KIRKUS REVIEW of FISH IN SCHOOL: How Kids are Helping Trout

I am so pleased with this excellent review from Kirkus of my new book FISH IN SCHOOL.  

FISH IN SCHOOL
How Kids Are Helping Trout
Author: Caroline Arnold
Photographer: Caroline Arnold

Review Issue Date: December 1, 2026
Online Publish Date: October 28, 2026
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Pages: 40
Price ( Library Ed ): $33.32
Publication Date: March 2, 2027
ISBN ( Library Ed ): 9798348056179
Section: Children's

In a project that brings nature into the classroom, California schoolchildren raise steelhead trout from eggs and then release the hatchlings into the wild.

With just the right level of detail to encourage other teachers and students to undertake similar class projects, Arnold describes how eggs donated by a nearby fish hatchery are first placed in an aquarium kitted out with a cooler to maintain the proper temperature. The children carefully attend to the resultant hatchlings over 10 weeks as they mature from alevin to two-inch fry and are then released into a river down which they will travel to the ocean. Along with describing a visit to the hatchery, Arnold lays out the life cycle of the trout, which are closely related to salmon and likewise born in rivers to which the few that survive their many predators return to spawn. She concludes with more information about the specific program she profiles here, as well as further details about the trout’s life cycle and suggestions for other conservation initiatives such as fish ladders for dammed or obstructed spawning rivers. In Arnold’s photos, close-ups of the necessary gear and of the fish at different stages of development alternate with glimpses of light-skinned, racially diverse young students from several schools looking interested and involved.

A model for studying and conserving wildlife, simple and safe. (glossary, range map, further reading) (Nonfiction. 6-8)

 

PASTA ANIMAL SKELETONS FOR HALLOWEEN: Projects and Activities Inspired by My Books

Giraffe Skeleton.

Halloween is the perfect time to learn about skeletons. I was delighted to see how a class of fourth graders created animal skeletons with pasta after reading the books in my Morrow animal series. Each student chose a different animal, gluing the pasta pieces onto a dark piece of paper. There was a pasta shape for every bone!

Snake skeleton.

To learn about human skeletons they read my book  Your Skeletal System (Lerner). The book is also available in Spanish, El Sistema Oseo. Both books are available online as e-books.

 

NOT MY BOOK! The Arctic Fox Who Dared

When you search for my books on Amazon you will find The Arctic Fox Who Dared, a rhyming picture book by Caroline Arnold and Ben Arnold. This is NOT MY BOOK. I did not write it, illustrate it, or publish it.

Please do not confuse this book with any of mine.

I discovered this book at a recent school visit where it was on display with some of my other books. The librarian had purchased The Arctic Fox Who Dared on Amazon, thinking that it was one of mine. My name is on the cover. And it is about animals, a frequent subject of my books, for which I am well-known. But on closer inspection, it is obvious that the book is not mine. It is written in rhyme, which I never do, and it is a fiction story. I write nonfiction books about animals. The copyright page claims that the book is published by Caroline Arnold. This is not me. My books are published by established  professional publishing companies.

www.carolinearnold.com

HUMBOLDT COUNTY CHILDREN’S AUTHOR FESTIVAL: Finding Friends in Books

At the Humboldt County Library, Children's Author Festival Exhibit.

I have been going to the bi-annual Humboldt County Children’s Authors Festival in northern California since 2007 and I am just back from this year’s festival, which was October 14-17. Each time it gets better and better!

At Laurel Tree School, with Ruthie Beaudry, Librarian.

In the Laurel Tree school library.

During the festival, twenty-five authors visit more than fifty schools over two days. Amazingly, I’ve almost never been to the same school twice. This year I went to two new schools—Laurel Tree and Trillium and had wonderful visits. 

Trillium School, Arcata, CA.

At Trillium School.

I want to thank the librarians at both schools (Ruthie Beaudry at Laurel Tree, and Courtney Schroeder at Trillium) for doing such a good job of preparing the students and making me feel welcome.

Illustration exhibit, Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, CA.

So many people make the festival possible. I especially want to thank the hardworking Author Festival Committee for coordinating everything--from our travel and transportation to our meals, school visits, a trip to the zoo, the gala banquet on Friday evening, the illustration exhibit at the Morris Graves Art Museum, the book sale and signing at the beautiful Humboldt County Library on Saturday, and more.

Book signing at the Humboldt County Library.

When I came to the festival two years ago I thought it would be my last. I did not have plans for a new book and I thought it was time to make room for a new author. But then, at the end of one of my school presentations, a teacher came up to me and said, “You know, we raise fish in our classroom every year.” My ears perked up. I had written about hatching chicks and butterflies in the classroom, but never fish. And then she showed me the classroom aquarium and told me how the students hatched fish eggs and then released the young fish into the river.” This sounded like the perfect topic for a new book! 

So, the following spring I was back in Humboldt County doing the research and photography for the book. I went in February when the trout eggs were delivered to the schools and again in April when the students were releasing the fish. The book is now finished and will be published next March by Millbrook Press (Lerner). It is called FISH IN SCHOOL: How Kids Are Helping Trout. I couldn’t have done the book without the cooperation of the students and teachers at Big Lagoon and Orick schools, the Humboldt County Office of Education, and the staff of the Mad River Fish Hatchery. I thank them all.

So, when the Author Festival committee asked me if I would come back this year, I knew I had to say yes. As I tell students in my presentations, I never know where I’m going to get the idea for my next book. As it turned out, it was right there in Humboldt County.