2011. It was fun to return to Sts. Simon and Jude and share my new books. 

I have been participating in the Huntington Beach Authors Festival for many years. (In the past it was held in January and included a reception at the Public Library. This year there was no reception.)  Many thanks to Larry Hersh, a volunteer with FOTCL, for coordinating the Authors Festival. The festival would not be possible without devoted volunteers like Larry in the community. 

Book mark given to me by a student at Sts. Simon and Jude School

BUG FAIR 2023 at the Natural History Museum Los Angeles

From carnivorous plants and tarantulas, to caterpillars, mounted butterflies, and much more, the annual Bug Fair at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, held this year on the weekend of May 20-21, is an insect lovers delight. I try to go every year. Art and I spent the morning at the museum browsing the vendor booths and oohing and aahing at the spectacular displays, along with families with children and eager buyers adding to their own insect collections. 

When we finished we exited through the dinosaur galleries where we could look through the windows at the butterfly house outside below and see gorgeous live blue morpho butterflies fluttering among the plants. Tickets for the butterfly house were sold out so we didn't visit today, but I have enjoyed visiting before. 

A FUN DAY WITH FOCAL AT THE LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY

 

In the Children's Literature Room at the Los Angeles Public Library

On Saturday, May 13, I joined other authors and book lovers as we enjoyed a special event with FOCAL (Friends of Children and Literature) at the Los Angeles Public Library. First there was a tour of the Children’s Literature Department and a peek at some of the new books. Then came an insider’s tour of “LAPL150—Our Story is Yours: A Los Angeles Public Library Sesquicentennial Celebration” led by exhibit co-curator and Senior Librarian of the Photo Collection Department, Christina Rice. 

That was followed by a reception with the FOCAL Board at which each of us received a special book, Storybook Puppets, about the puppets designed by Carol Onofrio for each year’s FOCAL book award winner for the years 1980 to 2013. The puppets are on display in the children’s room.. Thank you FOCAL for a great day!

 

VISIT TO THE CALGARY PUBLIC LIBRARY

 

Calgary Public Library, Alberta, Canada

Thirty-one years ago I came to Calgary for a library conference. Last week I returned to Calgary while my husband, Art, attended a conference there. As I almost always do when I travel, I visited the local library, in this case the new Central Library, just a few blocks from my hotel in downtown Calgary. The library, opened in 2018, is a soaring structure filled with light and wood.

The central skylight celebrates Calgary's famously sunny skies and brings natural light into the building.

I had arranged to meet children’s librarian Jennifer Mason, who gave me a tour of the children’s section—filled both with books and with inviting play areas where kids could do puzzles, build with blocks, Legos, or plastic pieces, climb into a structure, or just stretch out and read. In one area, families could choose a book to read together and then do activities in a take-home brochure. I thank Jennifer for taking time out of her day to meet with me and chat about books.

While many of the books in the Calgary library are by Canadian authors, there are also many by American writers. I was pleased to learn that the Calgary library system has nineteen of my books, including most of my new ones. All of their copies of Hatching Chicks in Room 6 were checked out—which made me wonder how many children were hatching chicks at home or at school.

Collaborative works by indigenous artists are seen throughout the library.

Much of the fourth floor of the library is devoted to indigenous cultures with books in indigenous languages and  a room for meetings and events. On the afternoon that I visited an elder was meeting with students in the room. 

View of downtown Calgary and rail line. The library was built over the rail line.

As I walked around the library I was impressed by both its use as a library and community center but also as an architectural wonder. From the fourth floor windows one gets an amazing view of the city, framed in the windows. As the free brochure explains: The modular hexagonal forms of the facade reflect the surrounding city and sky above. Familiar forms emerge from this varied geometry, where parts of the pattern might resemble an open book, beehives, or interlocking houses, anchoring the idea of collectives and community.

KEEPER OF THE LIGHT Inspires a Hike on Angel Island

Point Knox as seen from Point Stuart on Angel Island, San Francisco Bay

Last week I got a call from a reporter for SFGate (a local Bay Area publication) who was doing an article about Angel Island lighthouses and a kids' hike to Stuart Point on Angel Island. It turns out that the hike was inspired by my book, KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog! My part in the article comes toward the end, and you have to scroll through a bunch of ads, but it is a great promotion for the book. I've done the same hike that the kids did. You can get a view of the bell that Juliet Nichols rang in the fog at her lighthouse at Point Knox when you get to the end of the Point Stuart. Here's the link to the article:

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/lighthouse-angel-island-bay-area-hike-18079202.php

Hiking trail to Point Stuart on Angel Island

 

HAND-PRINT POLAR BEARS: Fun Art Project for Kids

On my recent author visit to Ecole Bilingue in Berkeley, California, I saw a display of art projects made by the students, including these polar bears created from hand-prints. This would be a perfect project to go with reading my book A POLAR BEAR'S WORLD. 

How to make a hand-print polar bear:

1. Dip the flat of your hand into white paint that has been poured on a plate. (Alternatively, you can use brown paint to make a brown or grizzly bear.)

2. Press your hand onto a sheet of colored paper to make a print. Let the paint dry. (Be sure to wash you hand!)

3. Cut out the shape of your hand. The four fingers are the polar bear's legs. The thumb is the head and face.

4. With a black marking pen draw claws on the feet and draw eyes, ears, and nose on the face.

This project is suitable for preschool and primary school age children.