CALIFORNIA STORIES: Caroline Arnold Books about California

I live in California, and not surprisingly, the subjects of nearly fifteen percent of my 170 books for children are found in California. The books range from one of my earliest publications, The Biggest Living Thing (1982) about giant sequoia trees in the Sierra Nevada, to Keeper of the Light (2022), about Juliet Fish Nichols, the lighthouse keeper on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay from 1902 to 1914. 

Recent titles, including the three books in my Room 6 series, can be purchased from my publishers or online. But most of my older books are out of print. Many of them are now available as e-books. And most of my books, even many of the old ones, can be found in public libraries.

I love learning about the world around me. As I researched the subjects in each of these California stories, I discovered new and fascinating things about the state I call home.

Here are the titles of my books connected to California history, people, places and animals, with links to my website or to updated or e-book editions.

Keeper of the Light: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog (2022)

Planting a Garden in Room 6: From Seeds to Salad (2022)

Butterflies in Room 6: See How They Grow (2019)

Hatching Chicks in Room 6 (2017)

A Day and Night in the Desert (2015)

Trapped in Tar: Fossils from the Ice Age , original (1987 and updated (2017)

A Bald Eagle’s World (2010)

When Mammoths Walked the Earth (2002)

Baby Whale Rescue: The True Story of J.J. (1999)

Bobcats (1997)

Bat (1996)

Fox (1996)

Stories in Stone: Rock Art Pictures by Early Americans (1996)

Killer Whale (1994)

Sea Lion (1994)

Watching Desert Wildlife (1994)

On the Brink of Extinction: The California Condor (1993)

House Sparrows Everywhere (1992)

A Guide Dog Puppy Grows Up (1991)

Tule Elk (1989)

The Golden Gate Bridge (1986)

Saving the Peregrine Falcon (1985)

Pets Without Homes (1983)

The Biggest Living Thing (1983)

KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: A Visit to Angel Island in San Francisco Bay

At the ferry landing at Ayala Cove on Angel Island.

A week ago I visited Angel Island for the first time since my book, Keeper of the Light: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog, was published. It was a beautiful day and the ferry from Tiburon was crowded with people going to Angel Island for a day of hiking, biking and enjoying the out-of-doors in the state park.

In 1906, when Juliet Nichols was the keeper, the Angel Island Lighthouse stood on the rocky point between Camp Reynolds and Perle's Beach. (Yellow X)

On all my previous visits to the island I had focused my attention on the southwest side of the island where the Angel Island lighthouse had been located and where the story of my book takes place. But this time I wanted to visit the former Immigration Center on the other side of the island, where thousands of immigrants, mostly from China, had been detained between 1910, when it was built, and 1940, when it was closed after the main administration building burned down.

Fog bell at the Immigration Station Memorial.

I discovered that the Immigration Station had a giant fog bell, much like the one Juliet Nichols rang on that foggy night in 1906. Unlike Juliet’s bell, still in place on the rock where the bell house once stood but now inaccessible, the Immigration Station bell is now part of a memorial to the immigrants who once came to the island. It has a clapper, which you can swing to make the bell ring.

With Casey Dexter Lee in the Detention Barracks at the Immigration Station.

During my visit I finally got to meet Casey Dexter Lee in person, who had been so helpful with my research for my book. It was a pleasure to talk with her and learn more about Angel Island’s history. Casey is the Education officer of the island.

In the Kiosk gift shop.

Before we caught the ferry back to Tiburon, I visited the kiosk gift shop near the dock, where I was pleased to see Keeper of the Light displayed. All profits go to support the Angel Island Conservancy.

Click HERE for information about visiting Angel Island State Park.

The Immigration Station is a National Historical Landmark.

KEEPER OF THE LIGHT Inspires a Hike on Angel Island

Point Knox as seen from Point Stuart on Angel Island, San Francisco Bay

Last week I got a call from a reporter for SFGate (a local Bay Area publication) who was doing an article about Angel Island lighthouses and a kids' hike to Stuart Point on Angel Island. It turns out that the hike was inspired by my book, KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog! My part in the article comes toward the end, and you have to scroll through a bunch of ads, but it is a great promotion for the book. I've done the same hike that the kids did. You can get a view of the bell that Juliet Nichols rang in the fog at her lighthouse at Point Knox when you get to the end of the Point Stuart. Here's the link to the article:

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/lighthouse-angel-island-bay-area-hike-18079202.php

Hiking trail to Point Stuart on Angel Island

 

117th ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1906 SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE

Illustration by Rachell Sumpter for KEEPER OF THE LIGHT.

Today is the 117th anniversary of the deadly 1906 San Francisco earthquake. That morning, across the Bay, on Angel Island, light keeper Juliet Nichols woke up to the violent shaking.

I awake with a jolt. Everything is moving!

My bed thrashes like a boat in a storm. Dishes smash. Outside, the lamp swings wildly on its hook. I hang on for dear life and wish I were not so alone.

When the shaking stops. I inspect the house--

Storehouse cracked. Stone basement badly cracked. House plaster cracked.

--Luckily nothing that can't be fixed.

Juliet's story, before and after the earthquake, is the subject of my book KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog (Cameron Kids/Abrams, 2022). Beautiful watercolor llustrations are by Rachell Sumpter. 

The San Francisco Earthquake

At 5:12 a.m., April 18, 1906 a violent earthquake struck the city of San Francisco, toppling buildings, cracking streets and sidewalks, bursting water mains. The rupture extended both northward and southward for a total of 296 miles (476 km). Shaking was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles. No system of measurement was in place at the time, but it is thought today that the earthquake would have measured between 7.9 and 8.2 on the Richter scale.  Hundreds of buildings collapsed during the quake.  But the bigger disaster came from the fires the followed.  Without a water supply, it was difficult to fight the rapidly spreading flames. By the time the fires were out, 500 city blocks were destroyed, at least 700 people were dead, and more than 225,000 homeless.

SAVE THE DATE, SUNDAY APRIL 23, 1-3pm at the LA TIMES BOOK FESTIVAL

I'll be selling and signing books in the SCBWI booth at the LA Times Book Festival on Sunday, April 23 from 1 to 3 pm. If you will be at the festival, please stop by and say hello! 

Here's the Sunday schedule. Hope to see you there! (If you click on the SCBWI link above you can see both the Saturday and Sunday schedules and more info, including all the other authors who will be signing in the SCBWI booth.)

Click here for a map of the USC campus. The SCBWI booth is #826 Child's Way.

AUTHOR VISIT AT ECOLE BILINGUE, BERKELEY, CA: Celebrating Women’s History Month with KEEPER OF THE LIGHT

Ecole Bilingue, Berkeley, CA

Last week on Friday I had a terrific visit with third, fourth and fifth graders at Ecole Bilingue in Berkeley, California. The main focus of my presentation was my book KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet FishNichols Fights the San Francisco Fog. Learning about Juliet’s experience at the Angel Island Lighthouse and during and after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake fit right in to the students’ studies of California history. While most of them had not personally visited Angel Island, it is a familiar sight, visible from any of the major bridges that cross San Francisco Bay—the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the San Rafael Bridge.

With the first slide of my power point presentation.

The timing of my visit was perfect because March is a national celebration of women’s history. After I shared the story of the book I asked the students what kind of a person Juliet had to be as a lighthouse keeper. Their answers: brave, persistent, hard-working, strong, committed. Clearly they understood that Juliet Nichols is a true hero. I also shared a few of my other books and details of my writing and illustrating process.

How plucky Mrs. Nichols wound up the fog bell machinery every fifty minutes for seventy-two hours and saved ships in Golden Gate from running on the rocks. (San Francisco Chronicle, 1906)

Ecole Bilingue is a bilingual school where children learn in both French and English. (I don’t speak French so my presentation was in English.) I have a special connection to EB because my granddaughter Paige was a student there from pre-school through middle school. My last visit to the school was in 2019 when she was in 8^th grade. It was a pleasure to return to EB and see many of her former teachers and meet the new staff as well. I especially thank Emily Kaltenbach, the English Program coordinator for arranging my visit and making sure that everything ran smoothly. I will be returning in April to celebrate Earth Day with the K-2 students.

 

ZOOM AUTHOR VISIT with 4th GRADERS at Judson and Brown School, Redlands, CA

A week ago I had a wonderful Zoom author visit with the 4^th graders and their teachers at Judson and Brown School in Redlands, California. They had all read my book KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog. I shared some of the highlights of the book and a power point showing how I researched the story. The students then had a chance to ask me questions. One boy wanted to know how long it took me to write the book. In fact, it was ten years from my first visit to Angel Island in 2012 to the publication of the book in 2022. I explained that the process of writing a book involves many rewrites.

Manuscript pages for KEEPER OF THE LIGHT

I was interested to know how the students reacted to the story. I asked them, “What kind of person do you think Juliet had to be to take on the job of lighthouse keeper?” Their answers were very perceptive. She had to be brave. Determined. Take her job seriously. One boy said she was the Savior of the Ships.

Illustration by Rachell Sumpter for KEEPER OF THE LIGHT

In advance of my visit, the students had used the book as inspiration for several projects, which they shared with me. One class combined art and a creative writing project—writing their own log entries as if they were lighthouse keepers—and then illustrating them with a watercolor painting. 

Watercolor painting by 4th grade student.

Another class painted four types of weather on a piece of paper folded into four rectangles, using one word to describe each type of weather—eg sunny, cloudy, rainy, foggy. 

Weather paintings and labels by 4th grade student.

The students in the third class made their own weather logs, noting the temperature, wind speed and direction, precipitation, and description of the sky, following the model of Juliet Nichols' official lighthouse log.

Pages from Julie Nichols Angel Island Lighthouse log.

I was pleased to see how much the students had enjoyed learning about Juliet Nichols, lighthouses, and what it takes to be a lighthouse keeper and to see their enthusiasm for the projects inspired by the book. While we met on the last day of February, KEEPER OF THE LIGHT is a perfect lead-in to Women’s History month in March.

I want to thank Todd Rossi, principal of Judson and Brown School for setting up this cooperative endeavor with the fourth-grade students and teachers at his school. And I want to thank teachers Brooke Nakaoka, Stephanie Howard and Mary Ann Ufkes, for sharing the book with their students and leading the follow-up projects. They did a terrific job.

I shared the students’ response to KEEPER OF THE LIGHT in my presentation at the Charlotte Huck Children's Literature Festival at Redlands University, March 2-3, 2023.  I want to thank Marjorie Arnett for connecting me with Todd Rossi and the 4^th grade team at his school. I loved finding out how real students are responding to my book and using it to expand their knowledge of California history, and in particular women’s history. Juliet Fish Nichols battled the fog in San Francisco Bay more than one hundred years ago, but her grit and determination to do her job well make her an excellent role model for young people today.