Meet Authors of Children Books

Chatroom - Seventh Animal Diaries Chat
 
26 April 2001

Caroline = Caroline Arnold, author of many (child)books 
Goble + Cannelton2 = Mrs. Goble of Cannelton Elementary (Indiana-USA) with 21 students
Rene = Mr. Rene of primary school De Wadden

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>> rene has joined channel 
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>> Caroline has joined channel 
rene> hello Caroline
rene> I am rene de vries, co-host of animal diaries
[Caroline] Hi Rene! This is Caroline sitting at my computer at home in LA
rene> i do not know if it is now the right time
rene> is it now 1 or 2 pm central time?
rene> i am at home, it is now 8:00 pm in The Netherlands 
[Caroline] I don't either! I thought I was supposed to log on at 11 my time--but the top of the screen says 2 pm. It is currently only 1:00 central time
[Caroline] If noone else logs on, perhaps we should wait an hour
rene> I thought Joan mentioned the time 2:00pm central time, so that would be over one hour?
rene> yes, i guess that would be best... joan is coming with her kids and also some other school wanted to join
rene> schools
[Caroline] 2 pm central time is one hour from now
rene> do you mind to come back one hour from now?
[Caroline] No, I can come back in one hour
rene> Great ;-))
[Caroline] OK, I'll chat with you then!
rene> ok, see you back then
rene> bye for now, till soon
[Caroline] Bye for now. I'm going to log off.
rene> me too
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rene> hi
>> Caroline has joined channel 
rene> glad to see cannelton
[Cannelton2] Hello!
rene> hello Caroline
[Cannelton2] We want to welcome you Mrs. Caroline
[Caroline] Hi from Caroline in LA
[Cannelton2] Mrs. Arnold we mean
[Caroline] Thank you and it is good to chat with you again
[Goble] yeah!
[Goble] We are here, and we are glad you are here
[Caroline] Tell me more about your trip to Washington
[Goble] one more maybe two more schools will join us
[Caroline] Good
rene> the trip to WDC was wonderful
[Caroline] I'm glad you have read about Megalodon in my book Giant Shark
[Goble] Yes, it was (Mrs. Goble says)
[Cannelton2] yes, it was cool!
[Caroline] What did you see besides the Smithsonian
[Cannelton2] We cannot believe a shark could be so big
[Caroline] Are you glad that Megalodon is no longer alive?
[Goble] Mrs. Goble says she thinks she has a picture of something like that
[Goble] but she is not sure
[Caroline] Are there two classrooms online in Cannelton?
[Cannelton2] we are not sure if we are glad
[Cannelton2] some say yes, some say no
[Cannelton2] no, two computers
[Caroline] I think Megalodon would have been scary.
[Cannelton2] in one room,
[Goble] Yes, Megalodon would make the other fish swim away we think
[Goble] We want to know how you found out so much about it
[Caroline] I have a fossil tooth of Megalodon. It is 14 million years old. And it is almost as big as myhand.
[Caroline] I first learned about Megalodon at a museum exhibit about sharks. Then I went to the library. I also went to Sea World in San Diego to watch live sharks and to see a set of Megalodon jaws on exhibit there.
[Cannelton2] Wow
[Cannelton2] where did you get it?
rene> sounds great to us
[Caroline] I bought the tooth at a fossil shop. But people find these teeth in South Carolina and near Bakersfield, California.
[Cannelton2] we want to find one!
rene> wowwwwwwwww.... we wish we knew that before... we were in Bakersfield last summer !
[Cannelton2] is it sharp?
[Caroline] Do you ever go hunting for fossils where you live? And yes, the edges are still sharp. They are in a sawtooth pattern--like the edge of a steak knife.
[Cannelton2] wow,
rene> yes, we search for fossils always, my son and I
[Cannelton2] we have found fossils, some say yes, they have hunted for them
[Caroline] What kind of fossils do you have in Indiana? I am working on a new book about mammoths and I read that some mammoth fossils have been found in Indiana.
[Cannelton2] yes
[Cannelton2] Hannah found a dinosaur tooth in her grandmas yard
[Cannelton2] some animal fossils near the river
[Caroline] When I was growing up in Minneapolis we used to hunt for fossils along the Mississippi river. They were of tiny shells and sea creatures.
[Caroline] WoW! that
[Caroline] is exciting about the dinosaur tooth
rene> gosh, yes
[Goble] Derrick found a leaf fossil in his yard too
[Goble] some have fossil wood
[Cannelton2] we find other things too
[Caroline] Do you have a museum nearby or scientists who can help you figure out how old your fossils are?
[Cannelton2] like arrow heads
[Cannelton2] We have a museum that
[Caroline] Well, arrowheads are not fossils. But they are clues to how people lived a long time ago.
[Cannelton2] the museum man can help us
[Cannelton2] Oops, Mr. Poehlein is his name
[Caroline] What are some of the other books you have been reading or things you have been learning about
[Cannelton2] we read about RAmona
[Cannelton2] Ramona the pest
[Cannelton2] and we have read about simple machines like wheels
rene> can you tell us a little bit more about that? we do not have that on Holland
[Cannelton2] like axel and pulleys
[Caroline] Ramona and Ramona the Pest are some of my favorite books. I have met the author, Beverly Cleary, several times.
[Caroline] I'd like to hear about machines too
[Cannelton2] yes, we like those books by her
[Goble] Apulley helps us lift things
[Goble] a wheel helps things move easier
[Caroline] It's hard to imagine what the world was like without wheels!
[Goble] a gear is a wheel with jagged edges like Megalodon's teeth
[Goble] (Shy thought of that one!)
[Caroline] That's a good comparison!
[Caroline] Clocks have gears inside them. I have a clock in my stove that broke last Thursday. The oil dried up and the gears started making a terrible noise. It hasn't stopped! I'm waiting for a repairman to come and fix it.
[Goble] thanks
[Cannelton2] we have some electric clocks
[Caroline] I have seen on the television news that there has been a lot of rain in the Midwest and that the Mississippi river is flooding. Has it been raining where you live?
[Cannelton2] some, a little, but it is sunny today and nice
[Cannelton2] we played outside and it was fun
[Caroline] Good
[Caroline] It is always nice when spring comes and the weather is warm
[Goble] we liked your book on the baby whale
rene> we had a lot of rain yesterday, the kids could not go outside to play on the yard
[Caroline] Rene, what is the weather like in Holland now? Have the tulips bloomed?
[Goble] on tv last night on Croc hunter
[Goble] that there were some beached whales who died
[Goble] that was sad
[Goble] Steve tried to save them but no one could
[Caroline] Yes, that is sad when animals die. Especially big animals like whales. No one really knows why whales beach themselves.
rene> today was fine though, but last week the weather was terrible in Holland... I was glad i was in WDC
[Cannelton2] it was cool in Washington DC, but not any rain
[Caroline] I forgot to say at the beginning of the chat, Congratulations on the award for Animal Diaries! That is very special!
[Cannelton2] Mrs.G says
rene> thanks ;-)
[Goble] Thank you ! (aMrs. Goble says)
[Cannelton2] what book are you working on? brittany w. says
[Caroline] Last weekend I went to a writer's conference. I met an author named Barbara Joosse. She wrote a book called Ghost Wings. It is a wonderful story about a little girl and her grandmother in Mexico. They live near the place where monoarch butterflies go in the winter.
[Caroline] I am working on several books right now. I am working on a book about mammoths, a book about how birds fly, a book about the Taj Mahal in India, and I have a new book that will be published later this year about Dinosaurs With Feathers.
[Caroline] If you could choose a topic for me to write a book about, what would it be?
[Goble] we let butterflies go the other day
rene> uuhhh, let us see...
[Cannelton2] painted ladybutterflies Derrick says
[Caroline] painted lady butterflies fly a long way when they migrate. Have you read the book by Eve Bunting. I think it is called Butterfly House. Eve is a friend of mine. She got the idea for the book because her granddaughter let some butterflies go just like you did
rene> what about a atory about two rhino' who immigrate to Europe because there is not future in Africa and that the rhino' are able to rescue africa?
[Cannelton2] one couldn't fly
rene> eve bunting, is she from Indiana?
[Caroline] rene, that is a good idea. I actually wrote a factual book about rhinos. I got the idea when I visited the Edinburgh zoo where they have a pair of rhinos that keep having babies.
[Goble] no we have not read that
[Caroline] Eve Bunting lives in California
rene> oh, ok... the story sounded familiar to me.. last year i saw a movie about a butterfly woman on dutch TV *she was from indiana)
[Cannelton2] what is that book called? (about rhinos?)
[Caroline] You would like Eve's book because it is about painted lady butterflies
[Goble] thank you for telling us about Eve's book
[Caroline] Did your butterflies hatch from chrysalises?
[Cannelton2] can you write about cats monkies horses
[Goble] yes they did
[Caroline] those are all good ideas. I have written about cats and several members of the cat family--lions, cheetahs, bobcats. Also, there is a section on jaguars in my South American Animals book. I like cats a lot and have two pet cats at home.
[Caroline] I'd like to learn more about monkeys and horses. I did write one book about a monkey but the closest I've come to writing about horses is my book about zebras
[Cannelton2] they started out as caterpillars
[Caroline] I bet a lot of you have pets at home. Pet animals are a good thing to write about. Can you tell me some of the different kinds of pets that you have?
[Caroline] That's fascinating to watch caterpillars spin their chrysalis and then later emerge as butterflies.
rene> we have a guinea pig (cavia) and a rabbit
[Caroline] what kind of food do you feed a guinea pig?
rene> we buy its food in the animal store, special food for the guinea pig...
[Caroline] I guess guinea pigs are basically plant eaters. The food must have all the nutrients they need.
rene> they are funny animals (yes, you are right)
rene> when we open the refr., the animal starts to make sounds...
[Cannelton2] dogs, cats , horses,pigs,birds,goats ,cows
[Goble] Amy has 6 puppies and 3 big dogs
[Caroline] When I wrote my South American Animals book I learned that guinea pigs come from there.
rene> also when we make sound with a plastic bag, the animal starts to make sounds and to start running
rene> because it knows she mostly will get food then
[Caroline] Wow! That is a lot of different kinds of animals. Amy, it sounds like your house is full of dogs! Do you have names for the puppies?
[Caroline] Rene, it sounds like your guinea pig is smart!
rene> yep, it is... it even can count from 1 to ten *haha)
[Cannelton2] do you have aninals.
[Caroline] Right now my only pets are two cats. Their names are Rocky and Stella. We used to have fish (cichlids), zebra finches, a hamster and a long time ago we had a dog. She was a black lab and she had four puppies.
rene> the same with the rabbit in our back yard garden... when we walk through the garden it start to run and jump from one end to the other, knowing she mostly gets something
[Caroline] rene, it sounds like you don't keep your rabbit in a cage. Does it run free in your yard?
rene> our rabbit is completely white
[Cannelton2] names are: Scruffy, Scooby, Nosey, Princess, Bitey, and Sleepy
rene> we made a huge cage, so it almost likes it runs freely through the garden
[Cannelton2] they are outside.
[Caroline] I like the names of the puppies! I can guess what they are like from their names. I bet Sleepy loves to take naps.
[Cannelton2] do you ever write fiction?
rene> (I hope the other schools will join too and that they do not mess up the time like I did)
[Caroline] I do like to write fiction but my nonfiction books have been so successful that I don't have much time to do fiction writing. You can look in the library for my two published fiction books. One is called My Friend From Outer Space. The other is called The Terrible Hodag. They are both out of print but many libraries have copies.
rene> what is the book My friend from Outer Space about??? sounds interested to us
[Caroline] The Hodag is an imaginary beast that has the head of an ox, the feet of a bear, the back of a dinosaur and the tail of an alligator. It is forty feet tall. I didn't make up this animal. It comes from tall tales told in lumbercamps.
[Caroline] My Friend From Outer Space is about two little girls who pretend to go to outer space. I got the idea for that book by listening to my children play. This was a long time ago. My children are now grown up.
[Goble] we were going to ask you that.
[Caroline] You might like to try drawing your own pictures of the Hodag or try creating your own imaginary animals with mixed up body parts.
rene> yes, that is a great idea... and we can post the drawings on Animal Diaries then, Mrs. Goble
[Caroline] Great
[Cannelton2] Amy--has read my friend from outer space
rene> I can let my kids do the same tomorrow
[Goble] that would be fun
[Caroline] Amy, I'm glad you read that book. Do you think they really went to outer space?
[Goble] we will make up stories for the drawings
[Cannelton2] Not really
[Goble] Amy meant not really for the outer space question
[Goble] we do want to make the stories for you Mr. Rene
[Caroline] Yes, I realized that. I wrote the ending to the book so that each reader would have to decide for himself or herself.
rene> sounds great to me
[Goble] Mrs. Arnold, thank you for this wonderful chat
rene> Mrs. Goble, you mean.. my kids make drawings and your students write the stories about it then??? cool
[Cannelton2] Good Idaie
[Goble] we need to get ready to go home now.
[Goble] what time is it for you?
[Goble] yes
rene> oki doki
[Goble] we want to write the stories for you
rene> that is ok ;-)
[Goble] thank you, Caroline, for this idea! (Mrs. Goble says)
[Caroline] Okay. It has been fun chatting with you. And I'll look forward to hearing about your drawings and stories.
[Goble] You will be the first to see the drawings and read our stories!
rene> yes, we will keep you informed about it
rene> thanks for the idea, Mrs. Caroline
[Goble] Thank you once again for chatting with us.
[Goble] We think you are fun to chat with
rene> bye for now
[Caroline] Bye for now.
[Goble] yes bye and thanks!
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rene> bye students of Cannelton
>> Caroline has left channel !
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END OF SEVENTH ANIMAL DIARIES CHAT