June 28 is National Alaska Day!

2019-06-28T20:14:30+00:00June 28th, 2019|Posts From C.A. Hartnell|

National Alaska Day is June 28, so here are some photos from an Alaska Cruise I took in September 2017 with my sister, Gail, and friends. I’m standing on a dock in Ketchikan, Alaska, with its harbor in the background. Check out the cruise ship in my sunglasses! Alaska is a spectacular place to visit!

BlueInk Review: The 1950s Adventures of Pete and Carol Ann

2019-06-18T19:18:37+00:00June 14th, 2019|News|

Scary Spring- BlueInk Review In C.A. Hartnell’s first book of a middle-grade series set in the 1950s, 11-year-old Carol Ann is terrified of catching the deadly polio virus—and of getting shots. Carol Ann is familiar with the terrible effects of polio: Some of her family members are polio survivors, as is a teenage boy she

Mystery On The Beach

2019-06-10T22:08:04+00:00June 10th, 2019|Carol Ann’s Adventures|

On a recent trip to Mexico with friends, we cruised on their boat around the Sea of Cortez. One afternoon we anchored off of this lovely beach, one of hundreds in this area. We went ashore to explore and take in the scenery. This particular beach had lots of vegetation that looked more like a

Route 66 Road Trip Adventures: Day 6

2019-05-23T20:31:24+00:00May 23rd, 2019|Carol Ann’s Adventures|

On Day 6, here’s a really cool old Route 66 roadside attraction, the Leaning Water Tower in Groom, Texas. It leans at 10 degrees and though it looks like it’s leaning on two legs, the secret of the tower is that it’s really a tripod when you count the white pipe in the middle! Route

Route 66 Road Trip Adventures: Day Five

2019-05-13T17:15:50+00:00May 12th, 2019|Carol Ann’s Adventures|

Day 5 and back on Route 66 doing our road trip through New Mexico in a surprise snowstorm! So from California to New Mexico we’ve gone from sunshine to snow! Things have gotten really wild on Route 66! Snow Day!!!❄️ More Day 5 on our Route 66 Road Trip in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, at

Route 66 Road Trip Adventures: Day Four

2019-05-10T20:56:54+00:00May 10th, 2019|Carol Ann’s Adventures|

Day 4 of our Route 66 Road Trip finds us in Kingman, Arizona, at Mr. D’s, a super cool, retro diner! I had to take a photo at the entrance of such pink and turquoise cuteness!!! Route 66 has a bounty of really special places like this one! Inside Mr. D’s is a totally traditional

It’s More Than a Book: The Scary Spring of 1955

2019-03-13T21:15:29+00:00April 1st, 2019|News|

In the 1950s, two words could strike terror into the hearts and minds of parents and kids alike: polio season. Polio, short for poliomyelitis, was an infectious viral disease. The virus could settle in the brains or spinal cords of victims and bring on partial or total paralysis and even death. Until a vaccine was

How the 50’s Changed History

2019-03-13T21:16:31+00:00March 16th, 2019|News, Uncategorized|

Every decade has memorable events, especially for those who lived through that particular slice of history. Today, those growing up in the 1950s are the grandparents of many young people maturing right now. This decade is revisited by many 50s books, remembering the good, the bad, and the crazy times. Here are some ways that

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