KERLAN COLLECTION: Donation of Book Materials

As I continue to clean out the closet in my office where I keep the working materials from my published books, I have been donating manuscripts, letters, reviews, and other items to the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota.

The Kerlan Collection at the Children’s Literature Research Collections at the University of Minnesota is an internationally recognized center of research in the field of children’s literature. The Collection contains original materials, including manuscripts, artwork, galleys, and color proofs for more than 1,700 children’s book creators. These materials represent over a century of American children’s books and selected titles published in other countries. The Kerlan Collection also includes more than 110,000 children’s books.

My most recent donation is a box of books and associated materials from four of my books that were published by Charlesbridge Books.

Shockers of the Sea (1999)

Did You Hear That? (2001)

Birds: Nature's Magnificent Flying Machines (2003)

Super Swimmers: Whales, Dolphins and Other Mammals of the Sea (2007) 

 

I am proud to have my work included in the Kerlan Collection and hope that future students of children’s literature will find it of use in their research.

For a complete list of my books in the Kerlan Collection archive go to my website and scroll down to the bottom of the About the Author page .

For my post about my visit to the Kerlan Collection in 2022 click HERE.

WHERE IN THE WORLD? World Map Project, 2006, by Antonia Hirsch

Equal Countries A-Z, from the World Map Project, 2006, giclee print on paper, edition 5/5. By Antonia Hirsch.

On my recent trip to Vancouver, Canada, I encountered this print in the Art Museum on the University of British Columbia campus. Every country in the world is represented, from A to Z, with their contours correct but their land masses equalized. How many countries can you identify? Remember, they are in alphabetical order!

THANK YOU LETTERS FROM ESPERANZA SCHOOL

Illustration on letter from student at Esperanza School, Los Angeles, CA.

I am always delighted to receive thank you letters from students after I do an author visit at their school. In March I visited Mrs. Williams class at Esperanza School in Los Angeles, sharing my books with the students and getting a tour of the natural habitat school garden. (See my post March 24, 2025.) Each of the students had the opportunity to choose one of my books to be purchased for them by the school. Afterward, the students wrote letters to me and illustrated them with their favorite books. I just received them along with a lovely note from Mrs. Williams. One student wrote: "I was amazed that you said that you wrote about 100 books." Another wrote: "I wish I can be an author like you one day."  I especially love the letter from Emma, who told me about how she learned to make dragon puppets until she became a “pro puppeteer.” She ended her letter with this: “I have some advice. Never give up, keep going, never stop your dream! And my favorite book is A Day and Night on the Prairie because there are many animals that I like.” Her illustration is at the top of this post.

Letters from students at Esperanza School

It is letters like these that make me glad I am an author.

WHEN MAMMOTHS WALKED THE EARTH: Meeting Wooly Mammoths in the Natural Science Museum, Bergamo, Italy

Wooly Mammoth models at the Natural Science Museum, Bergamo, Italy.

In 2002, my book WHEN MAMMOTHS WALKED THE EARTH was published by Clarion Books. It covered the worldwide occurrence of mammoths, from the wooly mammoths that wandered much of the northern hemisphere during the last Ice Age to the huge Columbian Mammoths, like those whose skeletons are displayed at the George C. Page Museum in Los Angeles, where I live. On my recent trip to Italy, I visited the Natural Science Museum in Bergamo, where I encountered models of a wooly mammoth mother and her calf. It was like meeting old friends. As I looked out into the foothills of the Alps behind Bergamo, I could image herds of mammoths just like these models that wandered Italian valleys as prehistoric people began to make their homes here.

The hardback edition of WHEN MAMMOTHS WALKED THE EARTH is out of print, but you can find it as an ebook on Amazon. Or you can look for the print book in your library!

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)

 

WIGGLE AND WAGGLE ACTIVITIES: Teachers' Tuesdays Educator Guide by Christine Van Zandt

Thanks so much to Christine Van Zandt for promoting my book Wiggle and Waggle and its wonderful activity guide on her Teacher Tuesday posts for this week. She has posted it on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. You can click on THIS LINK for the guide. 

To purchase a paperback copy of the book click HERE.