FIVE NESTS ILLUSTRATION BY RUTH SANDERSON, On Display at the Free Library of Philadelphia

I was delighted to learn from my friend, librarian Carol Koneff, that an illustration by Ruth Sanderson for my very first published book, Five Nests, is on display in a special exhibit at the Free Library ofPhiladelphia. 

Carol saw the exhibit while visiting the library when she was in Philadelphia for the annual conference of the American Library Association. The exhibit, called Go Birds: Appreciating our Avian Friends, includes items from the library archives and will be up through August 30^th,  2025.

Ruth Sanderson’s illustration for my book depicts a rhea nest. (Rheas are large South American birds related to ostriches.) The rhea is an example of a bird species in which the male, or father bird, is the sole caretaker of the eggs and chicks. The illustration was donated to the library by Ruth.

A number of years ago I met Ruth for the first time at a children’s book conference. (We never met when Five Nests was published in 1980, which is not unusual.) After the conference Ruth sent me the original illustration for another page in the book that depicted Mexican Jays. In this species, multiple generations look after the young. In 2016, when I was in Philadelphia and learned that the library had a copy of Five Nests in their permanent archive, I donated that illustration to the library. I am pleased to learn that Ruth has donated other illustrations from the book as well.

Although Five Nests launched my career as a children’s book writer, it had a rocky start. It received a negative review in SLJ (unfairly, I thought) and as a consequence, many libraries, including my own, chose not to approve it for purchase. By the time Five Nests was named an Outstanding Science Trade Book by the NSTA/CBC the following year, it was too late. The book had already been remaindered. So I am especially pleased to see that it lives on at the Free Library of Philadelphia.

For more about Five Nests and the Free Library of Philadelphia:

My post on the 40th anniversary of the publication of Five Nests.

My post on the Philadelphia Free Library's Children's Literature Research Collection.

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

KEEPER OF THE LIGHT, Keystone to Reading Book Award, 2023-2024, Intermediate List

I was pleased to discover my book Keeper of the Light: Juliet fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog on the Intermediate List of the Keystone to Reading Book Award, 2023-2024. 

Keeper of the Light: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog by Caroline Arnold and Rachell Sumpter Inspired by the logs of a female light keeper who kept the light shining through the fog following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, this adventurous story captures an important piece of American history.

Many thanks to the Keystone State Reading Association (KRSA) for helping the children of Pennsylvania learn about Juliet Nichols, the intrepid lighthouse keeper on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay during the early 20^th century. 

The KSRA is a statewide organization of people who are interested in reading instruction, literacy development, and the encouragement of life-long reading habits.

The award list notes authors and illustrators who are from Pennsylvania. I live in California, but I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, so at some level I am a Pennsylvania author too!

Juliet Fish Nichols

A PILGRIMAGE THROUGH THE CHURCHES OF A SMALL AMERICAN TOWN by Judith Stiehm

My friend Judith Stiehm, a professor at Florida International University in Miami, has written a memoir,  A Pilgrimage through the Churches of a Small American Town, an account of her stay in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for a year and a half in the late 1990s when she was doing academic research at the Army War College. During that time she went to services at all 30 churches in Carlisle. After each service Judith wrote a short essay about her experience. Those essays are this book.

My connection with the book is that I helped Judith publish the book on Amazon. (I have published one of my own books on Amazon and know how to use the program.) After many months working on the book on weekends when Judith was at home in Los Angeles, we finally got it uploaded and officially published. It is now available both as a paperback and as an e-book on Amazon. As I worked on the book and read the chapters, I was reminded of my numerous visits to Carlisle to visit my husband’s parents who lived in a retirement community just outside the town and going to church with them at Second Presbyterian (Chapter 24 in Judith’s book.)

This project made me appreciate all the work my publishers do to publish my books. For Judith’s book I was copy editor, designer, type setter, proof reader and tech expert. Along the way, I got a fascinating snapshot of life in the Carlisle community as seen through Judith’s eyes.

As Judith says in her introduction, the book is probably best read just a few chapters at a time. I think you will find it interesting.

For a fascinating interview (Dec 17, 2020) by Deborah Kalb with Judith about writing A Pilgrimage Through the Churches of a Small American Town, go to her blog, Book QandA with Deborah Kalb.

Author Visit, the Meredith School, Philadelphia, PA

Last week I had a wonderful visit with Jennifer Jutzi’s 1/2 class at the Meredith School, a public school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I shared my recent books, we talked about birds and measured the students’ wingspans, watched my slides, and finished by reading The Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers. The children had read several of my books before my visit and I was impressed by their knowledge and good questions. I thank Jennifer Jutzi for allowing me to visit her class, and my good friend Esther Baker Tarpaga for helping to arrange the visit. Esther’s daughter Windega is a student in the class and was eager to show me the newly hatched chicks which were hopping around in their brood box. By this time next year the students will be able to read my new book coming out in 2017, Hatching Chicks in Room 6.