HAPPY HOLIDAYS: Celebrating with BABAR AND FATHER CHRISTMAS

Among my favorite books as a child were the stories of Babar the elephant, which we checked out from our local library. Written originally in French, we read the translated English version. There are more than a dozen Babar books. Babar was created by author/illustrator Jean de Brunhoff in 1931. After his death in 1937, the series was continued by his son Laurent de Brunhoff.  In Babar and Father Christmas (1940), Father Christmas brings gifts for the whole elephant family, including the children-- Pom, Flora and Alexander--cousin Arthur, and the monkey Zephir.

In this holiday season I send you best wishes for a very happy celebration with your friends and family!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

From The Intrepid Tourist

AUTHOR VISIT AT MARSHALL ELEMENTARY, Glendale, CA

In the auditorium of Marshall Elementary, Glendale, CA. The tiger is the school mascot.

On Tuesday, December 16, I had a good day at Marshall Elementary School in Glendale, California. The day was sponsored by the Glendale Assistance League, who not only brought in the authors for the day and gave each teacher a copy of one of our books, but also gave a generous check to the school for the purchase of books for the library. I was one of four authors visiting classrooms--Franz Vischer, Joe Cepeda and  Callie Miller were the others. I gave presentations to first and second grade students. Because it was the week before the winter break holiday, the school was decorated with holiday cheer and many students and teachers were wearing hats and colorful sweaters. The school mascot is the tiger.

I was pleased by the good response to my presentation by the students and teachers. They especially liked my new book My Friend From Outer Space, enthusiastically helping to count down from 10 before shouting, BLAST OFF!

Special thanks go to everyone on the Assistance League committee for coordinating everything and making sure the day ran smoothly! My personal guide was Jo, who introduced me and kept me on schedule. I thank all the Glendale Assistance League volunteers who helped--introducing me in the classrooms, helping out with the book signing, and bringing the delicious snacks and lunch. It was another successful Authors and Illustrators Day! 

Entrance to John Marshall Elementary School, Glendale, CA.

AUTHOR VISIT AT ANDERSON SCHOOL, GARDEN GROVE, CA

Anderson Elementary School, Garden Grove, CA, wall mural.

Last week I had an enjoyable author visit at Anderson Elementary School in Garden Grove, California (Westminster School District). I had a full day, speaking to two groups of kindergarten children in their classrooms and to grades one through six in the multipurpose room. With the younger children I did an interactive presentation in which they participated in a Lion Hunt (similar to a Bear Hunt) and helped sing the Wiggle and Waggle song. With the older children I used PowerPoint slides to talk about my books and being an author. I am grateful to the teachers who helped me navigate the technology of the screen for my slide show--every school seems to have a different system!

With my PowerPoint Presentation in the MPR

I thank teacher Denise Greene who organized the day and wrote the grant that supported my visit and funds for the purchase of my books for the school library. And I also thank Principal Kimberly Breckenridge for guiding me around the campus and for introducing me. I also thank Denise for providing my lunch--a delicious sandwich from Jersey Mikes. 

ROOM 8: A CAT IN THE CLASSROOM: Exhibit at the Los Angeles Public Library, Photos by Richard Hewett

Room 8: A Cat in the Classroom, Exhibit at LAPL Central Library, Los Angeles, CA.

Last Saturday, when I was at the Los Angeles Public Library I went with friends to the library's History and Genealogy department to see the exhibit, Room 8: A Cat in the Classroom, of photographer Richard Hewett's photos of the cat named Room 8, who famously "lived" at Elysian Heights Elementary School from 1952 to 1968. (Elysian Heights is in Echo Park, not far from downtown LA.)

I never met the cat named Room 8, but I heard about him from Dick whose photographs illustrated many of my books. I met Dick in 1977 and over the next 20 years we did 49 books together. Dick’s specialty was photographing animals. (Many of my books are about animals, including the first book we did together, Pets Without Homes (Clarion, 1983). I remember Dick telling me about the Room 8 cat and how his photo story about Room 8 in Look Magazine in 1962 made the cat famous all over the world.

Exhibit at LAPL of photographs by Richard Hewett of Room 8.

If you visit the Central Library, be sure to see the exhibit! It is up until January 11, 2026. And, you can buy the book by Brenda Rees about the exhibit in the library gift shop--which I did. It is also available on Amazon.

Room 8: A Cat in the Classroom, Photographing Los Angeles' Most Famous Feline, by Brenda Rees, Photographs by Richard Hewett, Illustrated by Stuart Rapeport (Photo Friends Publications, 2025.) Photographs from the collection of the Los Angeles Public Library.

Looking at Room 8: A Cat in the Classroom at the library.

If you search the internet you can find a lot of information about Room 8. He even has his own Facebook page. I found the recent documentary by Scott Mabbutt about Room 8 on YouTube. It tells the story of how the cat came to Elysian Heights School and how he became so famous. Dick Hewett and his photos of Room 8 are mentioned in the documentary. A number of former students are interviewed telling what it was like to have Room 8 at the school. After Dick's photos were published in Look Magazine, Room 8 became even more famous and began to receive letters from all over the world. Students at the school answered them. When Room 8 died in 1968 his obituary was in newspapers all over the country. He is buried in a pet cemetery in Calabasas, California. The video is surprisingly emotional.

The video is about a half hour long but takes much longer to watch because it is interrupted by lots of short ads. Even so, I recommend watching it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHjuMEztzow

ANIMAL PRINTS ON SALE AT MY ETSY SITE!

Animal prints at my Etsy site are now on sale! Suitable for framing. Prints make great holiday gifts! Pandas, penguins, polar bears, a platypus and more! Get them while they last!

These are art quality prints of my cut paper illustrations for my books.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/CarolineArnoldArt

Note: The 25% off sale ended on Dec 2 but prices are still very affordable!

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Books Make Perfect Gifts for the Holidays!

Exactly two years ago today, on Dec 1, 2023, I published my memoir SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota, which chronicles my childhood years growing up in the settlement house my father directed and explores the roots of the person I am today.

It imakes a great gift to give during the holidays to friends and family. You can order it on Amazon or you can go to your favorite bookstore, give them the ISBN number ( ISBN 9798864 903285 ) and they can order it for you. And, if you haven’t yet read SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL I encourage you to read it now. 

Happy Reading and Happy Holidays!

"The book captures life in colorful anecdotes, and Arnold draws the intriguing settlement house residents with a loving hand. ... Endnotes provide even more personal insight, all resulting in an enjoyable encapsulation of one family's experiences as the settlement facility transitioned into modernity." BlueInk Review (March 2024)

"Settlement House Girl is a look back at Northeast Minneapolis in the 1950s. Arnold has authored books for children and she writes in a clear, straightforward manner. If you're a collector of Northeast history books, it's a good one to put on your bookshelf." Cynthia Sowden, Northeaster Newspaper, April 3, 2024

"Settlement House Girl is engaging, tracing Arnold's growth from a young girl to an adult journeying into being a writer in her later life, but it's also a valuable contribution to the social history of 20th-century America...The detailed accounts of Arnold's experiences provide a unique glimpse into the fabric of community life during this era, highlighting the interactions and shared experiences that defined the settlement house environment." BookLife (Publishers Weekly) June 7, 2024

More about the book is at my website, www.carolinearnold.com/settlementhousegirl.html