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| Penguins Jumping, illustration from A PANDA'S WORLD (PictureWindow Books, 2006.) |
These are art quality giclee prints of my cut paper illustrations for my books.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CarolineArnoldArt
Copper time capsule boxes, from 1881 on left, 1925 on right, at the Los Angeles Central Library.
In May1925, as the cornerstone for the new
Central Los Angeles Library building in downtown Los Angeles was laid, a sealed copper
box containing memorable items of the time was encased in a cavity within the
stone. Inside was a smaller box, a time capsule from 1881 that had been placed in the State Normal School building that previously stood on the spot. When the library building was completed in the following year, the doors opened to
great fanfare.
Cornerstone Dedication and Time Capsule Placement, May 3, 1925.
Now, one hundred years later, in January 2026, in
celebration of the Central Library building’s centennial, the
time capsule has been retrieved and opened. It is now on display on the third floor
of the library, along with the smaller box found within it—the time capsule from the State Normal School.
Some of the items found in the 1925 time capsule. 
Some of the items found in the 1925 time capsule.
On a recent visit to the Central Library I visited the
time capsule exhibit. I was surprised by the excellent condition of the
materials that had been inside it, ranging from a book of Angeles
street maps and the library’s annual report (1925) to newspapers and Christmas
cards (1881). The items on exhibit are just a sample of what was contained in
the boxes.
The Normal School was a teacher training institution. It moved to another
location and eventually became the beginning of UCLA. 
Selected contents of the 1881 time capsule.
The contents of the time capsule boxes are a snapshot
of life in the growing city of Los Angeles. For more about the city in the 1920s, click HERE
for an article at the library website with numerous photos of life in the city
at the time.
Book display at Red Hill Elementary Battle of the Books and Literacy Fair.
On Monday March 2nd, Read Across America
Day, I was one of seven authors with an exhibit table at the Battle of the
Books and Literacy Fair at Red Hill Elementary School in Tustin, California. The
Battle of the Books is a nation-wide program celebrating reading. At Red Hill,
five teams of three students each had read nine books (three by each student)
and then responded to questions in a Jeopardy-like competition. There were two
rounds of questions. In the first round, students responded by writing their
answers on an erase board. In the second round they raced to ring a buzzer in
order to answer the question. Parents and brothers and sisters cheered them on
from the audience. Before and after the competition and during the
intermission, students and their parents browsed the exhibit tables, purchased
books and snacks, and got autographs from the authors on their programs. It was
a fun community event, celebrating the joy of reading.
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| Families watch as students on stage compete in the Battle of the Books. |
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| Juliet Fish Nichols, Angel Island Lighthouse Keeper, 1902-1914. |
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| The fog rolls in to San Francisco Bay. (Illustration by Rachell Sumpter.) |
And learn about visiting Angel Island State Park, where you can see the giant bell and the platform where the lighthouse once stood, at my travel blog The Intrepid Tourist.
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| Threads if Los Angeles by Ashley Walker, Los Angeles Public Library. |
This year the Los Angeles Public Library is celebrating its Centennial. One hundred years ago, on July 11th, 1926, the Central Library opened its doors. Ashley Walker's fashion models are just one of many exhibits you can see at the library in this centennial year.
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| The Rhythm of Rebellion Theme: The Zoot Suit Riots and Fashion Resistance. |
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| Blueprint of Elegance Theme: Paul R. Williams Architecture. |
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| When the City Sang Theme: Jazz on Central Avenue. |
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| South Central 1992 Theme: The 1992 Uprising. |
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| Woven Journeys Migration, Memory and Cultural Identity in Los Angeles. |
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| Souvenir catalog card with anniversary stamp of the Central Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library |
In the early days of my writing career there were no
computers and no internet. (My first book was published in 1980.) The card
catalog was essential for finding information. Searching it was
always the first step in doing research for one of my books.
Card catalogs have long since been abandoned. Now you
just have to sit down in front of a computer screen and type in the topic you
are searching for, and Bingo! there is a list of relevant library resources. So,
what have libraries done with all those carefully typed cards? The Los Angeles
Public Library put them in storage. Some have been used by an artist to decorate an
elevator at the Central Library and to create a large sculpture. Now the
library needs to get rid of the rest.
So, in celebration of the 100th anniversary
of the Central Library building in downtown Los Angeles, the library will be
giving the cards away. Each card is a little bit of history. Last week I helped
assemble packets of cards that will be distributed to the branch libraries to
give out to patrons. People will be able to have them stamped with a special anniversary
stamp (a different stamp for each branch) and use the cards as bookmarks, art
projects, or whatever they want. And for those people who are old enough to
remember the days when they depended on the card catalog to help them find what
they needed in the library, the souvenir cards will bring back memories of days gone by.
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| Flower Street entrance to the Los Angeles Public Library |
Tic-tac, tic-tac. Un pájaro carpintero da la bienvenida a la mañana en el desierto de Sonora, y con él, la galardonada autora/ilustradora Caroline Arnold pone en marcha el reloj para un ciclo de 24 horas de actividad animal en el hábitat del desierto. Ilustraciones de papel recortado, texto en forma de historia y caracterÃsticas como recuadros, datos curiosos y un glosario educan mientras entretienen.
Tap-tap, tap-tap! A woodpecker welcomes morning to the Sonoran Desert, and with it, award-winning author/illustrator Caroline Arnold starts the clock ticking on one 24-hour cycle of animal activity in the desert habitat. Cut-paper illustrations, story-like text, and features such as sidebars, fun facts, and a glossary educate as they entertain.
Here's how you can make your own illustration of the animals you might see.
Black construction paper.
Chalk.
Googly eyes. (You can buy these at a craft store.)
Glue.
Use the chalk to draw your animals on the black paper. Glue the eyes in place. What kind of nighttime scene did you create?
Animals that are active at night are called nocturnal animals. You can read about both daytime and nighttime animals in my Day and Night books.
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| Children's Room of the Mill Valley Public Library, Mill Valley, CA. |
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| Redwood trees in Mill Park, Mill Valley, CA. |
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| Entrance to the Mill Valley Public Library. |
Edith Renfrow Smith, age 110
Edith Renfrow Smith, the first black graduate of
Grinnell College, lived a life
devoted to her family and community. After graduation
she moved from Iowa to Chicago but always maintained close family ties to the town of Grinnell where she had grown up. She has died at
the age of 111. I first learned about Edith when I was involved in the
production of the children’s book about her life, NO ONE IS BETTER THAN YOU: Edith Renfrow Smith and the Power of aMother’s Words, written by Monique Shore. (I provided editorial advice.) In the book I learned about Edith's childhood in one of the few Black families in Grinnell and about her later life in Chicago, where she married and raised her children, became a teacher, and then, after retirement, spent many years as a volunteer in the community.
In September 2024 I was honored to meet Edith and talk with her about her memories of Grinnell during the time that my husband Art’s
father and his siblings were also growing up in Grinnell. (Edith was a classmate of Art’s uncle
Don.) Edith was a living, breathing link to the past, and I was impressed that her mind at 110 was
still so sharp. Her key to a long life? A positive outlook and joy for life. When
asked about her secret she said:
“The
Lord gives you the birthdays, and you take ‘em,” says Edith. “You have no
choice. Take what you have, make use of it, and be thankful for what you have.
Don’t let life pass you by. Remember, this is your life. It’s wonderful to live
long enough to enjoy just being here.”
Edith
will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Her memory will live on.
You
can read her obituary in the Chicago Sun Times.
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| Edith in her graduation robe and as a young child with a ribbon in her hair. (Temporary wheat paste murals in Grinnell, created for the dedication of Renfrow Hall, 2024.) |
I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings."
....Walter Louis Stevenson
As I have been going through boxes of mementos, I found the Golden Book verson of A Child's Garden of Verses, poems by Walter Louis Stevenson--one of my most loved books as a child. Some of the pages are torn and colored with crayon, but it is still one of my favorite books. (The poems were first published in England in 1885.)
As a new year begins I think back on so many of the books I enjoyed as a child and how they began my love of books and reading.
May the new year be filled with more good books!
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026!
