Meet Authors of Children Books

Chatroom - Animal Diaries Chat #11
 
23 April 2002

Caroline = Caroline Arnold, writer of several books
rene = Mr. Rene de Vries, teacher of De Wadden
Goble = Mrs. Joan Goble, teacher of Cannelton Elem., and students

>> Caroline has joined the chat
[Goble] they all said YES!
[Goble] Hi Ms. Arnold!
[Goble] we are happy to see you here
[Caroline] Hello! I'm sorry I'm a little late. I had to restart my computer.
rene> Hi Ms. Arnold
[Caroline] It's good to talk to you again
rene> rene = from The Netherlands
[Goble] that's alright!
[Caroline] Hi to Rene
rene> Hi, and also HI Cannelton
[Caroline] I was happy to hear that my friend Evelyn Gallardo visiting Cannelton school yesterday
rene> I know for sure the students of Cannelton have a lot of questions for you
[Caroline] Go ahead
[Goble] Jennifer wants to know why you started to write about animals?
[Caroline] I like animals, and each one is different. I like to find out how each animal is adapted to the place that it lives.
[Goble] That's really neat
[Caroline] Also, my husband is a scientist who studies animals. So, I've learned a lot about animal behavior from him.
[Caroline] What are some of your favorite animals?
rene> most favorite animals this school year of my grade: horses, dolphins, seals...
[Caroline] I like to learn about animals that are alive today, but I also like to learn about animals that are extinct.
[Caroline] Horses, dolphins and seals are all interesting animals. I haven't written about horses (except for zebras) but I did write about killer whales, which are a type of dolphin, and I did a book about sea lions, which are related to seals. We have a lot of sea lions that live on the California coast.
[Goble] We like monkeys and apes. Also snakes (E.J.) horses, cats, and dogs!!!
rene> We saw that two years ago... we had fun watching the seals and sea lions in the harbor of San Franc.
[Caroline] Some of the extinct animals I've written about are dinosaurs and a giant shark called Megalodon.
rene> can you tell the students a little more about megalodon?
[Caroline] Monkeys are apes are also some of my favorite animals. I'm a little scared of snakes--even though I wrote a book on them! I have two cats and I used to have a dog.
[Caroline] Megalodon was the biggest predatory shark that ever lived. It grew to be more than 50 feet long and could swallow something the size of a horse. Luckily for us, Megalodon became extinct about 2 million years ago.
rene> would be interesting to keep that animal as house pet ;-)
[Caroline] We know about Megalodon because people have found its fossil teeth. Some of the teeth are as big as your hand!
[Goble] Mrs.Dartt agrees rene!
rene> scary !
rene> students of Cann... more question! s?
[Goble] Spencer wants to know what happened to your dog?
[Caroline] I think sharks are best to read about in books--not to meet in real life!
rene> (I agree on that)
[Goble] Did you ever hear from the other school?
[Caroline] I had a dog when I lived on a farm in New York about 25 years ago and when we moved to the city we gave the dog to our neighbors because we thought she would be happier in the country.
[Goble] Do you have a Megalodon tooth?
[Caroline] No, the other school doesn't seem to have logged on.
[Caroline] Yes, I do have a Megalodon tooth. I take it with to show students when I do school visits.
[Caroline] By the way, I didn't find the tooth. I bought it at a fossil shop.
[Goble] how much did it cost?
rene> do you some digging yourself too?
[Goble] Mr. Rene, have you saved this chat so far?
[Caroline] My tooth cost several hundred dollars, but it is big. You can get smaller t! eeth for less.
rene> (yes, I did)
[Goble] did you buy the tooth before or after you wrote the book?
[Caroline] My newest book about an extinct animal is called "When Mammoths Walked the Earth" It will be published in the fall. I learned that fossil mammoth bones have been found in Indiana (among many other places.) Have you ever seen any mammoth bones in museums?
rene> yes, we did ... we have some bones in our local museum
[Goble] yes, mostly the tuskss
[Goble] tusks
[Goble] but, yes
rene> almost every year I bring my students to the museum
[Goble] in Denver there are some
[Caroline] Did you know that people in Siberia still find mammoth tusks on the tundra and use them to carve ivory objects.
[Goble] Rudy says he likes sharks
rene> I guess there is so much more to find in that area (is it called perma fronst in English... ice for ever?)
[Goble] that is better than killing live e! elephants for the ivory, maybe
rene> frost
[Caroline] I love to go to museums. Here in Los Angeles the George C. Page Museum has bones of Ice Age animals--like mammoths and saber tooth cats--that were found in the La Brea tar pits.
[Caroline] Yes, it is called permafrost. And experts think that there are still many mammoth bones and tusks waiting to be found.
[Goble] Shane wants to know, what kind of places do you like to live in the best?
rene> ok, kids, do you have more questions for the author?
[Caroline] Yes, it is better than killing elephants.
rene> Ms Arnold, last year , during the chat, you had a great suggestion....
[Goble] Taylor wants to know, will you ever be writing about dolphins ?
[Caroline] I like living in Los Angeles. It is a good place for me because it has many good museums, zoos, libraries and other places that help me write my books. But I also like to ! visit other interesting places.
rene> you suggested that students of one school would make a drawing, and students of the other school would make a story about that... we did, have you read it on Animal Diaries?
[Caroline] Probably I won't write a book about dolphins because so much of the information would be same as in my killer whale book.
[Goble] Tyler wants to know what are your cats' names?
[Caroline] It has been a while since I've read animal diaries--I'll have to look for your drawings and stories.
[Goble] Just curious, Cody wants to know if you have been to an LA basketball game?
>> Goble3 has left 
rene> ok, great ;-)... we know the students would like to hear your comment on that
[Caroline] My cats' names are Rocky and Stella. Lately we've been having a problem with Rocky. He has become an expert hummingbird catcher. He has caught 8 hummingbirds in th! e last 3 weeks!
[Caroline] No, I haven't been to see the Lakers--although I do sometimes watch them play basketball on tv. My husband and I do go to the UCLA basketball games.
[Goble] E.J. wants to know, could you write a book about reptiles like alligators, or have you?
[Caroline] I wish Rocky wouldn't catch birds but it is impossible to keep him inside. His fur is spotted, which makes it very easy for him to hide and not be seen.
[Goble] we guess when they are caught it is Bye Bye hummingbird, right?
[Caroline] I'd like to write a book about crocodiles and alligators, but another author Seymour Simon (who is also a friend of mine) has recently written a very good book.
[Caroline] That's a good joke!
[Goble] great, we will look for it!
rene> more questions, students?
[Caroline] I saw some huge crocodiles last summer when I went to Australia. We went to Kakadu National Park (near Darwin) which is famous both for its birds and crocodiles.
[Goble] Do you know much about other extinct animals, like...the Tasmanian tiger?
[Goble] Charlie asked that one
[Goble] Do you have any great photos to share of the crocs in Australia? :-) E.J. wants to know, did you meet the crocodile hunter, Steve Irwin?
[Caroline] I read about the Tasmanian tiger when I was in Tasmania two years ago. People don't know much about it because it lived in very remote places. It is possible that it is still alive, although no one has seen one for 40-50 years.
[Goble] That would be a good one to research!
rene> I sure hope some Tasmanian Tigers survived the sill y English hunters
[Caroline] I didn't meet the crocodile hunter. I do have some good photos of crocs. They are slides. I'll try to get them scanned so I can share them.
[Goble] great
[Goble] Jessalyn wants to know if you think! you will write about tigers?
[Caroline] I did see lots of Tasmanian devils in Tasmania. They were much smaller than I expected--about the size of a cat. They are in no danger of becoming extinct.
[Goble] Stephanie wants to know if you have any children? Wait, mrs. Goble says, you do...tell us about them. ;-)
[Caroline] In my book, Cats: In from the Wild, there are some photos of tigers. I'd like to write about tigers someday but I don't currently have any plans to do so.
[Goble] Brianna wants to know if you like horses and if you will write about them?
[Caroline] I have two children, a daughter and a son. My daughter is a linguist and my son is a doctor.
[Goble] Tre wants to know if you ever had a guinea pig
rene> Tre: we have one ;-)
[Goble] Stephanie asks... what does your son specialize in ?
[Goble] Tre says: COOL!
[Goble] Jennifer wants to know....how many books have you written total?
>> Caroline has left 
>> Caroline has joined 
[Goble] oops
[Goble] she is back
[Goble] good
[Caroline] Somehow I got disconnected
[Caroline] Are we connected now?
[Goble] yes,
[Goble] can you see our typing?
rene> Hi again ;-)
[Caroline] yes
[Goble] Mr. Rene, did you save the chat?
[Caroline] I think it is working okay now
rene> yes , I did ;-)
[Goble] good, because we forgot
[Goble] too many questions on this end
[Caroline] That's a relief--because everything we said before is erased.
[Goble] Ms. Caroline, did you see the question about the horses
rene> last question was: how many books did you write so far?
[Caroline] I saw the question about the horses
[Caroline] I have 122 books that are published and several more that will be published within the next two or three years.
rene> WOWW
[Goble] COOOOL!
[Goble] W! e need to be looking for more of your books.
[Caroline] Last fall I had three new books. Dinosaurs With Feathers, Did You Hear That? Animals With Superhearing, and The Geography Book (projects that are fun to do and help learn about geography.)
[Goble] Kyle wants to know if one of the books you wrote is about different kinds of birds?
[Caroline] You can read about my recent books on my web page and you can find many of my books in the library.
[Goble] Yes, we will do that, they all say
[Goble] Mrs. Goble says, they all sound great!
[Caroline] I have written quite a few books about birds--ostriches, peregrine falcons, all kinds of raptors, house sparrows and more 
[Goble] Cody wants to know how old you were when you started writing?
[Goble] and....Cody (not shy) wants to know how old are you now?
[Caroline] I like watching birds both at my house in Los Angeles and in the mountains nearby where I oft! en go on the weekend.
[Caroline] I was grown up when I started writing books for children. I wish I had done more writing when I was in school--writing is something that improves with practice. I still think I'm improving!
[Goble] Ms. Gallardo told us about her monkey house in Costa Rica...both of you have great get-away places!!!
[Caroline] Cody can do some math. I was born in 1944.
[Goble] Cody is doing the math
rene> ;-))
[Goble] Stephanie wants to know, when is your birthday?
[Caroline] I bet you have lots of birds where you live--both in Indiana and in Holland. What kinds of birds do you see most often.
[Caroline] My birthday is May 16th.'
[Goble] So, you will have a birthday soon
rene> right now, we have hundreds of the same birds flying around our house, they are nesting in some trees in a street behind our house
[Caroline] Yes.
rene> a lot of noise !
[Goble] you are 58?
[Goble] cody asks
[Caroline] I will be when I have my birthday.
[Goble] we think you look much younger!
[Goble] We need to say goodbye now,
[Goble] this has been fun!
[Goble] We thank you for this chat!
[Caroline] Thank you. I like to feel younger!
rene> kids, you had good questions
[Goble] It is always fun to chat with you!!
rene> thank you for the chat, Ms Arnold
[Caroline] Thank you for the chat. I enjoyed it too. I hope that someday I'll get to meet you in person.
[Goble] yes!!!! WE ALL THINK THAT SOUNDS GREAT!
>> Caroline has left 

END OF 11th ANIMAL DIARIES CHAT