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..

VIRTUAL AUTHOR VISIT AT FRANKLIN MAGNET SCHOOL, Glendale, CA

On Tuesday, May 31, 2022, I had an excellent author visit at Franklin Magnet School in Glendale, California, as 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 five authors at the school. I met with four groups of first graders, each class for about thirty minutes, sharing my books and my life as an author and answering questions from the students.

Franklin is a language immersion school with students learning Spanish, French, German and Italian. I managed to begin each presentation by greeting the students with Buenos Dias, Bonjour, Guten Tag or Buono Giorno, but otherwise gave my presentation in English. In the Spanish immersion class I shared two of my books that have been translated into Spanish, A Zebra’s World (El Munde de las Cebras )and Your Skeletal System (El Sistema Oseo.)

In the German class I shared several of the many books available on Amazon as Kindle books in German, including Giant Shark (Megahai). 

In the French class I showed a translation of A Platypus’ World (Le Monde de l'ornithorynque) that had been made for me on a visit to Ecole Bilingue in Berkeley when my granddaughter was a student there. Unfortunately, none of my books have been translated into Italian.

I talked about gardens–featuring my new 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 garden inspired by Mr. McGregor’s garden in PETER RABBIT by Beatrix Potter.

The mascot of Franklin School is the owl, and that prompted a discussion of my books about birds, including A BALD EAGLE’S WORLD, HATCHING CHICKS IN ROOM 6 and A Day and Night in the Forest (which has an owl on the cover.) I also showed the children my collection of feathers and my ostrich egg. 

Altogether, it was a full and satisfying day!
 

INTERVIEW WITH DEBORAH KALB about KEEPER OF THE LIGHT and PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6

I was pleased to be interviewed by journalist Deborah Kalb about my new books. She has posted it on her blog Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb this week. Most of the interview is about KEEPER OF THE LIGHT although, at the end, I also comment briefly on my other new book, PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6.

Deborah Kalb interviews a lot of authors and I am happy to join the list. It is always good to have more publicity! Thank you Deborah!

From Deborah Kalb's website:

Deborah Kalb is a freelance writer and editor. She spent about two decades working as a journalist in Washington, D.C., for news organizations including Gannett News Service, Congressional Quarterly, U.S. News & World Report, and The Hill, mostly covering Congress and politics. Her book blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, which she started in 2012, features hundreds of interviews she has conducted with a wide variety of authors.

She is the author of the new children’s book The President and Me: John Adams and the Magic Bobblehead (Schiffer, 2018), the second in a series — after The President and Me: George Washington and the Magic Hat (Schiffer, 2016) — and the co-author, with her father, Marvin Kalb, of Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama (Brookings, 2011). She is the editor of the new two-volume reference book, Guide to U.S. Elections, 7th edition (CQ Press/SAGE, 2016), the co-author of The Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents (CQ Press, 2009), and the co-editor of State of the Union: Presidential Rhetoric from Woodrow Wilson to George W. Bush (CQ Press, 2007), and has contributed updates to a variety of CQ Press books on politics and government.

NETGALLEY REVIEWS of PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6

I recently discovered a whole list of great reviews for my book PLANTING A GARDEN IN ROOM 6 on NetGalley. NetGalley is a site that provides galleys of books to review in advance of publication. (Once the book is published the galleys are no longer available.) Every reviewer gave the book five stars! Thank you!

Here's an example of one of the reviews.

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2022
What an excellent introduction to gardening for young children! The book follows a kindergarten class as they plant a vegetable garden. Each step is recorded in vivid, detailed photographs that bring the subject to life. Kids will not only be fascinated by everything they learn about plants and natural science as they follow along, but they also will be engaged by following students just like themselves through the process.

The language is clear and simple and basic concepts of plant growth are explained in accessible manner. There is a simple Q&A section about gardening at the end, along with a glossary of terms. This would be an excellent introduction to a classroom unit on plants and gardening or to inspire kids to try a gardening project at home.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review! 

Jacket back of Planting a Garden in Room 6

 

IT'S CATERPILLAR TIME! LEARN ABOUT PAINTED LADY BUTTERFLIES

Infographic from Carolina Biological Supply

Spring and summer are the perfect time to raise painted lady butterflies. This infographic from Carolina Biological Supply shows where they live and the four stages of life.

Cups of caterpillars from InsectLore. Everything the caterpillars need to grow is provided.

I just received my cups of caterpillars from InsectLore. The caterpillars (larva) will eat the special food at the bottom of the cups and in about two weeks form chrysalises. A week or so later they will emerge as beautiful butterflies.

Find out how a kindergarten class raised butterflies in their classroom and let them go in the school garden in my book BUTTERFLIES IN ROOM 6. 

VIRTUAL PANEL: PICTURE BOOKS TO INSPIRE at Books of Wonder, NYC

I was thrilled to participate yesterday in a virtual picture book panel sponsored by Books of Wonder in New York. I loved learning about the other authors new books and about how they get their ideas and their research process. For me, it was a great way to promote my new book KEEPER OF THE LIGHT: Juliet Fish Nichols Fights the San Francisco Fog! Many thanks to Rosalyn at Books of Wonder for chairing the panel.

The other authors on the panel were MONICA BROWN, JOHN PARRA, SUZANNE SLADE and LISA ROBINSON. If you didn't watch the panel live you can download the video for about a month. (Check out the Books of Wonder website for details.) At the same website you can also order autographed copies of the authors' books!

Top, Rosalyn, Books of Wonder; Caroline Arnold, Lisa Robinson. Bottom, Suzanne Slade, John Parra, Monica Brown

 

Here's the information about the panel from the Books of Wonder website:

 

Heartfelt and inspiring stories from award-winning creators!

A good picture book can mean the world to a young reader! These beautiful picture books are perfect for empowering and encouraging your young readers and listeners - both with their gorgeous art and their powerful stories!

Growing An Artist, by award-winning artist JOHN PARRA - whose work is featured on U.S. postage stamps, in museums around the world, and in our very own NYC subway system - is a gentle, empowering story based on his own childhood experiences helping his dad's landscaping business.

Keeper of the Light, by CAROLINE ARNOLD - award-winning author of over 170 books for young readers - is the inspiring story of Juliet Fish Nichols, the lighthouse keeper who kept the light shining through the fog following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Blast Off! How Mary Sherman Morgan Fueled America Into Space, by SUZANNE SLADE - whose STEM books for younger readers are routine winners of science-writing awards - tells the story of Mary Sherman Morgan, the first female rocket scientist.

Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People, by award-winning author MONICA BROWN, is a stunning picture book biography of Pablo Neruda, one of the most beloved poets of all time.

The Sweetest Scoop: Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Revolution, by LISA ROBINSON, author of critically acclaimed nonfiction for younger readers.

These are the perfect books for any young reader's growing bookshelf! Meet CAROLINE ARNOLD, MONICA BROWN, JOHN PARRA, LISA ROBINSON, and SUZANNE SLADE and celebrate their wonderful, inspiring books!

Saturday, May 7th at 1:00pm via Crowdcast

ART PROJECT: FLOWERS IN THE GARDEN

 

Spring Flowers, Lu Sutton Elementary School, Novato, CA

My brother Tom, a third grade teacher in Novato, California, loves to garden and loves to do art projects with his students.  In the fall, the children planted bulbs along the walkways by the classrooms.  By early March the tulips, daffodils and a host of other flowers had sprouted leaves and burst into bloom.

The students then took their drawing pads outdoors and sketched the flowers, making close observations of the shapes and colors of the plants.  Back in the classroom they turned their drawings into beautiful, colorful paintings–a perfect way to preserve and share the beauty of spring!

Note: This post was first published 5/22/13. My brother Tom is now retired, but he still loves to garden, planting bulbs, roses and other plants in his garden at home.