AUTHOR VISIT AT WPC PRESCHOOL

Wiggle and Waggle sock puppets.

Last Friday I made my annual author visit at the WPC Preschool in Los Angeles, sharing my books with four classrooms of children. As always, I read the first two stories of Wiggle and Waggle to each group, inviting the children to join me in singing the Wiggle and Waggle song while one of the teachers performed the actions with my Wiggle and Waggle sock puppets. It is always a popular part of my visit.

Because the children were getting ready for their spring break and many would be dying Easter eggs at home, I also shared Hatching Chicks in Room 6. This gave me the opportunity to talk about how all birds lay eggs and to show them my ostrich egg. They were suitably amazed at how big it was and were thrilled to have the chance to touch the smooth shell is I carried it around the room.

My final book with the oldest group of children (5 year olds) was The Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers. Reading that book to them has become a tradition ever since my first visit more than twenty years ago when I ran out of time and the kids insisted I keep reading even though it was their recess time. They wanted to find out what happened at the end!

I thank Director Brianne Naiman and all the teachers at WPC for welcoming me to the school. It is always a pleasure to visit.

VISIT TO THE CALGARY PUBLIC LIBRARY

 

Calgary Public Library, Alberta, Canada

Thirty-one years ago I came to Calgary for a library conference. Last week I returned to Calgary while my husband, Art, attended a conference there. As I almost always do when I travel, I visited the local library, in this case the new Central Library, just a few blocks from my hotel in downtown Calgary. The library, opened in 2018, is a soaring structure filled with light and wood.

The central skylight celebrates Calgary's famously sunny skies and brings natural light into the building.

I had arranged to meet children’s librarian Jennifer Mason, who gave me a tour of the children’s section—filled both with books and with inviting play areas where kids could do puzzles, build with blocks, Legos, or plastic pieces, climb into a structure, or just stretch out and read. In one area, families could choose a book to read together and then do activities in a take-home brochure. I thank Jennifer for taking time out of her day to meet with me and chat about books.

While many of the books in the Calgary library are by Canadian authors, there are also many by American writers. I was pleased to learn that the Calgary library system has nineteen of my books, including most of my new ones. All of their copies of Hatching Chicks in Room 6 were checked out—which made me wonder how many children were hatching chicks at home or at school.

Collaborative works by indigenous artists are seen throughout the library.

Much of the fourth floor of the library is devoted to indigenous cultures with books in indigenous languages and  a room for meetings and events. On the afternoon that I visited an elder was meeting with students in the room. 

View of downtown Calgary and rail line. The library was built over the rail line.

As I walked around the library I was impressed by both its use as a library and community center but also as an architectural wonder. From the fourth floor windows one gets an amazing view of the city, framed in the windows. As the free brochure explains: The modular hexagonal forms of the facade reflect the surrounding city and sky above. Familiar forms emerge from this varied geometry, where parts of the pattern might resemble an open book, beehives, or interlocking houses, anchoring the idea of collectives and community.

ZOOM AUTHOR VISIT AT LINCOLN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, GLENDALE, CA

Zoom presentation to the Lincoln Lions, Glendale, CA

On Monday, March 27, 2023, I had an excellent Zoom author visit at Lincoln Elementary School in Glendale, California. The school mascot is the lion. The visit was part of the Authors and Illustrators in the Schools program sponsored and organized by the Glendale Assistance League. I especially thank Linelle Vincenti and Kathy Blyth for all their support and making sure that everything ran smoothly. I was one of four authors visiting classrooms at Lincoln School. I met with four groups of first and second graders, each class for about thirty minutes, sharing my books and my life as an author and answering questions from the students. I enjoyed it immensely. And I could tell that the teachers and kids enjoyed it too.

We talked about birds and I shared my collection of eggs—from tiny zebra finch eggs to my giant ostrich egg and related them to the story in my book HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6. We also discussed feathers and bird flight, measuring wingspans from a hummingbird to a bald eagle.

Ostrich egg.

Another theme of my presentation was gardens–featuring my recent book PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6: From Seeds to Salad, as well as my fiction book WIGGLE AND WAGGLE (reading the first story and singing the gardening song with my Wiggle and Waggle sock puppets), and sharing my miniature model garden inspired by Mr. McGregor’s garden in PETER RABBIT by Beatrix Potter. I was pleased to discover that each class had been given a copy of PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 by the Glendale Assistance League.

I also talked about how authors get ideas for books, sharing that the inspiration for KEEPER OF THE LIGHT came out of a visit to Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. And I showed how I create the cut-paper illustrations for my books, using A ZEBRA’S WORLD as an example. We packed a lot into the thirty-plus minutes of each presentation. Altogether it was a fun and successful day. 

SHARING NATURE WITH CHILDREN, Blog by Children's Book Author Carolyn Combs

With many thanks to Carolyn Combs for sharing my book HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6 on her blog, Sharing Nature With Children. It is one of more than a dozen books about animals and nature recommended in time for holiday purchase. Find it in hardcover and as a Kindle on Amazon.

Carolyn Combs is the author of WHAT'S THIS TAIL SAYING? (Dawn Publications, 2020).

AOB ZOOM VISIT AT TRUESDELL ELEMENTARY, Washington, D.C.

Last Wednesday, I spoke via Zoom to three eager classes of kindergarten students at Truesdell Elementary School in Washington, D.C. and enjoyed it very much  

The visit was sponsored by An Open Book Foundation (AOB), which brings authors to schools and then gives each child a copy of the author’s book. After my talk, every child received an autographed copy of my new book PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6: From Seeds to Salad. (I sent signed book plates ahead of time.) I found out that the school playground had just been redone and now the children have planted a school garden. So the book was very apropos!

I also shared the other Room 6 books, HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6 and BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6, as well as WIGGLE AND WAGGLE. The kids helped me sing the Wiggle and Waggle song and followed along with the hand motions. At the end of the program they asked lots of questions and couldn’t wait  to receive their books.

Many thanks to AOB and to my publisher, Charlesbridge, for helping to arrange this visit. And special thanks to Angela Brooks and Dara La Porte at AOB, and to Eboni Henry, the school librarian!

Check the website of An Open Book Foundation to find out about all the wonderful things they do to connect authors and children and to promote books and reading..

PREVIEW OF NEW BOOK: PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 From Seeds to Salad

HOORAY! My advance copy of PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6: From Seeds to Salad (Charlesbridge, 2022) just arrived in the mail. It looks beautiful! Many thanks to my editor, Alyssa Pusey, and Catherine Schaad, the designer of the book, for making this such a special book. The official publication date is not until March 15, 2022, so this is just a sneak peak.

This is my third book with Mrs. Best and her kindergarten students. During the three months of the growing cycle, the children planted flowers and vegetables in raised garden beds in the play yard outside their classroom, measuring, caring for, and observing the plants up close as they learned firsthand about the growth cycle. The children’s enthusiasm was contagious as they learned about the garden plants and watched them grow. I am extremely grateful to Jennifer Best for her cooperation with this project and for being my expert reader. I couldn’t have done this book without her.

PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 is a Junior Library Guild Gold selection. Although you won’t be able to buy PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 until March, you can preorder it on Amazon now. Meanwhile, you can look for the other two books in the series, HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6 and BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6. 

 

BACK TO SCHOOL WITH CHICKENS

Author Carolyn Combs blog for Sept 2021

I was pleased to discover my book HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6 featured on author Carolyn Combs blog. Each month she presents books about a different animal. The theme for September 2021 was AN-ANIMAL-A-MONTH: CHICKENS. 

Many thanks to Carolyn Combs! Check out her blog and learn about my book and four other fascinating books about chickens and their relatives! 

PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6--A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

I was thrilled to learn that my upcoming new book PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 (Charlesbridge Publishing, March 15, 2022) has been selected as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection for the Spring 2022 list! The Junior Library Guild is a subscription service that brings "buzz worthy books to readers every month."

PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 is my third book with Mrs. Best and her kindergarteners, this time following the students as they planted seeds, watched them grow and harvested the ripe vegetables.

A visit to Mrs. Best's classroom is always inspiring! Follow a classroom of real kindergartners as they grow a garden full of healthy vegetables. Joyful photographs show kids planting seeds, tending the seedlings, and harvesting (and eating!) the results. An exciting introduction to the math and science involved in growing a garden.

The other books in the Room 6 series are HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6 (2017) and BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6 (2019). All of the books are illustrated with color photographs.

Look for PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 in bookstores next March!

CLCSC Virtual Fall Gala and Award Ceremony: Nonfiction Award for Butterflies in Room 6

Caroline with CLCSC Award for a Notable Work of Non-Fiction for Butterflies in Room 6

Yesterday, November 7, 2020, the Children's Literature Council of Southern California held their Fall Gala and celebrated this year's children's literature awardees at a virtual ceremony. I am proud to have received the award for a Notable Work of Juvenile Non-Fiction for my book Butterflies in Room 6. Other award winners this year are Laura Taylor Namey, Margaret Dilloway, Roseanne Greenfield Thong, Rebecca Constantino. Following an inspiring keynote address by author Deborah Heiligman, the award winners was introduced, and then we each gave a short acceptance speech. My award was presented with a lovely introduction by Annalisa Engh. Here are my remarks:

It is indeed an honor to be receiving this year's nonfiction award for my book Butterflies in Room 6. Thank you. 

I have been writing books for a long time, and pleased that a number of them have been honored by Children’s Literature Council in the past. For this book, Butterflies in Room 6, it is the first time as both author and photographer. A challenge in taking photographs of children and animals is that neither stay still for long! For many years I worked on books with photographer Richard Hewett, now passed away. I learned a lot about photography from him—a key being patient and willing to take LOTS of photos to get just the right one. I have also learned from my husband Art, my in-house tech guru, who is an excellent photographer and who helped me with the close-up pictures in this book

The idea for Butterflies in Room 6 began with an author visit several years ago at Haynes School in Los Angeles where I met Jennifer Best, a kindergarten teacher, who told me how she hatches eggs every year with her students as they learn about life cycles. The following spring, I embedded myself in her classroom, which enabled me to follow the process and get the photos I needed for my book Hatching Chicks in Room 6. At the time, I noticed that the children were also raising Painted Lady butterflies--watching the caterpillars grow in a jar, turn into chrysalises, and, after a week or so, emerge as beautiful butterflies. It seemed like the perfect sequel to Hatching Chicks. So, two years later, I was back in Room 6, learning about caterpillars and butterflies.

But this time, I wanted to do the project myself at home first so I could anticipate the pictures I would need and get some practice taking pictures of butterflies.  Most people who raise butterflies start with caterpillars. But I wanted my book to show the whole butterfly life-cycle, from egg to adult. So, I ordered Painted Lady butterfly eggs from a scientific supply house. The tiny blue eggs, no bigger than a grain of salt, came in a small vial. A note with the package said there were 35 eggs, with a few extra, in case some didn’t hatch. In fact, there were 100 eggs in the vial and every single one of them hatched! I soon had 100 very hungry caterpillars in containers all over my house! I had also ordered special caterpillar food to feed them, and within a few weeks, I had 100 beautiful butterflies.

Mrs. Best also ordered butterfly eggs, and I followed the students in Room 6 as they raised their butterflies, documenting the children’s excitement at each step of the process—looking through magnifying glasses, watching the caterpillars grow, and letting the butterflies rest on their hands for a moment before thy flapped their wings and flew away into the neighborhood. 

I couldn’t have written Butterflies in Room 6 without the help of Jennifer Best and her kindergarten students. I thank them for welcoming me into their classroom and for sharing the wonder of metamorphosis with me. I am also grateful to the children’s parents and the school principal, Barbara Meade, for their enthusiastic support. And I thank everyone at Charlesbridge Publishing, especially my wonderful editor Alyssa Pusey, who contributed to making this such a special book.

I want to express my gratitude to the Children’s Literature Council for choosing Butterflies in Room 6 for this very special honor today, especially Charmetria Marshall and everyone on the award committee.  And to President Jennifer Driscoll and all the people who worked so hard to make the arrangements for this special virtual celebration—Thank You!  

And here is my beautiful plaque!