CELEBRATE EARTH DAY by Watching Young Eagles in the Nest

Bald Eagles, Fraser Point, Santa Cruz Island, CA. 

Today is Earth Day when we celebrate the Earth and the natural world. What better way to get a close look at nature than to watch a family of bald eagles at their nest. I am watching (on my computer) a nest in California on Fraser Point on Santa Cruz Island. A video cam of the nest gives a 24/7 live feed of the activity at the nest--beginning from the time the parents laid their first egg in February and eventually (sometime early this summer) to the day when the young eaglets fledge.

Illustration by Caroline Arnold, A BALD EAGLE'S WORLD

I began watching eagle nest cams on my computer when I was doing research for my book A BALD EAGLE'S WORLD (PictureWindow Books, 2010.) By watching the birds' behavior I learned valuable information for my text and the close-up views were crucial for my art. Now, every year during the spring when eagles are nesting, I tune into the nest cams on my computer and check in to see how the eagles are doing. 

The Fraser Point video cam is just one of a number of eagle nests around the nation that you can watch on your computer. Search for "bald eagle nest cam" to find one near you. 

Watch Jackie and Shadow and their two chicks in their nest at Big Bear in California on YouTube.

Note: Prints of my illustrations for A Bald Eagle's World are available at my Etsy Site.

CONVERSATIONS WITH ART: My Book Illustrations on Exhibit, Los Angeles, CA

Caroline with her art on display at Belmont Village Senior Living, Los Angeles, CA.

On Thursday, November 14, I had the pleasure of participating in the opening reception for Conversations with Art, an art show at Belmont Village Senior Living in Los Angeles featuring works by UCLA Emeriti and Retirees. I was one of ten artists. Each of us had the opportunity to discuss our creations and inspiration.

Four giclee prints of illustrations from my animal books published by PictureWindow Books are on display, two from A Panda’s World and two from A Bald Eagle’s World. I talked about my beginnings as a children's book writer and illustrator and about the cut-paper technique that I use to create my art.

Conversations with Art is coordinated by Alicia Thomason at Belmont Village Senior Living and the Emeriti/Retirees Relations Center at UCLA. It will be up for the next three months at Belmont Village Senior Living located at 10475 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90024. 

If you are in the neighborhood, please stop by and enjoy the art!

  

ABFFE Holiday Auction on EBay--ONE DAY LEFT TO BID!

Just one more day to go! Don't forget to check out the ABFFE holiday auction on EBay of wonderful art by children's book illustrators!  It's a great chance to get a unique holiday gift for someone you know and support the freedom to read at the same time.
There are 97 terrific items to choose from in the auction. Scroll down to find my giclee print of a mother eagle feeding her eaglets (from my book, A Bald Eagle's World.)
Click on this link to go to the auction page: http://www.ebay.com/sch/abffe/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

UPDATE December 13:

ABFFE Holiday Auction Is a Success  

    

          

      NEW YORK, NY, December 11, 2014--The bidding was fast and furious in the final hours of the holiday auction of children's book art sponsored by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE). When the final gavel fell in the eBay auction yesterday, more than $14,000 had been raised to support ABFFE's defense of the free speech rights of kids, an increase of 40 per cent over the previous year. The auction included nearly 100 pieces by leading illustrators. The highest prices were paid for works by Jon Muth, Jared Chapman, William Wegman, Melissa Iwai, Eric Carle, Adam Rex, LeUyen Pham, and Leslie Patricelli. One sold for $2,750. "We are delighted by the success of this year's holiday auction. We are so grateful to the artists who donated and to the booksellers who helped us promote the auction," ABFFE President Chris Finan said

  

The children's art auction is a mainstay of ABFFE's fundraising for the Kids' Right to Read Project (KRRP), which it co-sponsors with the National Coalition Against Censorship. The auction, which is also held at the ABA Winter Institute and at BookExpo America, will continue after ABFFE becomes the ABFE Group at ABA next year. The ABFE Group will support KRRP as well as Banned Books Week, the national celebration of the freedom to read.

ABFFE Holiday Auction Begins Dec 1

Illustration of Eagle and Eaglets from A Bald Eagle's World

Once again I have contributed a piece of my art to the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), the bookseller's voice in the fight against censorship,  to help raise money to defend the free speech rights of kids in an online auction that launches on December 1. The week-long eBay auction will include work by Eric Carle, Rosemary Wells, Jon J Muth, Laura Vaccaro Seeger and Steve Light and many others. I have contributed a giclee print of one of my cut paper art illustrations for A Bald Eagle’s World.

Proceeds of the auction help support the Kids' Right to Read Project (KRRP), which is co-sponsored by ABFFE and the National Coalition Against Censorship. Since the start of the school year, KRRP has been fighting a rash of book challenges in school districts from Texas to New York. KRRP helped reinstate seven banned books in Highland Park, Texas, including The Art of Racing in the Rain, The Working Poor: Invisible in America, Siddhartha, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, An Abundance of Katherines, The Glass Castle: A Memoir and Song of Solomon.

BALD EAGLE AND EGGS Coloring Page

It's nesting time for bald eagles!  
Bald eagles usually lay two or three eggs in their nest.  The male and female take turns sitting on the nest to keep the eggs warm and moist.  Inside each egg an eagle chick is growing.  It hatches in about five weeks after the egg has been laid.
You can learn more about bald eagles in my book A BALD EAGLE'S WORLD (Picture Window Books, 2010.)
To download a coloring page of a bald eagle at the nest, click here.

UPDATE March 2015: Both nests on Catalina Island now have eggs, due to hatch around the beginning of April. You can watch activity at the nests on live video cams.

SOAR INTO READING with BIRDS

Caroline with Red-tailed Hawk, Goshute Mountains, Nevada

I love learning about birds.  My first published book was Five Nests, which came out in 1980 and was illustrated by Ruth Sanderson.  It was an easy-read book about five species of birds and their different modes of parenting.
Birds have been a favorite topic in many of my books and have always been part of my life.  As I child I used to get up early to go birdwatching with my father and for many years my husband, Art, studied birds in his research at UCLA.  My book, Birds, Nature’s Magnificent Flying Machines, focuses on flight and all the ways that a bird’s body is adapted to make it an expert flyer.
The picture above, of me holding a red-tailed hawk, was taken at a banding station on top of a mountain in eastern Nevada when I was researching my book, Hawk Highway in the Sky: Watching Raptor Migration (Harcourt Brace, 1997).  Every fall thousands of birds pass over this mountain top on their way south for the winter.  A few of the birds are caught, banded, and released.  My plan had been to spend a week at the site and take notes that I would later use to write the book.  As it turned out, the banding station was so busy that week they needed my help, so I got to learn what I needed to know by doing it myself.

For my Measuring Your Wingspan activity, go to my post for April 30, 2012.

My most recent bird book is A Bald Eagle’s World (Picture Window Books, 2010), illustrated with my own cut paper art. My older books are out of print, but you can look for them in your library.  My other titles about birds include: 

A Penguin's World (2006) Dinosaurs With Feathers: The Ancestors of Modern Birds (2001) Ostriches (an Earlybird Nature Book) (2001) On the Brink of Extinction: The California Condor (1993) House Sparrows Everywhere (Carolrhoda, 1992) Flamingo (Morrow Junior Books, 1991) Ostriches and Other Flightless Birds (a Nature Watch Book) (Carolrhoda, 1990) Penguin (Morrow Junior Books, 1988) Five Nests (Dutton, 1980)

Podcast: Interview for ReadWriteThink with Emily Manning

In April, when I was at the IRA conference in Chicago, I was interviewed by Emily Manning of ReadWriteThink, Chatting About Books.  The interview focuses on my new book A Warmer World (Charlesbridge) but also discusses Global Warming and the Dinosaurs,  A Bald Eagle's World, Birds: Nature’s Magnificent Flying Machines, and Dinosaurs with Feathers.  A podcast of the interview was posted on May 16.  It is number 45, World of Animals.  The post also includes some terrific resources for kids, teachers and parents.
 
Questions that Emily asked me:
1.  An interesting fact that you give in your books is that “in the last century the average world temperature has risen more than one degree Fahrenheit.”  Even though this seems like a small amount, can you talk about the big impact it is having on wildlife?
2.  Another interesting point that you make is that while animals can move to new locations, plants don’t have that option.  How are plants adapting to the warming climate?
3.  What was something that you found out through your research of this book that you didn’t know before?
4.  What is one thing that a family can do this week that will help make a difference?
5.  You have written many books about animals.  What are some of your favorite animals that you have written about?

    It was a pleasure to chat with Emily.  You can listen to my answers to her questions and find links to her many other chats with authors at www.readwritethink.org/chattingaboutbooks .
 
Emily Manning has a master's degree in reading education from the University of North Texas. She taught in the primary grades for several years before taking a reading intervention position that focused on working with struggling readers in grades 3rd-5th. In 2006, Emily Manning began teaching reading education classes in an adjunct capacity at Texas Woman's University. And most recently, she has taken a position as an Instructional Specialist at Lee Elementary in Denton, Texas.Emily is a member of the ReadWriteThink.org Advisory Board. She also belongs to several professional organizations including the International Reading Association and National Council of Teachers of English.

ReadWriteThink is sponsored by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English

Watching Bald Eagles

Bald Eagle in the Harbor, Bellingham, Washington

A number of my recent books, including A Bald Eagle’s World, have been illustrated with my own art.  I rely on photographs and personal observations of the animals as references for my drawings.  When possible, I like to observe animals in their natural habitats. I have been to Alaska and have seen bald eagles in the wild.  I have also seen bald eagles in Minnesota, Washington, in Yellowstone National Park, and elsewhere.  They are found in every state of the union except Hawaii!  I also find nature films and video helpful in my research.  While I was working on the eagle book, I kept my second computer screen open to a live webcam at an eagle nest on Catalina island.  It was amazing.  In real time, I could watch the young chicks toddling around the nest waiting for their parents to bring them food, and then suddenly the adult eagle would arrive, swooping in with a fish in its talons.   Several nests in California and elsewhere are fitted with 24 hour video cameras hooked up to a web feed.  It is nesting season again and both nests on Catalina already have eagles sitting on eggs.  Tune in and follow the action at the nest!  (Be sure to turn on your sound so you can hear the wind and the birds' vocalizations.)

CLC Award: The Best Written and Illustrated Suite of Nonfiction for Children

Caroline and Marjorie Arnett at the CLC Gala

    Attending the annual author luncheon of the CLC (Council on Literature for Children in Southern California), is a fall ritual for me.  I think I have been to most of them over the years and I always look forward to it.  This year was the gala celebration of the organization’s 50th anniversary, held at the historic Romanesque Room in Pasadena.  I was so pleased to have my books A Polar Bear’s World, A Walrus’ World, A Moose’s World and A Bald Eagle’s World honored as The Best Written and Illustrated Suite of Nonfiction for Children and happy that so many of my friends were there to help celebrate at this special event.  Here are my remarks upon receiving the award: 

  I am truly honored.  It is especially nice to be here at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the organization that I still think of as SCCLCYP.  Remembering what all the letters stood for, ...Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People... was a little like learning to spell Mississippi when I was in first grade–once you start, you just go as fast as you can until you get to the end.  I was not there at the beginning of SCCLCYP, but I do remember my first Author Luncheon 31 years ago in 1980.  It was held at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles and I remember being awed both by the elegant surroundings (there was a string quartet playing in the lobby) and the fact that this was my first professional event as a new author. I had just published my very first book, an easy read story about birds, and I was feeling totally intimidated by the roomful of other much more established authors.  I never imagined that one day I would be standing in front receiving an award.
   
The books that are being honored today are the last four in a series of twelve books published by Picture Window Books.  The first four in the series were about black and white animals, the next four about Australian animals, and these focus on animals that live in Alaska or the Arctic. 

Many of you know me as a writer specializing in books about animals and the environment.  For many years, I worked with photographers, including my husband, Art, who is here today.  With all of those books, I needed stories that lent themselves to photography.  That meant, no nocturnal animals, no underwater animals, no remote locations.  So many times I said to myself, “It would be so much easier if I could just do the art myself!”  Then I wouldn’t have to worry about backgrounds, I could set my stories in any location, and I could make the animals behave as I wanted. With the Picture Window Books animal series I finally had the chance. 

The books in this series are intended for children in the primary grades.  (They are also perfect in preschool)  The main story of each book is short and told from the point of view of a baby animal growing up in the wild.  Factual information not essential to the flow of the story is put in sidebars and in front and back matter.
    
For the illustrations in these books, I chose a cut-paper collage technique.  I wanted a poster-like look with bold colors that would make the images easy to see, even by a child in the back of the room when a teacher or librarian is reading the book aloud.  The essential parts of each illustration are the outlines.  Basically, as I do the art, I am drawing with scissors. I do, in fact, draw each image in pencil first, but the final result comes from cutting it out with my best sewing scissors. I typically cut out the animals first and then position them on a background.  I use flat colors, overlapping the paper in layers.  When the art is scanned for the book, a slight shadow around the edges of the paper creates a subtle 3-D effect.

I rely on photographs and personal observations of the animals as references for my drawings.  When possible, I like to observe animals in their natural habitats. I have been to Alaska and have seen both moose and bald eagles in the wild.  To learn about polar bears and walruses, I went to Sea World and the San Diego Zoo.  The wonderful thing about zoos is that you can see huge animals like these just inches away on the other side of the glass.   Basically, I discovered, walruses are huge lumps.  They are a bit like your living room sofa with tusks.  And yet, they are surprisingly agile in the water.  I also find nature films and video helpful in my research.  While I was working on the eagle book, I kept my second computer screen open to a live webcam at an eagle nest on Catalina island.  It was amazing.  In real time, I could watch the young chicks toddling around the nest waiting for their parents to bring them food, and then suddenly the adult eagle would arrive, swooping in with a fish in its talons. 

I never get tired of watching animals and learning about them.  I know from my school and library visits that kids love to learn about animals too.  I want to thank all the teachers and librarians and parents who put books like mine into the hands of children.  And I want to express my gratitude to the CLC for choosing my books for this very special honor today.  Thank you, Marjorie Arnett, for your great introduction.  And thanks to Barbara Metzenbaum and all the people on the award committee for choosing me to receive this award.

Fall Into Literacy

Caroline Arnold's Author Booth at the Fall Into Literacy Festival, Wilmington, CA

I always love celebrating books and reading!  On October 1st, a beautiful sunny day in southern California, I joined authors Erica Silverman, Amada Irma Perez, illustrator Joe Cepeda, and many other book lovers at Wilmington’s Fall Into Literacy celebration in the new Waterfront Park near the Port of Los Angeles.  More then 300 families came to enjoy live entertainment, American Indian storytelling, book signings, and to meet the authors.  I gave a short talk featuring my books about birds ( Birds: Nature’s Magnificent Flying Machines, and  A Bald Eagle’s World) and invited children to come up on stage and measure their wingspans to find out what kind of bird they might be.  I also shared my book Wiggle and Waggle.  In my author’s tent I met children and parents and signed books.  All in all, it was a great day!
Fall Into Literacy was sponsored by the local Valero and Tesoro refineries and organized by Lupe Lopez, who leads the local United Way effort and is Wilmington's honorary mayor.  My visit was coordinated by Martha Sherod at the Los Angeles Public Library.

CLC Fall Gala and Book Award

I was pleased to learn that my books, A Bald Eagle’s World, A Moose’s World, A Polar Bear’s World, and A Walrus’ World (from the Caroline Arnold’s Animals series published by PictureWindow Books) have been awarded The Best Written and Illustrated Suite of Nonfiction for Children by the Children’s Literature Council of Southern California.  I will receive the award at the CLC Gala, Saturday, November 5^th.  The featured speaker at the luncheon was supposed to be Australian author, Mem Fox, author of Possum Magic and many other best-selling books but she has had to cancel.  Instead, the keynote speaker will be two-time Newbery winner, Lois Lowry.  I have heard her speak before and she is always outstanding.  The CLC (formerly known as SCCLCYP—Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People) is a non-profit organization that promotes greater interest in literature for children and young people and encourages excellence in the production and selection of books in that field. It will be celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year! The annual fall Gala honors southern California children’s book authors and illustrators.  Hope to see you there! 

The Gala will be from 12:30 to 4:00 pm, on Saturday, November 5^th at the Romanesque Room, 50 East Green Street, Pasadena, CA 91105.  Go to the CLC website for information and to make reservations.

Illustration Exhibit at Morris Graves Museum of Art

Two of my cut paper illustrations, one from A Moose’s World and one from A Bald Eagle’s World are currently on exhibit at the Morris Graves Museum of Art in Eureka, California, as part of the bi-annual Humboldt County Author Festival.  As part of the festival, select works from participating illustrators are on exhibit to demonstrate the processes of illustration in children’s literature.  The art exhibit will be on view from September 3 through October 30, Wednesday–Sunday, 12:00–5:00.  If you are going to be in Eureka during that time, please stop by and see the show! 
Along with 25 other authors and illustrators, I will be participating in the Author Festival, October 19-22, visiting schools, signing books at the library, and enjoying being with friends and book lovers in beautiful Humboldt County.  I always look forward to it.  For more information about the festival click here.

Bald Eagle Cards for July 4th

Cards available at www.Etsy.com/shop/CarolineArnoldArt  (larger prints also available)

Illustrations from my book A Bald Eagle’s World are available as cards and prints at my Etsy gallery, CarolineArnoldArt.  These giclee prints make perfect gifts for anyone with a birthday or other celebration close to the Fourth of July.  While I was creating the art for the bald eagle book, I kept the second screen of my computer on the live video cam at one of the bald eagle nests on Catalina Island.  This year, there are THREE bald eagle nests in the Channel Islands that you can watch!  You can go to this website and see real, live eaglets perching on the edge of their nests waiting for their parents to bring back food (until they fledge in a month or so).  You may see the parents as well.  Wait through the annoying ad at the beginning of the video feed and then just enjoy watching the young eaglets!

ALA San Diego, January 2011

A week ago I spent a day at the winter American Library Association meetings in San Diego signing my books A Polar Bear’s World and A Bald Eagle’s World in the Capstone booth. I always love the opportunity to meet the librarians and teachers who are using my books with children and to see them happily taking my books home with them to add to their libraries and classrooms. When I wasn’t signing, I was cruising the aisles to see friends, read new books in other publishers’ booths, and collect catalogues, free posters and other goodies. In all, it was a great day!