FOSSILS FROM THE ICE AGE: Projects and Activities Inspired by My Books

Model tar pit with fossil bones made of clay.

During my nearly fifty years as a published author I have visited hundreds of schools to talk about my books and what it is like to be an author. I am always impressed by the creative projects teachers have done with their students in connection with my books. When kids do these projects it reinforces the concepts of the book and expands their impact. 

Model tar pit with Fossil "bones" made of clay:

One of my all-time favorite school projects is a model tar pit made by fourth grade students studying California history. After reading TRAPPED IN TAR: Fossils from the Ice Age, they created fossil bones of Ice Age animals--mammoths, sabertooth cats, camels, dire wolves and more. The teacher made a tar pit by slathering roofing tar on a piece of plywood. Then the students embedded their "fossils" in the tar for a realistic depiction of the La Brea Tar Pits in miniature. (The dinosaur on the edge is a mistake--dinosaurs lived millions of years earlier.) 

As part of the project each student wrote a poem. Here's a sample.

Trapped in tar,

Stuck in goo,

With bundles of others,

Sticky as glue.

Stuck as can be,

They try to get out,

Twisting and turning

Knowing they will die without a doubt.

You can learn more about the fossils of the La Brea Tar Pits and life in Southern California during the Ice Age in my book TRAPPED IN TAR: Fossils from the Ice Age, available in both paperback and as an ebook.

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: On the Shelf at LAPL

In the Social Science/Philosophy Department of LAPL with my book SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL.

A week ago I was at the Los Angeles Public Library in downtown Los Angeles and I went searching for my book SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota. I knew it was in the collection, but I wanted to see it for myself. After riding down three escalators from the main library floor to the Social Science/Philosophy Department, I found it shelved with other books about the history of settlement houses and the social settlement movement (360.61). 

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL is the thin blue book, 6th from the left.

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL, (360.61A752), was on the top shelf, a few books after several about Jane Addams, the founder of Hull House in Chicago. Down three shelves I found books about Lillian Wald, founder of Henry Street Settlement in New York City. It was a good thing that my husband Art was with me to pull my book off the shelf, because I could barely reach it. It was gratifying to hold it in my hand and know that anyone coming to the library to learn about settlement houses or about my childhood living in one, will be able to find my book. I hope they are tall!

PRESENTATION OF THE FOCAL AWARD for SIMONE written by Viet Thanh Nguyen, illustrated by Minnie Phan

FOCAL Award Presentation at the Los Angeles Public Library to Viet Thanh Nguyen and Minnie Phan

On Saturday, May 30th, friends, family, and members of FOCAL (Friends of Children and Libraries) gathered at the Mark Taper Auditorium of the LAPL Central Library for the annual FOCAL Award presentation, this year to Viet Thanh Nguyen (author) and Minnie Phan (illustrator) for their book Simone, a picture book about a young girl and her mother whose home is threatened by wildfire. 

In the tradition of the award, the author and the illustrator were presented with a puppet of the main character of the book. A third identical puppet will go on display in the children's room of the library, joining puppets from previous years. The puppets were created by Jesse Kingsley and Moira MacDonald.  

Jesse Kingsley and the three Simone puppets.

The program was introduced by Marilyn Robertson, FOCAL President. After a presentation by Viet and Minnie about how they came to write and illustrate. the essay contest winners were introduced by Sandy Schuckett. 

Sandy Schuckett, Chair of the Judging Panel for the student essays.

The three students read their excellent essays to the audience. They wrote about how they responded to the book, a favorite part or character, and why they would like to meet the author. Then there was a question and answer session with the audience, hosted by Dewi Reyes, Chair of Social Media. (See first photo.) Then we all enjoyed delicious Vietnamese sweets in the library patio.

I have been a member of FOCAL for many years. In order to be awarded the FOCAL book award, the book must be of the highest literary and artistic quality, and must have California content. I know how hard it is to choose a winner–I served on the committee for four years. This year’s choice is excellent and a fitting book to celebrate.

Note: In the past, the FOCAL award ceremony has been held in the fall. However, beginning with this year, the FOCAL Board has decided to hold the ceremony in the spring, giving teachers and students more time to read the book and for the students to write their essays.

CENTRAL 100 COLOR-BY-NUMBER READING CHALLENGE : Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, CA

A beautiful coloring page depicting the murals in the library rotunda has been created in celebration of the Los Angeles Central Library's 100th anniversary. You can pick one up at your branch library along with a set of colored pencils. Directions for participating are HERE.  

On the back of the coloring page you will find cool facts about the Rotunda, originally the heart of the library and where the card catalog and service desks were located. There will be three different coloring pages released in 2026. The color-by-numbers art is by Alexander Vidal.

BATTLE OF THE BOOKS and LITERACY FAIR, Red Hill Elementary, Tustin, CA

Book display at Red Hill Elementary Battle of the Books and Literacy Fair.

On Monday March 2^nd, 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.

Families watch as students on stage compete in the Battle of the Books.

I thank science teacher Reena Fosse for inviting me and for organizing the event. I also thank school librarian Vinnie Yeung and the volunteer high school students who helped with the set-up. Reena Fosse told me that she started the Battle of the Books when her children were students at Red Hill Elementary. This was the fourth year of Battle of the Books. She told me that it gets bigger and better every year.

THREADS OF LOS ANGELES by Ashley Walker, Celebrating the City's Cultural History at the Los Angeles Public Library

Threads if Los Angeles by Ashley Walker, Los Angeles Public Library.

When I was at the Los Angeles Central Public Library in early February I encountered six striking fashion models on display at one of the escalator landings. Each model was dressed to reflect a particular neighborhood and time in the cultural history of the city. They are the work of fashion designer Ashley Walker, recipient of a 2025 Creator in Residence award, and are based on research in the LAPL archives. The models will be sent to branch libraries around the city. For more about the project and where you can see the models, and about the Creator in Residence program at LAPL, click HERE. 

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.

The Rhythm of Rebellion
Theme: The Zoot Suit Riots and Fashion Resistance.

Blueprint of Elegance
Theme: Paul R. Williams Architecture.

When the City Sang
Theme: Jazz on Central Avenue.

South Central 1992
Theme: The 1992 Uprising.

Woven Journeys
Migration, Memory and Cultural Identity in Los Angeles.

From Soul to Soil
Theme: Los Angeles Flora and Environmental Identity.

VISIT TO THE MILL VALLEY PUBLIC LIBRARY, Mill Valley, California

Children's Room of the Mill Valley Public Library, Mill Valley, CA.

On a recent trip to the Bay Area in Northern California, I visited the beautiful Mill Valley Public Library, tucked among the redwoods in the town of Mill Valley in Marin County. The large windows of the library look out onto Mill Park, a grove of giant redwood trees along Mill Creek, which was roaring with water after a week of heavy rain. In the early days of Mill Valley the water power of the creek ran a sawmill. Today the  trees are preserved as a public park.

Redwood trees in Mill Park, Mill Valley, CA.

My parents lived in Mill Valley for thirty-seven years and I often visited both the redwood grove and the library. On the day of my recent visit (during the Christmas holidays) the library was busy with families and people checking out books. When I looked at the catalog I found that the library has 44 of my books in its collection. I was pleased to see that a number of them were checked out, including my book about Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, Keeper of the Light: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog. 

Entrance to the Mill Valley Public Library.

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

AUTHOR VISIT AT CIRCLE VIEW ELEMENTARY, Huntington Beach, California

Library, Circle View Elementary School, Huntington Beach, CA.

Thursday April 24 was my annual visit to Huntington Beach, California for the Author Festival. I have been participating in the Huntington Beach Author Festival almost every year since it started in 1989. I have been doing it so long that I have visited some of the schools twice! This year was a return to Circle View Elementary, which I visited previously in 2018.

A parking place had been reserved for me.

I spoke to two groups of enthusiastic students--fourth and fifth graders. I thank teacher Kelly Wegman for coordinating my visit and Danielle for helping with the tech details. Thanks also to the PTA for a delicious lunch in the teacher’s lounge and for supporting a purchase of books for the library. I always enjoy the chance to chat with teachers and staff at lunch.

Ready for my presentation.

This event would not go on year after year except for the hard work and dedication of Larry Hersh and other volunteers of FOTCL (Friend of the Children’s Library) who have led the festival for many years and kept it alive after a pause during the pandemic. Thank you! I always enjoy the chance to share my books with new readers, to see old friends, and to make new ones. 

AUTHOR VISIT TO WPC PRESCHOOL: Hooray for Wiggle and Waggle!

Wiggle and Waggle Sock Puppets

A week ago I made my annual visit to the Westwood Presbyterian Church Preschool, Los Angeles, California. This year, rather than meeting with the children in their classrooms as I usually do, I met with the two- and three-year-olds and their parents as part of their pancake breakfast, and I met with the four- and five-year-olds, outside on the rug in the play yard. The children are always eager to hear about my books. With both groups I read the first two stories in Wiggle and Waggle, inviting the children to sing the Wiggle and Waggle song with me and do the hand motions while I performed the song with my sock puppets. (A link to the pattern for making stick puppets and other Wiggle and Waggle activities is at my website.)

Wiggle and Waggle (Charlesbridge, 2007) and stick puppets.

And, as a tradition that began many years ago, I finished by reading The Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers, a tall tale about the Hodag, a creature with the head of an ox, feet of a bear, back of a dinosaur and tail of an alligator. With many thanks to Brianne Naiman, the WPC Preschool Director, and to the preschool teachers, for inviting me and coordinating my visit. It is always a pleasure to visit the school and spend time with the children and their teachers.

The Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers (Boyds Mills Press, 2006)

STAND UP FOR OUR SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES: Hands Off! March at City Hall in Culver City, California

Hands Off! March, Culver City, California.

On Saturday, April 5th, I joined thousands of other marchers at City Hall in Culver City, California, to protest the defunding of so many federal programs that people depend on, including services to schools and libraries. It was a day to stand up and be counted. We need our Democracy!

AUTHOR VISIT AT ESPERANZA SCHOOL: Hands-On Science in the Natural Habitat School Garden

Principal Rumble with students in the Esperanza School Natural Habitat Garden.

Located at the edge of downtown Los Angeles, Esperanza Elementary School seems like a surprising place to find a natural habitat garden filled with California native plants. It is home to a variety of insects, birds and other wildlife. For the students at the school it is an opportunity for hands-on science as they observe the cycle of life through the seasons.

Welcome sign for my visit.

Since my first visit to Esperanza School in 2018 and getting a tour of their natural habitat garden I have been going back almost every year to meet with students and find out how the garden has been growing. Last week I met with third-grade students and their teacher Elizabeth Williams. We began in the library where I did a presentation about my books and what it is like to be an author. I was impressed by the students’ enthusiastic response and by their knowledge of the natural world. When I asked if they knew the word for animals that are active during the daytime, they knew that it was “diurnal”. Nighttime animals are "nocturnal".

Teacher, Mrs. Williams; librarian; Principal, Brad Rumble, in the school library.

After the presentation we all went on a tour of the habitat, led by Mrs. Williams and by Principal Brad Rumble. Recent rains had promoted new growth and spring wildflowers were beginning to bloom. Huge patches of lupins were sprouting everywhere. 

These bright red blooms are a favorite flower for hummingbirds. Below, lupin sprouts on the ground.

Mr. Rumble, an avid birdwatcher, has turned the students into expert bird watchers too. On our visit they spotted a number of species, including a pair of house finches. In class the students are learning to distinguish the differences between Anna’s hummingbird and the Rufous hummingbird. They told me that more than 80 species of birds have been identified in the garden.

Student discovering a small clump of wild grapes.

It is always a treat for me to visit Esperanza. It is a delight to see the students learning about the natural world and becoming young scientists. I thank them for sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm with me. And I thank Brad Rumble for his leadership at the school and in the community.  

The Schoolyard Habitat Program is sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation.

The Esperanza garden is a National Wildlife Federation certified Wildlife Habitat. The property provides the four basic habitat elements needed for wildlife to thrive: food, water, cover and places to raise young.

AUTHOR VISIT AT LA CRESCENTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, Glendale, CA

Authors and Illustrators Day at La Crescenta School, Glendale, CA.

On Monday, February 24th, I had a good visit at La Crescenta Elementary School in Glendale, California for Authors and Illustrators Day. 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--Tao Nyeu, Joe Cepeda and Tracy Holczer were the others. I gave presentations to first and second grade students.

Entrance to La Crescenta School.

I was pleased by the good response to my presentation by the students and teachers. We started with my book A Zebra’s World, followed by a discussion of my cut-paper art illustration process. We measured wingspans in connection with Hatching Chicks in Room 6, and sang along with Wiggle and Waggle.

After sharing my book Planting a Garden in Room 6 I was pleased to learn that there was an extensive school garden--one just for butterflies! The children 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 Linelle Vicenti and Kathy Blyth for coordinating everything and making sure the day ran smoothly! I also 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. Many thanks to the Glendale Assistance League for another successful Authors and Illustrators Day! 

Butterfly garden, with plants for attracting butterflies.

Vegetable and herb garden.

 

CHILDREN'S BOOKS FOR ALTADENA: Vroman's Book Drive to Help Children and Families Affected by the Wildfires

A week ago I brought a number of my books to Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena as a contribution to the book drive for children and families of Altadena who have been affected by the recent terrible wildfires. Vroman's is partnering with Children's Books for Altadena. I could see by the number of huge boxes of books already collected that many people have contributed. I know the books will go to good use. I was happy to help.