12-25-09 Eliana with her pile of presents

Friends:

This past Christmas was wonderful! It was spent surrounded by family and friends. My nieces, Camrynn, Ashlynn, and Jasmynn spent 2 nights with us: December 22 and December 23. On December 23, we took Eliana and her cousins to Miracle on Fulton Street in New Orleans.

12-23-09 Miracle on Fulton Street

There, they got to play in the “snow” (tiny masses of bubbles), see Santa, and mail letters to Good Ole St. Nick from the Rudolph mailbox provided. So cute!

12-23-09 Mailing Santa a letter at Miracle on Fulton Street

On December 24, Christmas Eve, we prepared for Santa’s visit. First, we delivered gifts to our wonderful neighbors. This is what we saw in the sky!

12-24-09 Christmas Eve Double Rainbow

After spending some time at my mom’s exchanging gifts, drinking hot cocoa, and eating cookies, we headed home. Santa was coming and we had to prepare! Eliana left a card for Papa Noel, cookies, and milk.

12-24-09 Cookies and milk for Santa

Then Eliana went off to bed. In the morning… surprise! Santa had visited!

12-25-09 Eliana discovers her Santa gifts! Woo hoo!

Eliana read her letter from Santa. It was a nice, long letter. He said he was a big fan of Eliana Cooks!

12-25-09 Eliana reads her letter from Santa

He left cool presents for Eliana. Soleil received her fair share too!

12-25-09 Santa's Gifts to Eliana & Soleil

Soleil received a wireless all-in-one printer, copier, scanner & fax machine, a lighted makeup mirror, and Harajuku Lovers perfume “G” by Gwen Stefani. Eliana got a new recipe binder, an apron and chef hat set, a teddy bear, and what she asked for from Santa: an iPod touch. It even came loaded with the “Cooking Mama” game!

12-25-09 Eliana with her iPod Touch and other gifts from Santa, including a new apron & hat set!

Then, it was time for all of us to open our presents. There were piles everywhere! We all had great Christmas presents. Antonio got a new flat screen TV for the bedroom and all kinds of new clothes. My big gift was a Flip HD video camcorder. Soleil got all kinds of new clothes and shoes. Eliana received cookbooks including Julia Child’s The Art of French Cooking and Memories from a Cuban Kitchen.

12-25-09 Eliana gets Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

Then Abuela (my husband’s mom, Jennie) came over to give us her gifts. Abuela gave Eliana a new 19 inch flat screen TV for her bedroom!

12-25-09 Eliana gets a new flat screen from Abuela!

Then it was off to my mom’s house. First, Eliana and Soleil had find out what Santa left for them at Nana’s house. Eliana received a Nintendo DSi and Soleil got a new 160gb iPod Classic. Both girls were ecstatic!

12-25-09 Soleil LOVES her new 160gb iPod Classic! from Santa at Nana's house

After that, it was time for posed family pictures. We do this every year in front of my mom’s Christmas tree. It’s become a family tradition. Here I am with my husband, Antonio.

12-25-09 Dianne and Antonio

Here is a picture of Soleil and Eliana.

12-25-09 Family Portrait: Eliana, Dianne, Soleil & Antonio

Finally, there is the grand family photo!

12-25-09 The Whole Family

After that, the kids were dying to open all their Christmas presents. It was mad chaos. We were opening presents while guests came to the door. My mom was hosting a Christmas party too.

12-25-09 The kids are ready to open presents

Mom prepared a feast! There was a turducken (duck inside a chicken inside a turkey layered with sausage stuffing), brisket, roast beef, macaroni and cheese, green bean artichoke casserole, cornbread stuff, gumbo, pineapple meatballs, lumpia, stuffed mushrooms, bacon greenbeans, and more! Then you should have seen the dessert table!!

12-25-09 The Feast

My best friend, Lisa, and her fiancee, Lonnie came over to visit. I don’t get to see Lisa often and I always look forward to the holidays when I can reconnect with her.

12-25-09 My best friend, Lisa, and her fiance, Lonnie

She just got engaged over the holidays and the ring is absolutely breathtaking. They had it made and my mom had to examine it!

12-25-09 My mom, Josie, looking at Lisa's new ROCK

We had a ton of fun. We ate, drank, sang Karaoke, and even played games like Catchphrase. In our family, Christmas is all about being together. It was a fabulous day full of love.

12-25-09 Nana's grandchildren

So from our family to yours, Happy Holidays! May 2010 bring you much happiness and together time!

12-25-09 Happy Holidays from Dianne

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach

Book Review by the Well-Read Child Blog
Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach by Dianne de Las Casas, illustrated by Marita Gentry

Growing up in the rich storytelling country of the Appalachians, I latched on to stories and folktales when I was very young. There’s something quite magical about listening to someone tell you a story, and I especially love to hear retellings of old classics I heard when I was a child. That’s why when Pelican Publishing sent a copy of Dianne de Las Casas’s The Cajun Cornbread Boy, a retelling of the Gingerbread Boy, it became a fast favorite in our house. In fact, my daughter asks me to read it to her often and even makes me chase her while she says, “Run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me. I’m full of cayenne.”

So, when Pelican sent a copy of Dianne de Las Casas’s newest book, Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, we were eager to crack it open. Set in New Orleans back in the day when chickens and roaches were friends, Madame Poulet (a chicken) and Monsieur Roach (a roach of course) were best friends. They live together and are supposed to forage for food together, but lazy Monsieur Roach decides to pretend to be sick and invites all of his roach friends over for a marvelous fête while Madame Poulet is out looking for food. When Madame Poulet catches on, she gets a bit of revenge, and it’s the end of friendships between chickens and roaches forever.

This is the kind of story that is meant to be read and acted out loud. You absolutely have to sing the song that the roaches sing while Madame Poulet is out (set to the tune of “La Cucharacha”). While the story is mostly set inside the New Orleans house of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, Marita Gentry’s illustrations give you colorful glimpses of New Orleans as Madame Poulet goes about her day foraging for food. With words and phrases like fete, madame, monsieur, and “Laissez les bons temps rouler!” seamlessly sprinkled throughout, you get a sense of the city’s Cajun culture. A glossary in the back defines all of the French words that are in the book.

This is the type of story you can really have fun with. Kids will laugh, especially at the stomach-turning ending.

Reading Level: Ages 4-8 | Publisher: Pelican Publishing (September 8, 2009) |
ISBN-13: 978-1589806863 | Source: Review copy from publisher

12-19-09 Chef Eliana in her gingerbread best

Friends:

I hosted a Cookies & Cocoa Christmas sleepover for Eliana and her friends. It was a blast! We decorated the house with a Gingerbread and sweet treats theme.

12-19-09 Cookies & Cocoa party table

This is what the individual place setting looked like. The table is covered with gingerbread themed wrapping paper. The big “doily” in the middle is actually a tree skirt!

12-19-09 Cookies & Cocoa party place setting

We had yummy treats such as Sultan’s Hat cookies and Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Cream Cheese icing. Yum!

12-19-09 The sweet treats table

First, the girls decorated their goody purses with gingerbread decorations. Then they ate dinner.

12-19-09 Chef Eliana and friends

After eating dinner, we played games such as Dirty Santa and Pass the Pigskin. They had so much fun and won some fun prizes. But all the girls went home with tons of goodies.

12-19-09 Passing the pigskin game

Next, it was time to make Christmas ornaments. They decorated felt cut outs of Christmas trees, ornaments, and snowflakes with glitter glue and sparkly spangles.

12-19-09 The girls work on decorating ornaments

Of course, the girls had to make gingerbread too! They all decorated lolly gingerpops. They were so cute – little gingerbread people on sticks!

12-19-09 Eliana's lolly gingerpop

After making chocolate fudge, it was jammie time! The girls got in their jammies, made hot cocoa, settled in their sleeping bags, and watched “A Christmas Story,” the classic movie about Ralphie and his quest for a bee bee gun. The girls had a ton of fun and it was a wonderful way to celebrate the holidays!

12-19-09 Jammie Time!

Deck the Halls!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

12-19-09 Telling The House that Santa Built

Friends:

I performed a holiday program for the St. Bernard Parish Library on Saturday. Because the library in Chalmette is still located in a trailer (from Katrina), the program was held in the new St. Bernard Council for Aging building. I began my program with a new story, “The House that Santa Built” and it was so cute. Then we sang “Up on the House Top” with members of the audience performing with me.

12-19-09 Performing Up on the Housetop

Then I told a new personal story called “Eliana’s Christmas Surprise,” a story about my youngest daughter and how Santa left behind evidence of his visit to our house. It is a hilarious story and the adults as well as the children were cracking up. Then I told my story, “Santa’s Stuck” with the help of reindeer from the audience.

12-19-09 The reindeer and little mouse pull Santa out of the chimney

Finally I ended with everyone singing, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” It was a fun program and I had a blast. Afterward, Eliana and I enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Community Grill with Janet Perez from the library and her beautiful 21 year old daughter, Sam. Thank you, Janet! I had a blast at the library and can’t
wait to return!

12-19-09 Janet Perez of the St. Bernard Parish Library with her daughter, Sam

12-19-09 Performing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s time to go…

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

12-18-09 Performing Santa's Stuck for third grade

It was my last day of my Handmade Tales residency with Bissonet Plaza Elementary in Metairie, Louisiana. My first order of business was to stuff the classroom teachers’ mail boxes with my books, The Cajun Cornbread Boy and Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach. It was all arranged by Ellen Miller, the librarian. Thank you, Ellen!

12-18-09 Copies of The Cajun Cornbread Boy and Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach in the teachers' boxes

In the morning, I was able to watch the school play put on by the third grade and some drama students from 4th and 5th grade. It was awesome! They are so talented!

12-18-09 The Bissonet Christmas Play main characters

Then it was on to tell stories to all the grades during their P.E. period. I decided to do a holiday program since it was the week before Christmas. I told some new stories, including “The House That Santa Built,” which turned out to be such a good story!

12-18-09 Telling Pre-K students The House that Santa Built

I really enjoyed telling stories to the students. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, Bissonet Plaza Elementary! Thank you for another wonderful year! Enjoy the holidays!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

12-17-09 5th graders make string figures

Friends:

Today was a big day at Bissonet Plaza Elementary. It was the 9th day of my Handmade Tales residency and my 3rd through 5th grade classes performed in a grade level Story Fest celebration. I saw all of the grades during their P.E. period. First was 5th grade. Ms. Brumfield’s class performed “The Pesky Skeeter” with string.

12-17-09 Ms. Brumfield's 5th graders perform The Pesky Skeeter with string

Then students from Mr. Joyce’s class performed the draw and tell story of “The Emperor’s Drazgon.”

12-17-09 Students from Mr. Joyce's 5th grade class perform The Emperor's Dragon

Last but not least, Ms. McLeod’s class performed “The Magic Star,” a cut and tell tale. I was so proud of this class because my storyteller from this group told the story without a script! It was such a pleasure to teach 5th grade this year! They were such a delightful group of students. To reward their hard work, I gave all the students string and taught them the double star string figure. Yay 5th grade!

12-17-09 Ms. McLeod's 5th graders perform The Magic Star

After a planning period break, pre-K came in. I told them the story of “The Mouse’s Wedding” and they loved the story with the little mice made of bandanas.

12-17-09 Performing The Mouse's Wedding for Pre-K

3rd grade was a lot of fun. They did a great job performing their stories. Ms. Fury’s class performed “The Girl Who Used Her Wits,” a cut and fold tale.

12-17-09 Students from Ms. Fury's 3rd grade class perform The Girl Who Used Her Wits

Mr. Boone’s 3rd grade class performed “Mr. Wiggle and Mr. Waggle,” a story that needs nothing more than your hands to tell the tale! Ms. Arnett’s class had two students to represent them. They told the cut and tell story of “Papa’s Teepee.” Alex, the storyteller, forgot his script and I didn’t have a copy so he told the story from memory! He did an absolutely magnificent job. I was completely impressed. It wasn’t just a couple of lines. It was the entire story!

12-17-09 Dianne with students from Ms. Arnette's 3rd grade class who performed Papa's Teepee

Ms. Frechette’s 3rd graders performed “The Ugly Duckling” with towels. It was precious!

12-17-09 Ms. Frechette's 3rd graders perform The Ugly Duckling

Eliana, my 9 year old daughter, came with me. She comes to Bissonet every year for one day and the students love her! She was such a big help! In fact, she took almost all the pictures I am using in this blog! She helped me with some draw and tell tales and even told stories by herself! Definitely a storyteller’s daughter! I love you, Eliana! Thank you for everything!

12-17-09 Dianne's daughter, Eliana, draws Pile It on the Pie a Mile High

Here is Eliana telling “Mr. Wiggle & Mr. Waggle” while I demonstrate the story.

12-17-09 Eliana tells the story of Mr. Wiggle & Mr. Waggle while Dianne demonstrates

With Kindergarten through 2nd grade, I told stories including “The Mouse’s Wedding,” a handkerchief tale.

12-17-09 Performing The Mouse's Wedding for 2nd grade

I even taught the 2nd graders a partner game from Singapore called “The Pearl.”

12-17-09 2nd graders learn a partner game from Singapore

Unfortunately, I missed taking pictures of 4th grade because all the cameras we brought (3 of them!) either ran out of memory (from the videos we took) or ran out of battery and I didn’t have the charger! I am so sad!! But my 4th graders did a PHENOMENAL job, especially Ms. Morrow’s class who put their all into their performance. I was awesome!!

12-17-09 Dianne performs for kindergarten

Tomorrow is my last day at Bissonet. I will be performing a holiday show for all the grades!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

12-16-09 Ms. Morales' 4th grade class turns April showers into May flowers

Friends:

It was my 8th day of my Handmade Tales residency at Bissonet Plaza Elementary in Metairie, Louisiana. In the morning, I went into the teacher’s lounge and left them a big surprise. I decorated the lounge for Christmas with table runners and centerpieces. I also gave the teachers and staff a huge basket filled with gourmet coffee, syrups, tea, cocoa, chocolate, cookies and other treats. The school recently redecorated their lounge in rich colors of dark chocolate, red, and caramel. They call it “Cafe’ Bissonet.” So I themed my gift to go with their new cafe’.

12-16-09 Office staff, Donna & Tammy, with the basket of goodies Dianne made for Cafe' Bissonet

My instructional day began in 4th grade with Ms. Morales’ class. After creating books from the story, “The King’s Advisor,” we rehearsed their story, “April Showers,” for their performance on Thursday. They did a great job. There are so many creative students in this class!

12-16-09 A student in Ms. Morales' 4th grade class with his flower from the story, April Showers

After that, I had a break and got to visit with my best friend, Author & Children’s Musician Johnette Downing, who performed for the lower grades. Johnette and I rarely see each other because of our hectic schedules so it was so nice to see her again! I love you, Johnette!

12-16-09 Dianne de Las Casas with her best friend, Johnette Downing

My next class was Ms. Lemoine’s 1st grade class. I told “The Stubborn Turnip” with string and they loved the story. Then we made the 6 page books from the story, “The King’s Advisor.”

12-16-09 Telling stories in Ms. Lemoine's 1st grade class

In Ms. Vizzini’s 2nd grade class, they listened to “The Stubborn Turnip” and were awed by the trick in the string story. Afterward, we made 6 page books from a single sheet of paper. They wrote such cute little stories in their books.

12-16-09 A student in Ms. Vizzini's 2nd grade class creates a book

In Mr. Boone’s 3rd grade class, we made the 6 page books after I told the story “The King’s Advisor.”

12-16-09 Instructing students in Mr. Boone's 3rd grade class

Then we rehearsed their story, “Mr. Wiggle & Mr. Waggle” for their performance on Thursday.

12-16-09 Rehearsing Mr. Wiggle & Mr. Waggle with students in Mr. Boone's 3rd grade class

My last class was Pre-K. I told “Going on an Elf Hunt” and the story came out so cute!

12-16-09 Telling stories in Pre-K

Later that night, I went to the Bissonet Faculty and Staff Christmas party at Seymour’s in Harahan. I had a blast hanging out with all the teachers and staff of Bissonet! Thank you for inviting me, Nancy Morales (4th grade teacher)! You rock!

12-16-09 Paula Naugle, 4th grade teacher, and Dianne de Las Casas at the Bissonet Christmas Party

Another great day at Bissonet!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

12-15-09 Ms. Morrow's 4th grade class rehearses their story, The Frog and the Ox

Friends:

Today was Day 7 of my Handmade Tales residency at Bissonet Plaza Elementary in Metairie, LA. My day began in 4th grade, in Ms. Morrow’s class. They had a surprise for me. They are performing the handmade tale, “The Frog and the Ox.” They created a jazzed up rap and dance for the chorus. They were gettin’ down! Word! It was so awesome!

12-15-09 Ms. Morrow's 4th grade class chorus gets down!

They created books from my story, “The King’s Advisor.” Some of the student got very creative. I love this book… inspired by the book, Fantastic Mr. Fox, by Roald Dahl. Thank you!

12-15-09 A Student in Ms. Morrow's 4th grade class writes a book in my honor!

Then I headed to Ms. Tonguis’ 1st grade class. We had so much fun with my string story, “The Stubborn Turnip.” They also loved the draw and tell story, “The Emperor’s Dragon.”

12-15-09 A Student in Ms. Tonguis' 1st grade class draws a dragon

After first grade, I hopped over to Ms. Anchissi’s Kindergarten class. They enjoyed the story of “The Stubborn Turnip.”

12-15-09 Telling The Stubborn Turnip string story in Ms. Anchissi's Kindergarten class

After, we did “The King’s Advisor” and made the 6 page book from the story. Then, they became authors and illustrators.

12-15-09 A Student in Ms. Anchissi's Kindergarten class creates a Christmas book

Ms. Chieffo’s 2nd grade class was next. They were excited to see me. I told them the story of “The Stubborn Turnip” and they were very participatory. Then we made 6 page books out of a single sheet of paper from my story, “The King’s Advisor.”

12-15-09 A Student in Ms. Chieffo's 2nd grade class creates a book about outer space

Ms. Frechette’s 3rd grade class was next. After creating the book out of a single sheet of paper, they rehearsed their story for the Handmade Tales gradewide performances on Thursday. Their story is “The Ugly Duckling.” The main cast did a great job telling and demonstrating the story. The chorus was also fun to watch as they rapped and danced their parts. Way to go, Ms. Frechette’s 3rd graders. You totally rocked today!

12-15-09 Students in Ms. Frechette's 3rd grade class rehearse their story, The Ugly Duckling

My last class was Mr. Joyce’s 5th grade class. They were a great group and I had fun teaching them how to make Russian nesting dolls out of paper. They created all kinds of cool characters.

12-15-09 A Student in Mr. Joyce's 5th grade class creates characters from paper nesting dolls

Check out these robots!

12-15-09 A Student in Mr. Joyce's 5th grade class creates a trio of robots from paper nesting dolls

Then they breezed through their rehearsal of “The Emperor’s Dragon” draw and tell story. It’s going to be so wonderful to see them perform! I just love this year’s group of 5th graders! They are so excited to learn, do and perform.

12-15-09 Students in Mr. Joyce's 5th grade class perform the story, The Emperor's Dragon

Another fun day at Bissonet!!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

12-14-09 Dianne creates a Mardi Gras star from string

Friends:

Today was the 6th day of my Handmade Tales residency at Bissonet Plaza Elementary in Metairie, Louisiana. My first visit was to Ms. Naugle’s 4th grade class. Unfortunately, Ms. Naugle had to run out for a meeting but the class and I had a great time. They created books from the story, “The King’s Advisor” then we rehearsed “Bandana Man” for their performance on Thursday.

12-14-09 Ms. Naugle's 4th graders make Bandana Man and rehearse for their performance

My second class was Ms. Bonnano’s 1st grade class. They enjoyed the string story, “The Stubborn Turnip” and the cut and tell story of “The King’s Advisor.” They created their books, becoming authors and illustrators.

12-14-09 Ms. Bonnano's 1st graders create books and become authors and illustrators

It was then on to Ms. Johnson’s Kindergarten class. They were awaiting my arrival with eager anticipation. I told my string story and even made a star for them. They loved it.

12-14-09 Dianne makes a star in Ms. Johnson's Kindergarten class

After, I shared “The King’s Advisor” and we created the books from the story. They were so enthusiastic about creating their books, drawing winter and holiday illustrations such as snowmen.

12-14-09 Ms. Johnson's kindergarteners create books

Ms. Leblanc’s 2nd grade class enjoyed the string story too. They created their books and had a blast, becoming authors and illustrators in their little 6 page books made from a single sheet of paper without cutting the paper apart.

12-14-09 A student in Ms. Leblanc's 2nd grade class works on writing her book

Ms. Fury’s 3rd grade class was next. After doing “The King’s Advisor,” we rehearsed their story, “The Girl Who Used her Wits,” for their performance on Thursday. They did a great job.

12-14-09 Students in Ms. Fury's 3rd grade rehearse The Girl Who Used Her Wits

Ms. Brumfield’s class was my last class of the day. I told the string story, “The Stubborn Turnip,” since they were working with string. 16 students mastered the mosquito string figure for the story, “The Pesky Skeeter,” so I rewarded them by letting them keep their strings.

12-14-09 Ms. Brumfield's 5th graders master the mosquito string figure

Afterward, I also taught them a new string figure, the double star. They were so excited!

12-14-09 Students in Ms. Brumfield's 5th grade class create the star string figure

Another great day at a great school! Thank you Bissonet teachers and students!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

12-12-09 Signing books for fans at Sam's Club in Gulfport, MS

Friends:

This weekend, I had book signings at Sam’s Clubs in Gulfport, Mississippi; Slidell, Louisiana and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My first book signing was in Gulfport on Saturday at 10:00am. The store was ready for me and set me up near the books and CDs, which the manager said was the busiest part of the store. She was right! There was a lot of traffic. Right away, I had people lining up to get a signed book. One of the young fans I met, Chaz, is going to do an author study on me for his social studies fair project! I am very flattered. Thank you, Chaz!

12-12-09 Dianne de Las Casas with Chaz, a young fan who will be doing an author study on me for school

I enjoyed sharing the book with people. It was a great book signing.

12-12-09 Showing Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach to fans

Next, I headed to Slidell, Louisiana for my next book signing at 2:00pm. It was storming and traffic was slow at first. But as the rain let up, people started to trickle in.

12-12-09 Book signing at Sam's Club in Slidell, LA

I signed and sold a good number of books but what really made my day was meeting a first grade teacher from Cypress Cove Elementary. She was so sweet and excited to meet me.

12-12-09 Signing books for a first grade teacher at Cypress Cove Elementary

On Sunday, I traveled to Baton Rouge for my final book signing at Sam’s Club. I signed from 10am to 12pm and met some wonderful people. Janice Fussell, a proud grandmother, bought both books for her grandson and said she couldn’t wait for my forthcoming titles! Janice was so excited about meeting me and just gushed about my books to everyone that passed by. Thanks, Janice!! You totally made my day!

Then a man stopped and bought 2 copies of The Cajun Cornbread Boy for his daughter, a first year school teacher. I always give educators and librarians a signed reading poster so I gave him one for his daughter. Good luck teaching, Erin!

12-13-09 Signing books at Sam's Club in Baton Rouge, LA

Sam’s Clubs book signings are different than other book signings. You have to grab people’s attention and attract them to the book signing table as they walk by. At book stores, people are there for books but at Sam’s Clubs, the shoppers are there for everything else. It was a challenge but I met some wonderful people and I enjoyed myself. This was the last book signing before Christmas and now, I enjoy a welcome break from book signings. I look forward to some “down time” during the holidays to spend with my family.

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne