SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL Now Available at the LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY

I was delighted to discover that my memoir, SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota, is now available at the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL). It is on the shelf in the Social Science/Philosophy Department of the Central Branch (call number 360.61A752.) If you don’t want to go downtown to check out the book, you can put it on hold and have it delivered to your local branch.

Although I grew up in Minnesota, I have lived most of my adult life in California and the LAPL is my home library.  I am pleased that they have approved the book for their collection. It took two plus years! Most of my 170 books for children are already on the shelves. Now, readers who know my children’s books will be able to find out what my life was like as a child.

Los Angeles Public Library

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL is already on the shelves of the Hennepin County Libraries in Minnesota and many other libraries across the country. You can check to see if it is in a library near where you live.

HAPPY EASTER! Making Ukrainian Easter Eggs

Eggs have long been associated with Easter is a symbol of renewed life. I became fascinated with the beautiful designs on Ukrainian Easter eggs (called psanky) when I was growing up in Northeast Minneapolis. I started to make them myself when I was a teenager. I took a bus from our home in South Minneapolis to the Ukrainian Gift Shop on East Hennepin Avenue to buy the tools and special dyes needed to make the designs. Behind the counter a woman dressed in a traditional Ukrainian costume demonstrated the technique, making beautiful intricate designs and using many colors of dyes. To make the eggs the designs are drawn in wax with a stylus (kistka) and the colors are added successively. In the end the wax is removed, revealing the richness of the colors.  The eggs can be kept year after year because the inside moisture simply evaporates over time.  (The designs are made on raw eggs.  The eggs are not meant to be eaten but used for decoration.) Some of the eggs in the bowl above were made by my children when they were much younger, others by me. Getting them out at Eastertime is a well-loved family tradition.

HAPPY EASTER! 

(Note: In 2026, Easter falls on Sunday, April 5th. But in the Orthodox Church, Easter is a week later, on April 12th, because of a different way of calculating the date on the Orthodox calendar. Whichever you celebrate, best wishes for a happy holiday!)

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Books Make Perfect Gifts for the Holidays!

Exactly two years ago today, on Dec 1, 2023, I published my memoir SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota, which chronicles my childhood years growing up in the settlement house my father directed and explores the roots of the person I am today.

It imakes a great gift to give during the holidays to friends and family. You can order it on Amazon or you can go to your favorite bookstore, give them the ISBN number ( ISBN 9798864 903285 ) and they can order it for you. And, if you haven’t yet read SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL I encourage you to read it now. 

Happy Reading and Happy Holidays!

"The book captures life in colorful anecdotes, and Arnold draws the intriguing settlement house residents with a loving hand. ... Endnotes provide even more personal insight, all resulting in an enjoyable encapsulation of one family's experiences as the settlement facility transitioned into modernity." BlueInk Review (March 2024)

"Settlement House Girl is a look back at Northeast Minneapolis in the 1950s. Arnold has authored books for children and she writes in a clear, straightforward manner. If you're a collector of Northeast history books, it's a good one to put on your bookshelf." Cynthia Sowden, Northeaster Newspaper, April 3, 2024

"Settlement House Girl is engaging, tracing Arnold's growth from a young girl to an adult journeying into being a writer in her later life, but it's also a valuable contribution to the social history of 20th-century America...The detailed accounts of Arnold's experiences provide a unique glimpse into the fabric of community life during this era, highlighting the interactions and shared experiences that defined the settlement house environment." BookLife (Publishers Weekly) June 7, 2024

More about the book is at my website, www.carolinearnold.com/settlementhousegirl.html 

ALWAYS A READER: My Childhood Book List

Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace, a favorite book of my childhood.

When I was growing up I never imagined that I would be a writer. But I always loved to read. I recently discovered a list I made in third grade of all the books I read that year—47 of them!  I actually made the list twice—first in the order that I read them, neatly printed, and then in alphabetical order by title, carefully written in cursive. 

Most of the books on my list are fiction and all of them were checked out from the Minneapolis Public Library. (Although our family had a few Golden Books, and I occasionally got a book as a gift, we rarely bought books.) Most of the books on my list now seem terribly old-fashioned, but a few are classics, like Make Way for Ducklings and To Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street.

The cover of my booklet where I made my lists is a finger painting.

In my booklet I also recorded a list of the magazines I had read—mostly Jack and Jill, but also a few issues of Child Life and Highlights. And in the same little booklet with my lists I copied a poem by Annie Fellows Johnston called "Book Houses", which likens a book to a door to someone’s house. The third stanza reads:

And when I find a house that’s dull,

I do not often stay,

But when I find one full of friends

I’m apt to spend the day.

I recall many a day spent happily reading. Here’s my third grade list. How many of these titles to you remember reading as a child?

Books I have Read  (Third Grade)

1. Betsy and the Boys by Carolyn Haywood

2. Two is a Team, Heim

3. The Cocoa Dancer

4. The Great Quillow

5. Tag-a-long Tooloo

6.  Joan Wanted a Kitty

7. Make Way for Ducklings

8. Henner’s Lydia

9. A Pony for Linda—Anderson

10. Sonny the Bunny

11. Cow Concert

12.  Little Stone House

13.  Wishing Well

14.  Pogo’s House—Jo and Ernest Norling

15. Joey and Patches

16.  Cowboy Tommy-Sanford Tousy

17.  How the Indians Lived – Dearborn

18.  Little Pear – Eleanor Frances Lattimore

19.  Two and Two are Four – Carolyn Haywood

20  Kintu

21.  Randy and the Queen – Margaret s. Johnson

22.  Dog that Came True

23.  Double Birthday Present – Mabel Leigh Hunt

24.  Don’t Count Your Chicks

25.  Jack-o-Lantern for Judy Jo

26.  Holiday Roundup

27.  Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Buttered Bread – Mag Lindman

28.  Scratchy by John Parke

29.  Coconut the Wonder Tree

30.  Book of Jokes and Funny Things – Frances N. Chrystie

31.  Dr. Trotter and his Big Gold Watch – Helen Earle Gilbert

32.  A Kitten’s Tale – Audrey Chalmers

33.  Blueberries for Sal – Robert McCloskey

34.  Through Golden Windows

35. Our Little Friends of Norway

36.  Little Lost Sioux – Martha Raabe

37. Nils – Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire

38.  United States and Youth – Eleanor Roosevelt

39.  Black Beauty – Anna Sewell

40.  And to Think that I saw it on Mulberry Street – Dr. Seuss

41.  Betsy-Tacy

42.  Hide and Go Seek

43. The Most Wonderful Doll

44.  The Young Aunts

45.  North on the Great River – by Margaret G. O’Farrell

46.  Penny Goes to Camp – Carolyn Haywood

47.  Boy of the Desert – Eunice Tietjens

ALA COMBINED BOOK EXHIBIT: Look for SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL!

This year the annual American Library Association convention is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and, as usual, the exhibit hall will be filled with publishers' booths promoting all their latest books. You can find my memoir SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at Northeast Neighborhood House in the Combined Book Exhibit, Booth #1838, which features independently published books. Although my book is for adults, I think it will be of interest to teachers and librarians who know me as a children's book writer. The roots of my career can be found in my childhood.

Click HERE for a map of the exhibit floor and Booth #1838. You can find both the paperback and ebook of SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL in the Combined Book Exhibit booth. For an ebook preview of the first chapter of the book click on the link on the Combined Book Exhibit webpage for the book.

Book Description

A chronicle of children's book author Caroline Arnold's childhood living at a settlement house--from nursery school and after school clubs to summers at camp. A window into life at mid-century and Caroline's future as a writer and illustrator.

Book Review 

"The narrative presents a wealth of historical information as well as an insider's view of an uncommon subject matter." BookLife Prize review

TOOTLE—Learning to STAY ON THE TRACKS, NO MATTER WHAT! Memories of Childhood

TOOTLE was a favorite Golden Book of my childhood. Tootle is a baby train, who along with other young train engines goes to train school to learn skills such as pulling the dining car without spilling the soup, and, most importantly, to STAY ON THE TRACKS NO MATTER WHAT—even when playing in the meadow is more fun.

A week ago, I was at a street fair in Pennsylvania that featured vintage wares, and one of the booths had a box of old children’s books. And what should I see at the front of the pile—a copy of TOOTLE! Of course, I bought it.

Listening to TOOTLE being read by Fran Guzie at NENH, 1950.

TOOTLE brings back memories of my life at North East Neighborhood House in Minneapolis where I lived with my family until I was ten years old. From the windows of our apartment on the third floor we saw freight trains huffing and puffing along the tracks across the street on the other side of Bottineau Park. In my memoir SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950sat North East Neighborhood House I write about my brother Steve’s fascination with trains and our exciting train trip across the river to St. Paul.

Steve’s favorite book was TOOTLE. In the photo at the beginning of my chapter about the train trip you can see Steve and a neighbor child listening raptly to Fran Guzie (one of the NENH residents) reading TOOTLE. (I appear to be engrossed in another book and only half listening. Perhaps, I had heard the story of Tootle too many times before.)

In any case, I was delighted to find TOOTLE once again and its reminder of the importance of STAYING ON THE TRACKS NO MATTER WHAT.

TOOTLE is written by Gertrude Crampton and illustrated by Tibor Gergely. It was first published in 1946 by Western Publishing Company. The copy I found at the street fair was the 24^th printing in 1969. The book is still available on Amazon.

READERS' COMMENTS ABOUT SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL

Nothing makes an author happier than to hear from readers how much they liked their book. I am gratified by the good response I continue to get from readers of my book SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Some of the comments are from friends and classmates, but many are from people I have never met. Some grew up in Northeast Minneapolis like I did, but many grew up elsewhere but share similar experiences. Here are just a few of the comments:

North East Neighborhood House

Your book allowed me to relive precious moments of my childhood. I loved every word and didn’t want it to end.

Your early life experiences, although unique from the Settlement House aspect, mirror many of our own--a stamp collection, a Schwinn bike, a Brownie camera, June Allyson paper dolls, the corner store for sweet treats and the freedom we had to just hop on our bikes and go anywhere.

I loved all the photos!

Another glowing facet of the book is that her parents' dedication as social workers is beyond admirable.

Throughout the book I was struck by the riches to be discovered in the memories of a modest life.

I learned so much about you—but also about the Settlement House!

I can relate to playing outside until the streetlights came on, shopping at a small neighborhood grocery store, ice skating on an outdoor rink in the park…

As I read, there were many eureka moments…. And of course the skating—all day long—entirely on our own—no parents hovering to make sure we didn’t fall.

For me, Camp Bovey provided father figures, learning to appreciate nature, camping, canoeing, and swimming…

I too am a Hodagger!

The Hodag, mascot of Camp Bovey (formerly Camp Hodag).

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025 from CAROLINE ARNOLD ART AND BOOKS

Caroline, ice skating at Bottineau Park, Northeast Minneapolis, 1950.

"By New Year’s Day, the pine needles of the Christmas tree are dry and brittle. It is time to take the tree down. After the lights and ornaments are removed and boxed for next year, we take the tree outside to the roof deck, propping it up in the snow. Decorated with strings of bread cubes and cranberries, it is ready for the birds to enjoy. With the excitement of Christmas over, it is now time to write thank-you notes and to enjoy skating at Bottineau Park, sledding at the Columbia Park golf course, and other winter activities."

From Chapter 7: Family Christmas at NENH, SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I have fond memories of celebrating the holidays when I was a child in Minneapolis. Now, many years later, from my home in California, I send best wishes to you and all my faithful readers.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025

 

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS from CAROLINE ARNOLD ART AND BOOKS

Scheaffer family Christmas in apartment at NENH, 1950.

"On Christmas Eve, after my brothers and I are asleep, my parents arrange “Santa’s” gifts under the tree. On Christmas morning, after everyone is awake, my father turns on the tree lights and gives the signal to enter. We rush in, each going straight to our own pile. Santa’s gifts are unwrapped and it is obvious who they are for—a doll for me, a train for Steve, stacking blocks for Peter, a stuffed toy for Tom."  

From Chapter 7: Family Christmas at NENH, SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

 I have fond memories of celebrating Christmas when I was a child growing up in Minneapolis. Now, many years later, from my home in California, I send best wishes to you and all my faithful readers.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

2024

 

 

BOOKLIFE PRIZE (Publishers Weekly) Review of SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL

I was pleased to receive the following positive review from BookLife Prize (Publishers Weekly) of my memoir,  SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Plot/Idea: Arnold's focused memoir depicts the lesser-known institution of settlement houses from the unique perspective of a director’s child. The book provides a snapshot of a place in a particular time period while also constructing the cultural memory of a small community organization in mid-century America.

Prose: Settlement House Girl is broken into bite-sized sections, subverting the typical narrative structure of similar books. That strategy works well to give the text an informative vibe, and the memoir's first-person perspective deftly establishes its context while painting the subject matter in an appealing light.

Originality: Arnold recounts her largely unique life experience living in a settlement house in 1950s Minnesota, with her social worker parents. The narrative presents a wealth of historical information as well as an insider's view of an uncommon subject matter. 

Character/Execution: Though the book's somewhat choppy structure and first-person present tense can detract from the flow, the topic is interesting and enjoyable. Arnold delivers an intimate glimpse into a microculture that curious readers will find fascinating.

The BookLife Prize winners were announced December 15, 2024.

CHECK IT OUT! Read SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL at your Library

Little by little, my memoir,  SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota is being added to library collections across the country. See list below. If any of these are libraries where you live, you can now check out my book now.  If your local library does not yet have the book, please put in a request for it. Thank you!

Libraries where you can find SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL

Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, CA

Hennepin County Library, Minneapolis, MN

Plum Creek Library system, Worthington, MN

Duluth Public Library, Duluth, MN

Anoka County Library, Blaine, MN

University of Minnesota, Anderson Library, Minneapolis, MN

Grinnell College, Burling Library, Grinnell, IA

Drake Community Library, Grinnell, IA

West Des Moines Public Library, Des Moines, IA

Wisconsin Valley Library Service (WVLS), Wausau, WI

Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, WI

Superior Public Library, Superior, WI

Legion Memorial Library, Mellen, WI

Rhinelander Public Library, Rhinelander, WI

Kenosha Public Library, Kenosha, WI

Wisconsin Historical Society Library, Madison, WI

Chicago Public Library, Chicago, IL

The Indianapolis Public Library, Indianapolis, IN

Humboldt County Library, Eureka, CA

Chapel Hill Public Library, Chapel Hill, NC

If your library is not on this list and has the book, please let me know and I will add it. I will continue to add libraries as they get and process my book.

Settlement House Girl is engaging, tracing Arnold’s growth from a young girl to an adult journeying into being a writer in her later life, but it’s also a valuable contribution to the social history of 20th-century America, offering urban history enthusiasts a wealth of information about the daily lives of families living in mid-century cities. The detailed accounts of Arnold's experiences provide a unique glimpse into the fabric of community life during this era, highlighting the interactions and shared experiences that defined the settlement house environment. BookLife (Publisher’s Weekly)

My visit to the Northeast branch of the Hennepin County Library in 1915.

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL Now at the SCBWI BookStop Site

SCBWI BookStop page for SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL

The SCBWI BookStop site launches today!  Find SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL on my SCBWI BookStop page! It is in the section of YA books. (Like many books written for adults, it crosses over to YA readers.)

Thanks to the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for helping me to promote SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL, my memoir about growing up at North East Neighborhood House in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The site includes information about the book and links to my social media sites.  A button on the BookStop page allows you to go directly to Amazon to purchase SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL (paperback). The book is also available as an ebook on Amazon.

The promotion will be live on scbwi.org from October 15 through December 4, 2024. It is a perfect opportunity for holiday shoppers, including on Cyber Monday. Buy your copy today!

"Settlement House Girl is engaging, tracing Arnold’s growth from a young girl to an adult journeying into being a writer in her later life, but it’s also a valuable contribution to the social history of 20th-century America, offering urban history enthusiasts a wealth of information about the daily lives of families living in mid-century cities. The detailed accounts of Arnold's experiences provide a unique glimpse into the fabric of community life during this era, highlighting the interactions and shared experiences that defined the settlement house environment." BookLife/Publishers Weekly

AMAZON READER REVIEWS: Raves for SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL

Many thanks to all the people who have reviewed SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL on Amazon. It’s always rewarding to discover that readers like my book! Here are a few of the reviews. Remember that these are written by regular people, not professional book reviewers. I’m often surprised by what they like best.

Delicious “comfort” reading.  

A memoir about growing up in a time and place a little different (not a lot, in the Big Picture, but a lot, in the details) from mine. I absolutely loved reading a chapter or two at a time, especially at bedtime, and looking forward to returning to the world of the book. Reading it was easy and fun. It felt gentle and warm. When the author's life experiences reminded me of mine, it resonated with me, made me feel smart thinking I knew exactly what she meant, and made me admire her writing because it was dead-on. Yet when her experiences were completely different from mine, it elicited an even stronger reaction, which I find notable—the fact that differences piqued my interest more than similarities. It’s an interesting form of intellectual stimulation. Another glowing facet of the book is that her parents' dedication as social workers is beyond admirable. –Picky Reader

Important history.

Caroline Arnold's book about her own life in a settlement house kept me riveted. I'd known nothing about this part of our social history. Thank you, Caroline.—Jane A. Bolton

You will enjoy this book.

You will enjoy this book if you are interested in: US history, Minnesota history, Minneapolis history, genealogy, ancestry, social work, community organizing. . . And family stories and autobiographies. Prolific children’s and nature author Arnold shares her interesting and treasured life experiences.--Kathy Jurichko

Very Interesting.

I went to junior high school and high school with Caroline. Therefore it was really interesting to read her story!! I never knew there were girls sports at Washburn High School, but she played tennis. I fully enjoyed reading the book. –Miriam

  

WHY DID I SELF-PUBLISH MY BOOK? The story behind publishing SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL

Caroline Arnold and Settlement House Girl

Why did I self-publish SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL? I tried to find a traditional publisher for it but was unsuccessful. I became discouraged when my agent told me that publishers are most interested in memoirs of famous people. (Although I am known by teachers and children's librarians for my 170 books for children, that's apparently not famous enough.) So I decided to do it myself.

I already had experience republishing some of my out of print children's books on Amazon and I had helped a friend self-publish her memoir. So I knew how to format and upload a manuscript for a book. The advantage of Amazon is that there is no cost to publish, but you have to do all the work yourself. Alternatively, there are lots of companies that will help you publish your book for a price. 

I am happy with the print and paper quality of my books on Amazon. The books are print on demand. (If you order a copy of my book you will see for yourself.) I chose a standard size for the pages, which means that the book can be ordered by bookstores through Ingram and sold for a profit like any other book. Most bookstores won't carry my book on the shelves, but customers can order it and the store can get it within a few days. I can also order books from Amazon at a discount and sell them myself. Some independent bookstores will take books on consignment.

However, what I've learned is that writing and publishing the book is the easy part. The hard part is promotion--getting the book known. I am realizing that I never really appreciated what my publishers do to promote my children's books. It is important to get the book reviewed. I have paid for reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and BlueInk Review (recommended by BookList.) Customer reviews on Amazon and on Goodreads also help. It is also important to get the book into libraries. Although libraries don't normally buy self-published books, they will consider them, especially if there is a personal connection with the author or the subject matter. So, little by little, one library at a time, I am getting my book into libraries across the country. 

More and more authors are self-publishing these days and it no longer has the stigma it once did. (The book must still read and look professional in every way.) The competition for getting a book accepted by an established publisher is getting tougher and tougher. Sometimes self-publishing is the best alternative. For one thing, it puts you in control of the finished product. And, if you are using a print-on-demand service like I do, the book will never go out of print!

·         SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota

·         By Caroline Scheaffer Arnold

·         Independently Published (Amazon; available at Ingram)

·         Published December 1, 2023

·         Paperback, 207 pages

·         Illustrated with black and white historic photos

·         $14.99

ISBN 97998864903285

BOOK CLUB and WRITING GROUP TALKS: Sharing the Inside Story of SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL

In the last several weeks I have had the opportunity to speak about my memoir SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota--to my women’s book discussion group and to a local writing group. It was a chance to share the book and talk about the process I went through in the creation of it, and also to get feedback from the audience. (Most people had read the book in advance.) In both instances I gave the talk on Zoom, which worked well, although I have also done it in person, as I did at the book launch in Minneapolis earlier this spring.

In the course of the talk I discuss why I wrote the book, a little bit about the historical background of settlement houses, my own personal history as a writer, the role of memory and the research process, choices in the presentation of the material, and some of the recurring themes in the book—books and reading, travel and curiosity, my love of arts and crafts, nature, my parents. At the end I always leave time for questions from the audience. I am always impressed by the memories that are sparked after reading my book. While we all have our own unique childhoods, there are many things we share.

To schedule a talk to your book group, writing group, or community organization, please contact me by email. (A link to my email is on the home page of my website www.carolinearnold.com .  SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL is available at Amazon as both a paperback and as a Kindle ebook.

TOOT YOUR HORN! for SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL in SCBWI's Kite Tales

In the June 12, 2024 post in the Toot Your Horn section of the Kite Tales blog, is the announcement of my new memoir, SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota, along with new books by seven other SCBWI members. Hurray! I have been a member of SCBWI since 1977. Kite Tales is the newsletter and blog of the Los Angeles, Southern California, and Central California branches. I'm proud to share the news of my book

CAMP BOVEY 75 YEARS: Poster and Cards

"Ho,ho,ho, ho, I'm a Hodagger--rowing, fishing, swimming in the sun..." Camp Bovey, the ESNS camp in northern Wisconsin founded by my father is celebrating its 75th year! My brother Thomas Scheaffer created a wonderful painting, now available as a poster and as greeting cards. You can order them at the Camp Bovey Canteen Zazzle site. Every item you buy at the Camp Bovey Canteen helps to support Camp Bovey!

Cards are also available at the Zazzle site of Tom's beautiful painting of a moonrise over the lake at Camp Bovey.

This Saturday from 4-8 pm, Beats4Bovey is a free family party celebrating Camp Bovey's anniversary at ESNS in Minneapolis. I wish I could go. If you live in Minneapolis, come help celebrate! For more info go to the Camp Bovey Facebook page.

Camp Bovey is a small, rustic campground in northwestern Wisconsin that offers nature education in an exciting summer camp setting. We make learning about the environment fun while also helping campers feel confident about their outdoor skills and their ability to learn new things. Since 1949, campers have been calling Camp Bovey their summer home. From fishing in our private lake, to camping across our 200-acre property, to singing songs around campfires, Camp Bovey has helped thousands of youth build lifelong connections with friends and lasting connections to our Hodagger community.

BookLife (PW) Review of SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: "Touching, informative account"

The BookLife review of my memoir, SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota, has just come in and is everything I hoped for—selected details illustrating the scope and focus of the book, an overview of its place in history, and the recognition that the book is more than just a family document, that it has a wider audience. The reviewer writes:  Settlement House Girl is engaging, tracing Arnold’s growth from a young girl to an adult journeying into being a writer in her later life, but it’s also a valuable contribution to the social history of 20th-century America, offering urban history enthusiasts a wealth of information about the daily lives of families living in mid-century cities.

The full review is below. BookLife is the review service of Publishers Weekly. The review of SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL is now available online. It will also be included in the print copy of the July 8, 2024 issue of Publishers Weekly. If you subscribe, be sure to look for it.

Many thanks to the BookLife reviewer for the perceptive comments about my book. I hope that they will help SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL reach a wider audience.

Arnold tells the compelling story of a 1950s childhood spent in the North East Neighborhood House (NENH) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Offering vital services like “child care, job training, medical and dental care,” and classes in English and citizenship, settlement houses, Arnold notes, emerged during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to help recent immigrants transition to American life. Arnold’s social-worker family moved to the NENH in 1948 when her father became its director. Through vivid recollections and much clarifying historical context, the author paints a picture of life among a diverse community. Her memories range from being a flower girl at a neighbor’s wedding, taking her first train ride, making prank phone calls with friends, to first trying that “exotic foreign food,” pizza.

Arnold’s detailed descriptions of NENH life include charming anecdotes, such as going skating with friends in winter, only to later realize that the sweet liquid given to them by a friend’s grandmother to keep them warm was actually brandy. Arnold also pens a touching paean to her stamp collection, and she fondly recalls her summers at Camp Bovey—a northern Wisconsin escape for NENH children—where she progressed from camper to kitchen aide, crafts counselor, and finally cabin counselor. Moreover, her transition from living in a settlement house to moving to her family’s own house offers insight into how challenging it is for children to uproot themselves from a community and start again.

Settlement House Girl is engaging, tracing Arnold’s growth from a young girl to an adult journeying into being a writer in her later life, but it’s also a valuable contribution to the social history of 20th-century America, offering urban history enthusiasts a wealth of information about the daily lives of families living in mid-century cities. The detailed accounts of Arnold's experiences provide a unique glimpse into the fabric of community life during this era, highlighting the interactions and shared experiences that defined the settlement house environment.

Takeaway: Touching, informative account of life in a Minneapolis settlement house in the 1950s.

Comparable Titles: Ellen Snyder-Grenier's The House on Henry Street, Jane Addams’s Twenty Years at Hull House.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-

[Note: North East Neighborhood House (NENH) became East Side Neighborhood Services (ESNS) in 1963.]