April 2010

Kansas Storytelling Festival in Downs, Kansas – April 23-24, 2010

by dlcasas on April 25, 2010

4-24-10 Dianne teaches Jacob and Hannah how to make string figure stars

Friends:

On Friday and Saturday, April 24-25, 2010, I was a featured storyteller at the Kansas Storytelling Festival in Downs, Kansas. I flew into Wichita and Downs is a 3-hour drive from Wichita. Gary and Glennys Doane, who are festival organizers, picked me up. I stayed with Margaret Bellmaier, a 95 year old woman who was a total delight to visit with. I had a nice room and my own bathroom. It was all the creature comforts of a hotel but with the coziness and hospitality of an inviting home.

Downs is a “Main Street” town. All the major businesses are located on Main Street and the festival had various sites throughout the town. Michael Reno Harrell was the headlining storyteller and he was such a nice guy and a great teller.

4-23-10 Storyteller and Musician Michael Reno Harrell

My first telling on Friday was for a group of students from the local elementary school. I performed “Jump, Jiggle & Jam” program with “The Little Red Hen” and “Rockin Three Billy Goats.” They were a great audience!

4-23-10 Kansas City Storytelling Festival School Audience

I did several storytelling programs and my Story Fest workshop on the second day of the festival.

4-24-10 Story Fest workshop participants portraying a football player kicking a ball through the goal posts

I hung out with my friend and fellow storyteller, Dianna Waite, from Salina, KS. Diana and I haven’t seen each other in years so it was great to catch up with her. I met the most wonderful people who truly appreciate storytelling! A special thank you to Sherry Knouf, Glennys & Gary Doane, Gerry Yost, and Carl and his wife (for the sound). They truly made the festival one to remember!

Gary Doane drove me back to Wichita and we had dinner at a cool place not far from my hotel. We ate at Hangar 1 Steakhouse and let me tell you… the prime rib was phenomenal! Since Wichita is the Aviation Capitol of the World, Hangar 1 pays homage to that their their decor and theme. It was like a restaurant/museum!

4-24-10 Dianne inside the cockpit of the airplane at Hangar 1 Restaurant in Wichita, KS

It was a great visit to Kansas! Thank you to all the special people I met in Downs, Kansas!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Storytelling Performance at Bay St. Louis Library in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi – Wednesday, April 21, 2010

by dlcasas on April 23, 2010

4-20-10 Performing Story Salsa at the Bay St. Louis Library in Mississippi

4-21-10 Performing Story Salsa at the Bay St. Louis Library in Mississippi

On Wednesday, I performed at the Bay St. Louis Library in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Hurricane Katrina destroyed the library and it was rebuilt. The children’s section was breathtaking. It is designed in a fairytale theme complete with Rapunzel in the tower, Peter Rabbit, and a gingerbread house that children can enter and play or read in. I am standing in front of a house with an Acadian porch. The flower beds hide the computers! I did my “Story Salsa” program with 2-4 year olds and we had a ton of fun. They also learned a little bit of Spanish. Magnifico!

Afterward, it was on to the beach, my favorite place in the world!

4-20-10 Dianne at the beach in Bay St. Louis, MS

4-21-10 Dianne at the beach in Bay St. Louis, MS

Sssssh. Don’t tell anyone but I brought Eliana with me since I am going to be on the road for nearly six weeks. I wanted a day to spend quality time with my baby girl. We had so much walking in the sand, fun frolicking in the water, and collecting sea treasures. Eliana built a mini sand castle and we hung out, just enjoying each other’s company. Eliana, Mommy loves you times infinity!!

4-20-10 Eliana is on top of the world at the beach

4-21-10 Eliana is on top of the world at the beach

Big cheers for Jamie Elston, who brought me to the library, and to Jessica, the children’s librarian at Bay St. Louis Library. Muchas gracias! Thank you very much!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Zachary Elementary School Visit – Monday, April 19, 2010

by dlcasas on April 20, 2010

4-19-10 Warming up with a second grader dancing Zydeco

4-19-10 Warming up with a second grader dancing Zydeco

Friends:

On Monday, April 19, 2010, I visited Zachary Elementary in Zachary, Louisiana and performed for the entire school of second and third graders. My illustrator for Mama’s Bayou, Holly Stone-Barker, is the artist-in-residence at the school. Her sister, Heather Stone, a second grade teacher, arranged my visit. I started with telling The Cajun Cornbread Boy. The students were so much fun and participated in the story.

4-19-10 Zachary Elementary audience particpating in The Cajun Cornbread Boy story

4-19-10 Zachary Elementary audience particpating in The Cajun Cornbread Boy story

Then I performed Mama’s Bayou, with help from the students on stage.

4-19-10 Performing Mama's Bayou with the help of students on stage

4-19-10 Performing Mama's Bayou with the help of students on stage

I closed my program with a rousing performance of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, again with the help of students from the audience.

4-19-10 Students are roaches in Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach

4-19-10 Students are roaches in Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach

Afterward, I had lunch with Heather Stone’s second grade class in the cafeteria. Their beefaroni was delicious! I also visited their classroom and told another story. Holly Stone-Barker was in the class and we showed the students the new book we are working on.

I had a wonderful day at Zachary Elementary. Thank you, Heather for bringing me to Zachary Elementary. I had a marvelous time and can’t wait to return!!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Zachary Area Reading Council Conference – Saturday, April 17, 2010

by dlcasas on April 18, 2010

4-17-10 Performing How Funky Is Your Chicken at the Zachary Area Reading Council Conference

4-17-10 Performing How Funky Is Your Chicken at the Zachary Area Reading Council Conference

Friends:

On Saturday, I was the keynote speaker for the Zachary Area Reading Council (ZARC) in Zachary, Louisiana. They are a chapter of the International Reading Association. I spoke and gave two break-out sessions, “Handmade Tales,” and “Story Fest.”

In my “Handmade Tales” workshop, I taught the teachers several make and take tales that they could integrate into their lesson plans and teach the students. They did cut and tell tales, draw and tell tales, fold and tell tales, and I even showed them a little bit of Tangram Tales.

4-17-10 ZARC Handmade Tales workshop participants create a snow blizzard with coffee filter snowflakes

4-17-10 ZARC Handmade Tales workshop participants create a snow blizzard with coffee filter snowflakes

They loved making Bandana Man and I surprised them by giving them the bandanas to keep. :)

4-17-10 ZARC Handmade Tales workshop participants make Bandana Man

4-17-10 ZARC Handmade Tales workshop participants make Bandana Man

My second session was “Story Fest: Reading Comprehension through Story Theater.” They did individual, partner and group role playing warm-up exercises. Boy, did they stretch their imaginations and have fun!

4-17-10 ZARC Story Fest workshop participants portray a woman walking her dog in central park

4-17-10 ZARC Story Fest workshop participants portray a woman walking her dog in central park

It was fun seeing them move through the task progression into group work.

4-17-10 ZARC Teachers in Story Fest workshop portray a football player kicking a ball through the field goal posts

4-17-10 ZARC Teachers in Story Fest workshop portray a football player kicking a ball through the field goal posts

The culminating activity of the workshop was the creation and performance of a group story theater: “The Turtle Who Would Not Stop Talking.”

4-17-10 ZARC Story Fest workshop participants createa collective story theater with the tale, "The Turtle Who Could Not Stop Talking"

It was a great day and I enjoyed working with all those wonderful teachers. Thank you Michelle Cardonella for driving all the way from the North Shore to see me! Thank you to Heather Stone for coordinating the event and my schedule. And a special thank you to Holly Stone-Barker for housing me and arranging a book signing at Jack and Jill that afternoon in Zachary, Louisiana.

Up next: an author visit to Zachary Elementary on Monday, April 19, 2010.

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Texas Library Association Conference, San Antonio – April 15-16, 2010

by dlcasas on April 18, 2010

4-16-10 Dianne de Las Casas signing books at ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited

4-16-10 Dianne de Las Casas signing books at ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited

Friends:

What a busy week it’s been! I attended the Texas Library Association Conference in San Antonio, Texas with my two illustrators, Marita Gentry and Holly Stone-Barker. My days were non-stop, running from book signing to book signing. I signed at both of my publishers, ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited and Pelican Publishing Company. The only time I got to see the Riverwalk was from my 27th floor room balcony!

4-15-10 View from private balcony at Marriott Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas

4-15-10 View from private balcony at Marriott Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas

That evening, Marita, Holly and I attended the Storytelling Swap at the Grand Hyatt. Marita and I told a 7 minute version of Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach, with her drawing the tale as I told. It was so much fun and everyone loved it. The next day, when we signed books, we had a lot of librarians come to buy the book because of our performance.

On Thursday, the girls and I hit the ground running. We signed books at Pelican Publishing during the Exhibit Hall opening from 10am-12pm. It was crazy buzy with non-stop signing for all three of us.

4-15-10 Holly Stone-Barker, Dianne de Las Casas & Marita Gentry sign books

4-15-10 Holly Stone-Barker, Dianne de Las Casas & Marita Gentry sign books

I was lucky enough to get a picture with my good friend, Phil Bildner, a fellow author and amazing person. Phil started a non-profit called NOLATREE. He lives in NYC but takes youth to New Orleans during the summer to rebuild the 9th Ward and areas devated by Hurricane Katrina. Phil, you totally ROCK!

4-15-10 Dianne de Las Casas with Author Phil Bildner

4-15-10 Dianne de Las Casas with Author Phil Bildner

I had a lot of librarians who came looking for me. :) It was a good day!

4-15-10 Dianne de Las Casas & Marita Gentry with a librarian fan

4-15-10 Dianne de Las Casas & Marita Gentry with a librarian fan

In the afternoon, I signed books with ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited. Again, it was busy but fun because I got to see people I adore like Debby LaBoon, my author rep and Sharon Coatney, my editor. Plus, I got to see a lot of librarians I knew as well as making a lot of new connections!

4-15-10 Dianne de Las Casas with a fan at the ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited booth

4-15-10 Dianne de Las Casas with a fan at the ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited booth

Later that evening, I went to dinner with Shannon, an editor with Libraries Unlimited, Kendall Haven, an LU author with nearly 25 LU titles, Debby LaBoon, and Sharon Coatney. We ate at a charming restaurant called Josephine Street Cafe, which had a tree growing in the middle! The food was delicious but the company was even better.

4-15-10 Shannon, Sharon & Debby from Libraries Unlimited

4-15-10 Shannon, Sharon & Debby from Libraries Unlimited

On Friday, Marita, Holly and I headed back to the convention center to sign more books with Pelican Publishing. At the beginning of my signing, Eric Kimmel, author extraordinaire and my friend, came to see me. I was so touched that he stopped by! Thank you, Eric. I <3 U! :)

4-15-10 Dianne de Las Casas & Author Eric Kimmel

4-15-10 Dianne de Las Casas & Author Eric Kimmel

I was also fortunate enough to hang out with the amazing Matthew Gollub, who is an author and phenomenal performer. On Thursday night, I went to the Doo Wop dance with Shannon from Libraries Unlimited and hung out with the two of them all night. What fun! Thanks for swapping tips with me, Matthew. You are one cool dude!

4-16-10 Author & Performer Matthew Gollub with Dianne de Las Casas

4-16-10 Author & Performer Matthew Gollub with Dianne de Las Casas

My last signing was at ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited, where the company interviewed me for a video podcast. I’ll let you know when the video is up. After signing, I had a little while to walk the exhibit hall, find friends, and shop. I happened to catch Jenni Holm, my friend and the author of the Baby Mouse series. Her 2 year old daughter, Millie, was with her. I sat on the floor with Millie and told stories while her mom signed books. Typical! LOL But I had a ton of fun with Millie!

4-16-10 Dianne de Las Casas with Author Jennifer Holm (Baby Mouse) and her 2 year old daughter, Millie

4-16-10 Dianne de Las Casas with Author Jennifer Holm (Baby Mouse) and her 2 year old daughter, Millie

We had to leave on Friday evening because I had a keynote and workshop to present on Saturday so I had to stop at the San Antonio airport store to buy gifts for Eliana. To my delight and surprise, I was privileged to meet Suzanne Collins, the author of The Hunger Games series. Suzanne and I were both buying “tortilla warmers.” She was so sweet that she let me pick the one I liked best. Despite all her success, she remains humble and gracious. Now, I am an even BIGGER fan! Thanks, Suzanne!

4-16-10 Author Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games series) and Dianne de Las Casas buying tortilla warmers at the San Antonio Airport store

4-16-10 Author Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games series) and Dianne de Las Casas buying tortilla warmers at the San Antonio Airport store

The Texas Library Association conference was rockin’ awesome and I had a blast. I look forward to attending next year, with several new books including There’s a Dragon in the Library, illustrated by Marita Gentry.

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Get Motivated Seminar at New Orleans Arena – Monday, April 12, 2010

by dlcasas on April 13, 2010

4-12-10 Dianne de Las Casas at the Get Motivated! Seminar at the New Orleans Arena with her friend, Liz Reyes

4-12-10 Dianne de Las Casas at the Get Motivated! Seminar at the New Orleans Arena with her friend, Liz Reyes

Friends:

I attended the Get Motivated! Seminar at the New Orleans Arena on Monday, April 12, 2010. I hung out with my husband, Antonio, and my friend, Liz Reyes, a media consultant and lifestyles expert. It was a great day and I received many nuggets of wisdom from the fabulous lineup of speakers that included Rudy Giuliani, Former Mayor of New York; Laura Bush, Former First Lady of the United States; Tamara Lowe, International Speaker and Best-Selling Author; Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints Head Coach and reigning Super Bowl champion; General Colin Powell; Bob Patel, International Speaker and Stock Market Expert; Zig Ziglar, International Speaker and Best-Selling Author; James Smith, Financial Wizard; Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints Quarterback and Super Bowl XLIV MVP; and Stephen Pierce, Multi-Millionaire Internet Marketer. Here are some of the highlights:

Rudy Giuliani – “Stay connected with the world around you. Learn how to use technology to connect and adapt it to your business and personal life. Read. Read about things you are interested in. Listen. You don’t learn when you are talking. You learn when you are listening. Debate. Talk to people that disagree with you. Write. Capture your thoughts. Write down the pros and cons when making a big decision. Think. Take time to thank about what you really believe.”

Laura Bush – “Reading is a guiding passion in my life. Literacy is the cornerstone of democracy. Every child in the world should be able to read.”

Tamara Lowe – “Everyone is motivated but everyone is motivated differently. Find out what a person’s motivational DNA (Drives, Needs, Awards) is. Get past your past. Loser make excuses but winners take action.”

Sean Payton – “Some of your greatest rewards come from your greatest challenges. Celebrate your achievements and milestones, not just the big victories. Find time to celebrate small accomplishments.”

General Colin Powell – “It doesn’t matter where you start, it’s where you finish. Leadership is all about followership and giving them a sense of purpose. Leaders have to be passionate and inspiring. Human connection and respect creates followers.”

Bob Patel – “Wishing doesn’t get you anywhere. Action does. There are three kinds of people: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who ask, ‘what happened?’”

Zig Ziglar – “Encouragement is the fuel on which hope runs. You can have everything in life you want if you help others get what they want.”

James Smith – You have to take charge of your own life and your own future. Where you spend your time is where your heart is. Don’t work for your money. Make it work for you. Make money but don’t leave victims. Your words are your prophecy. The way you approach the least defines who you are.”

Drew Brees – “Five Pillars to Success = FAITH. F is for Fortitude. A is for Attitude. I is for Integrity. T is for Trust. H is for Humility. If you do things the right way, good things will happen for you.

How to Lead a Team to Victory: Set goals. Do one thing to exercise your leadership every day. Lead by example. Never ask someone to do something you are not willing to do yourself. Lead with consistency. Lead with passion and show them that you care.”

Drew Brees also loves this Winston Churchill quote: “You can accomplish anything in life if you don’t mind who gets the credit.”

Stephen Pierce – “In life, what you see depends on where you sit.”

I felt inspired and privileged to see so many great achievers under one roof in one day. Plus, it was wonderful being able to spend time with Liz. Not only that, the whole promotional and sales department of my publisher, Pelican Publishing Company, was sitting right behind me, How cool is that?!

Now I leave you with my life’s mantra: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined…” – Henry David Thoreau

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Book Signing at A Tisket A Tasket, French Quarter Fest – Sunday, April 11, 2010

by dlcasas on April 13, 2010

4-11-10 The door display at A Tisket A Tasket in the French Quarter New Orleans

4-11-10 The door display at A Tisket A Tasket in the French Quarter New Orleans

Friends:

On Sunday, April 11, 2010, Holly Stone-Barker and I signed copies of our book, Mama’s Bayou at A Tisket A Tasket on Decatur Street in the French Quarter.

4-11-10 Holly & Dianne sign books at A Tisket A Tasket in the French Quarter

4-11-10 Holly & Dianne sign books at A Tisket A Tasket in the French Quarter

It was French Quarter Fest and business was brisk! We moved a lot of books. We met the nicest people from all over the United States and Canada! I love how New Orleans attracts people from all over – an extraordinary city attracting extraordinary people! A Tisket A Tasket was so good to us, providing a beautiful display to attract customers and prominently showcasing our books.

4-11-10 The nice sign at A Tisket A Tasket

4-11-10 The nice sign at A Tisket A Tasket

Holly and I had a wonderful time! A special thank you to Lisa Jones and her staff for making us feel so welcome! We’ll be back!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Mama’s Bayou BIG BASH Book Event at Barnes & Noble, Harvey, LA – Saturday, April 10, 2010

by dlcasas on April 13, 2010

4-10-10 Mama's Bayou at Barnes & Noble Westbank in Harvey, LA

4-10-10 Mama's Bayou at Barnes & Noble Westbank in Harvey, LA

Friends:

This past Saturday, I had a Mama’s Bayou BIG BASH book event at Barnes & Noble in Harvey, Louisiana with Illustrator Holly Stone-Barker. We had a wonderful crowd and performed Mama’s Bayou with children from the audience participating.

4-10-10 Our lovely audience at Barnes & Noble Westbank

4-10-10 Our lovely audience at Barnes & Noble Westbank

Afterward, Holly demonstrated her cut paper and collage technique, creating a beautiful dragonfly. We gave away prizes and the audience was treated to snacks and Frappucinos courtesy of Barnes & Noble!

4-10-10 Holly Stone-Barker demonstrates her cut paper and collage technique

4-10-10 Holly Stone-Barker demonstrates her cut paper and collage technique

Holly and I signed books for our fans and had a ton of fun. It was a great night and we look forward to returning! Special thanks to Jane French, Children’s Department Manager, and Aaron Boyd, Community Relations Manager for their help in setting up our wonderful event.

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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