By C.J. Hirschfield
You’ve seen them at local bookstores,
popular public attractions, even at hardware stores: those sepia-colored,
photo-rich paperbacks that feature hometown history and the people, places and
events that celebrate elements that define a community.
They’re the work of Arcadia Publishing, a 20-year-old company that has found a winning formula in a very
crowded and competitive bookselling space. As of Dec. 5, one of Arcadia’s
newest Images of America books is Children’s Fairyland. The author is Randal J. Metz, who is the
director of our Storybook Puppet Theater – and who has worked for Fairyland for
47 of our 66 years.
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| Proud author Randal Metz in our gift shop with the new book about Fairyland. |
The pre-holiday timing of the
publication is no coincidence. After making 66 years of memories, we think our
new book is the perfect present for anyone who’s grown up in Oakland — wherever
they now call home.
