Tina Princenthal, Principal Librarian, Central Library Services

Avitar of a woman with a pineapple.

Colorize photo of author and illustrator Leo Politi reading to children in the Children’s Literature Department

Leo Politi, Fondly Remembered

November 13, 2023

Come on a trip with me. We'll time travel to 1938, a difficult time for the United States, slowly recovering from the economic disaster of the Great Depression, but a wonderful time for the recently revived Olvera Street in Los Angeles.


Betty Crocker through the ages

Better With Betty: The Perfect Homemaker That Never Existed

March 01, 2021

In 1945, Fortune magazine published a list of America’s most popular women. Timeless homemaker Betty Crocker was awarded second place and the title of “First Lady of Food,” following none other than actual First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt.


3 childrens book covers

You Can DIY: Book-Inspired Kids’ Costumes for Halloween

October 23, 2019

A nightmare more terrifying than you can imagine…the party supply store on the eve of Halloween! The hordes of customers, the cries and screams of fitting-room meltdowns, flimsy costumes at horrifyingly high prices!


Color postcard of California Alligator Farm, in Los Angeles [ca.1911]

Bring the Kids! Fun at the California Alligator Farm

July 23, 2019

Before Mickey and his Magic Kingdom, there was Billie the Alligator and his reptilian pals at the California Alligator Farm.


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