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Equal Countries A-Z, from the World Map Project, 2006, giclee
print on paper, edition 5/5. By Antonia Hirsch.
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Equal Countries A-Z, from the World Map Project, 2006, giclee
print on paper, edition 5/5. By Antonia Hirsch.
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Illustration on letter from student at Esperanza School, Los Angeles, CA. |
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Letters from students at Esperanza School |
It is letters like these that make me glad I am an author.
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Wooly Mammoth models at the Natural Science Museum, Bergamo, Italy. |
Growing to weights of 10 tons and distinguished
by enormous curling tusks, mammoths were the largest land animals of the Ice
Age. In this meticulously researched, clear, and accessible book, award-winning
nonfiction author Caroline Arnold describes the natural history of mammoths,
highlighting their physical features and adaptation to the environment. Laurie
Caple’s stunning, scientifically accurate watercolors complement the text and
provide an intriguing look at these huge creatures.(Amazon)
To purchase a paperback copy of the book click HERE.
For more about Five Nests and the Free Library of Philadelphia:
My post on the 40th anniversary of the publication of Five Nests.
My post on the Philadelphia Free Library's Children's Literature Research Collection.
GIANT SHARK: MEGALODON, PREHISTORIC SUPER PREDATOR: For millions of years, a massive shark more than twice as huge as the modern-day great white shark cruised the depths of the ocean, attacking and devouring prey. Fossil remains reveal megalodon to have been more than fifty feet long, with razor-sharp teeth, each the size of a human hand, and jaws so large it could swallow prey larger than a common dolphin. Fluid, detailed watercolors accompany this clear and accessible account of one of the most incredible creatures to inhabit our world.
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SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL displayed at the ALA Combined Book Exhibit, June 2025 |
Caroline at the Eudimorphodon exhibit at the Natural History Museum, Bergamo, Italy.
In 2003, when I was researching my book PTEROSAURS: Rulers of the Skies in the Dinosaur Age, I visited the Natural History Museum in
Bergamo, Italy, to learn more about Eudimorphodon, the pterosaur whose fossil
skeleton had been found in the mountains nearby. (See my post of Feb 24, 2014 about that
visit.)
Going back to the museum was like meeting an old
friend. PTEROSAURS: Rulers of the Skies in the Dinosaur Age was published in 2004
by Clarion Books. It is still available on Amazon as an e-book and as an audio book. Or, you can look for it in your library.
Coffee House in the Forum, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa 1965.
In the spring of 1965 there was a new student center on the
campus of Grinnell College--the Forum, a modern steel and glass structure
designed by architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Among its features was a
coffee shop built around a shiny Italian espresso machine—something that felt
very modern and sophisticated in the middle of Iowa. On weekends, poetry
readings and stand-up performances were held in the coffee house.
Espresso Machine, etching by Caroline Scheaffer Arnold, 1965
I was an art student at Grinnell and made an etching of the
coffee shop for one of my classes. My friends Dottie and Dick Metzler have had
a copy of that print ever since we were fellow students at Grinnell. None of us
can remember whether they bought the print at the annual student art sale or if
I gave it to them as a wedding present. In any case, they have recently donated it to
the college as both a piece of art and a record of college history. When they
first proposed to donate the print several years ago, they contacted me. Here’s
what I wrote back:
Your picture of my print
of the espresso machine in the old Forum coffee house brought back memories. I
would be pleased to have you offer the print to Grinnell. The print is an
etching that I made in a prints class taught by Richard Cervene. I do have a
confession to make. The name of the espresso machine is not Campanelli. I made
the sketch for the print in the coffee house (the setting and various objects
are correct) but I didn't put the name of the machine in my sketch. Back in the
art building later, when I was transferring my drawing to the etching
plate I added the name but misremembered it. (I should have gone back to
check.) So, as far as historical interest is concerned, everything is accurate
except the name of the machine!
The plan is for my espresso machine etching to be hung
in the new Alumni House in a room honoring Dottie Metzler, who passed away in
2020.
The espresso machine in one of its later locations.
Note: The coffee shop in the Forum is long gone and
the building is no longer a student center. (It is used for offices.) But the espresso machine lived on for many
more years at other campus locations. And it will be remembered forever in photos
and in my etching.
Click HERE for a map of the exhibit floor and Booth #1838. You can find both the paperback and ebook of SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL in the Combined Book Exhibit booth. For an ebook preview of the first chapter of the book click on the link on the Combined Book Exhibit webpage for the book.
Book Description
A chronicle of children's book author Caroline Arnold's childhood living at a settlement house--from nursery school and after school clubs to summers at camp. A window into life at mid-century and Caroline's future as a writer and illustrator.
"The narrative presents a wealth of historical information as well as an insider's view of an uncommon subject matter." BookLife Prize review
Listening to TOOTLE being read by Fran Guzie at NENH, 1950.
TOOTLE brings back memories of my life at North East
Neighborhood House in Minneapolis where I lived with my family until I was ten
years old. From the windows of our apartment on the third floor we saw freight
trains huffing and puffing along the tracks across the street on the other side of Bottineau Park. In my memoir SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950sat North East Neighborhood House I write about my brother Steve’s fascination
with trains and our exciting train trip across the river to St. Paul.
Steve’s favorite book was TOOTLE. In the photo at the
beginning of my chapter about the train trip you can see Steve and a neighbor
child listening raptly to Fran Guzie (one of the NENH residents) reading TOOTLE. (I
appear to be engrossed in another book and only half listening. Perhaps, I had heard the story of
Tootle too many times before.)
Pterosaurs:Rulers of the Skies in the Dinosaur Age
Dinosaurs with Feathers: Ancestors of Modern Birds
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At the Pioneer Bookshop, Grinnell Iowa, with my book SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL. |
The tradition of the show
began many years ago when Sylvia, the young widow of UCLA Chemistry Professor Saul
Winstein, had a tea for some friends and displayed several paintings.
Artistic
emeriti friends and spouses were so enthusiastic that Sylvia organized and
supported what has become a very special yearly celebration.
The event is jointly presented by the UCLA Emeriti
Association, the UCLA
Emeriti/Retirees Relations Center, and the UCLA Retirees
Association.
Rock art (petroglyphs) at Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas, Nevada. |
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Hand prints at Red Rock Canyon. |
https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/uploads/Nevada-Red%20Rock%20Canyon-Rock%20Art.pdf
You can learn more about rock art of the American West in my book STORIES IN STONE: Rock Art Pictures by Early Americans.
The scale of the Easter Island statues is enormous. |
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Giant statues called moai were placed on platforms called ahu. |
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School Garden 2025, Haynes Charter Elementary, Los Angeles, CA. |