ART PROJECT FOR KIDS: Eyes in the Dark--Drawing Nighttime Animals

When daytime animals go to sleep, nighttime animals wake up. Imagine what it would be like to go on a nighttime walk and see some of these nocturnal animals peering in the dark. 

Here's how you can make your own illustration of the animals you might see.

You will need:

    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.

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.

ART SHOW: Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, CA

Children's book illustrations on exhibit at the Morris Graves Museum, Eureka, CA.

I'm just back from Eureka, California, and the incomparable Humboldt County Children's Author Festival--celebrating its 50th year! The first event was a reception at the beautiful Morris Graves Art Museum (formerly a Carnegie Library).

With giclee prints of illustrations from my books A Day and Night on the Prairie (Capstone 2015) (top), and A Day and Night in the Desert (Capstone, 2015) (bottom)

Prints of two of my illustrations were on exhibit in the Youth Gallery along with art by other participating author/illustrators. Many thanks to Lucy Quinby for coordinating the show!

In front of the Morris Graves Museum of Art.

The building, once the town library, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

MY ART ON EXHIBIT AT UCLA: The Silvia Winstein UCLA Emeriti/Retirees Arts and Crafts Exhibit 2024

Illustrations from A Day and Night on the Prairie (top) and A Day and Night in the Forest (bottom).

I had a fun day yesterday at the Silvia Winstein UCLA Emeriti/Retirees Arts and Crafts Exhibit 2024, held in the Faculty Center on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, I enjoyed talking with the other twenty-four artists and seeing their work, which ranged from paintings and drawings, to photography, sculpture, ceramics, and jewelry. I exhibited illustrations from my books A Day and Night in the Forest and A Day and Night in the Prairie.  They are giclee prints of my original cut paper art. After setting up the show in the morning, it was open to the public for viewing from 11am to 4pm, with a festive reception at 2pm. It was my first time to join this group. I thank the Emeriti/Retirees Relations Center and Shirley Ho for all the organization that makes this annual event such a success. 

All the artists who exhibited in the show. (Photo by Albert Hsu.)

MY ART ON EXHIBIT AT UCLA MAY 21: Silvia Winstein Arts and Crafts Exhibit--Save the Date!

Fox and Porcupine, pp 16-17, A DAY AND NIGHT IN THE FOREST

The annual Sylvia Winstein Arts and Crafts Exhibit is a long-standing campus tradition. This year the Emeriti Association and UCLARA are collaborating to highlight more creative work than ever from emeriti and retiree members and their spouses. 

Save the date: Tuesday, May 21 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Morrison Room of the UCLA Faculty Club. The exhibit offers the rare opportunity to both see the work and meet the artists. The 28 artists will be exhibiting sculpture, photography, oil painting, watercolor, ceramics, weaving, calligraphy, and jewelry. The featured retiree artist is Michelle Shin, whose primary interest is oil paintings of natural scenes in California and in Korea. She had a solo exhibition in Seoul in July 2023 and was part of a group show in New York City in November 2023.

I will be exhibiting giclee prints of illustrations from my books A DAY AND NIGHT IN THE FOREST and A DAY AND NIGHT ON THE PRAIRIE (Picture Window Books, 2015).

Fox and Skunks, pp 12-13,  A DAY AND NIGHT ON THE PRAIRIE

CARDS AND PRINTS AT ETSY

Cards and giclee prints of illustrations from my Day and Night books are still available at my Etsy site: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CarolineArnoldArt .

They are the perfect way to brighten up your walls or send a greeting to a friend!

A Day and Night in the Rain Forest

A Day and Night in the Forest

A Day and Night on the Prairie

A Day and Night in the Desert

NGSS Standards and A DAY AND NIGHT IN THE RAIN FOREST

The Next Generation Science Standards provide guidelines for science education from K-12. Based on a report produced by the National Research Council they call for a new approach to teaching science. Books like mine can be used in support of achieving these standards, especially in Life Science (LS) and Earth and Space Science (ESS).

A Day and Night in the Rain Forest by Caroline Arnold (PictureWindow Books, 2015)
A Day and Night in the Desert by Caroline Arnold (PictureWindow Books, 2015)
A Day and Night in the Forest by Caroline Arnold (PictureWindow Books, 2015)
A Day and Night on the Prairie by Caroline Arnold (PictureWindow Books, 2015)
NGSS Standards for grades 2, 3 and 4:
2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
3-LS2-1. Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.
3–LS2-3. Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.

AUTHOR FESTIVAL ILLUSTRATOR EXHIBIT, 2017, Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, CA

Original cut-paper illustration from A Day and Night on the Prairie, 9:00 p.m.

The Humboldt County Children’s Author Festival in Eureka, California, brings together authors, illustrators and book lovers for a very busy and fun four days.  Held every two years in October, the festival  includes author visits to schools, a gala banquet, book signing at the library, and an exhibition of children’s book art at the Morris Graves Museum of Art. I have been participating since 2007. This year I sent two pieces of original art from my book A Day and Night on the Prairie.

Original cut-paper illustration from A Day and Night on the Prairie, 6:00 a.m.

Many thanks to Lucy Quimby, one of the many devoted volunteers who organize the festival, for making arrangements for the show and to Jemima Harr at the museum for hanging the art. Copies of the illustrated books are also on display.The show went up in September and continues to the end of October.

Books by participating illustrators

On the opening day of the festival there is a welcome reception for the authors and volunteers at the museum and I always enjoy the chance to view the show and get a close-up look at the art of my fellow illustrators.

Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, California

ABFE/CBC Silent Auction of Children’s Book Art at BookExpo in New York

Illustration of A Day and Night on the Prairie, 6:00 a.m.

The ABC Children’s Group at ABA and the Children’s Book Council (CBC) are partnering to bring back the popular Silent Art Auction and the Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards Announcement in a joint program to take place on May 31, 2017, from 5:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the Javits Center South Concourse in New York City, as part of BookExpo. The event will benefit American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) and Every Child a Reader.

I am pleased to donate a giclee print of one of my cut paper art illustrations from A Day and Night on the Prairie (PictureWindow Books, 2015.)

This year’s Silent Art Auction program will also celebrate the 75th anniversary of Random House’s Little Golden Books imprint, which began in 1942. The auction will feature a special selection of works celebrating the Little Golden Books legacy as part of a year-long marketing and publicity campaign kicking off in February 2017.

If you are going to be at BookExpo, please stop by the exhibit and take a look at the art!

PROJECT: Create Dramatic Night Scenes with Chalk on Black Paper

Drawings made with Colored Chalk on Black Paper

Several years ago I did an author visit to a school and saw wonderful pictures the students had made after reading my books about dinosaurs.  They had used colored chalk to draw on black paper, creating colorful dramatic scenes.  This same technique would be perfect for depicting all kinds of animals at night.  Look in my books A Day and Night in the Rain Forest, A Day and Night in the Desert, A Day and Night on the Prairie and A Day and Night in the Forest to find out what kinds of animals are active at night in those habitats. Then you can make your own dramatic nighttime pictures!