February 2011

Kansas Summer Reading Workshops – Wichita, Thursday, February 24, 2011

by dlcasas on February 24, 2011

2-24-11 Crafts from the CLSP One World, Many Stories Summer Reading Manual 2011

Friends:

Ah, Kansas! In February, the weather can change at the drop of a hat, and it did today. All week long, I had beautiful weather with clear skies. This morning I woke up to sleet and ice and a dangerous start to the day. My hostess, Julie Tomlianovich, picked me up at my hotel and we had to drive about 45 minutes to Wichita. Because many people were coming to Wichita for the workshop from great distances, we decided to end the workshop early to allow for a safer commute in the bad weather. So I began trimming my workshop!

We started with the creativity exercise of making a self-portrait from items in your purse, wallet or pockets. There were a lot of good faces but I like this one because of the chocolate mouth, the blingy earrings, and the comb for the hair! My kind of gal!

2-24-11 A workshop participant's self-portrait with items from her purse

The workshop began with draw and tell tales. I showed them “The Emperor’s Dragon” and “Catching a Pest in 7 Steps.” I even taught them a little Chinese!

2-24-11 The Emperor's Dragon, a draw and tell tale from Handmade Tales

Then they learned “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat” cut and tell story. We were all laughing at how funny the cutting can be. Here, everyone has an overcoat and they pretty much look the same. By the end of the story, it was a different story! LOL

2-24-11 Librarians do the cut and tell story of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

I taught them “Bandana Man” and boy, were they cute! Look at the old women in the story, especially the middle one. :)

2-24-11 Look at these cute librarians! Awwww.

Some librarians automatically have style, like these ladies. Just look at their Bandana Men!

2-24-11 These librarians took a walk on the wild side, rockin their animal print Bandana Men!

I didn’t have time to teach them the full string story of “The Stubborn Turnip” or even “Papa’s Teepee,” where they make snowflakes out of coffee filters but I did manager to teach them all how to make a string figure star!

2-24-11 These librarians are stars, for sure!

We worked very fast, doing Handmade Tales in two hours. Then it was on to Tangram Tales. After I showed them how to cut Tangrams without a pattern, I challenged them to a contest to “invent a Tangram.” This librarian won for her turtle Tangram. Wow! It really looks like a turtle.

2-24-11 This librarian won the Invent-A-Tangram contest! It's a turtle!! Too cute.

They performed a Tangram story theater – “Tiger’s Tale, Anansi’s Stories.” The storytellers, Tangram artists, and the story chorus worked well together to create their Tangram story theater masterpiece!

2-24-11 Librarians perform a Tangram story theater - Tiger's Tale, Anansi's story

I breezed through my picture book make and takes but told the entire story of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach. It was sooo funny! Look at these roaches!

2-24-11 Workshop participants are such good sports to play dead roaches in the story, Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach!

I did have them do one picture book make and take – the accordion dragon from There’s a Dragon in the Library. While they didn’t have time to color the head and the tail, the dragon still looked adorable!

2-24-11 Large accordion dragons from There's a Dragon in the Library

I shaved 1.5 hours from my workshop!! Wow. All in all, I think the workshop came out great, considering how much time I had to shave. Everyone seemed to have and the immediate feedback from the workshop participants was overwhelmingly positive. Thanks for the love, Kansas. I can’t wait to return a the end of March to finish the rest of the state! A special thank you and shout out to Julia Tomlianovich for bringing me in and for being such a fabulous hostess. My Kansas visit was incredible!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

{ 0 comments }

Kansas Summer Reading Workshop Tour – Manhattan, Wednesday, February 23, 2011

by dlcasas on February 23, 2011

2-23-11 Manhattan, Kansas workshop participants wish my husband, Antonio, a Happy Birthday!

Friends:

Today I was in Manhattan, Kansas. They call themselves “The Little Apple” and even have a ball drop on New Year’s Eve, just like The Big Apple! It was the third day of my summer reading workshop tour. Today was also my husband, Antonio’s birthday. With the help of the wonderful librarians, we wished him a Happy Birthday! Thank you so much, ladies!

After the birthday wish, I began my workshop with a creativity exercise in which the workshop participants created a self-portrait with items from their purse. It’s so interesting to see what they use to create their faces!

2-23-11 A workshop participant creates a self-portrait from items in her purse

We began with a couple of draw and tell tales – “The Emperor’s Dragon” and “Catching a Pest in 7 Steps” from my Handmade Tales book. Then they did a cut and tell tale – “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.” They really enjoyed it.

2-23-11 Librarians learn how to do a cut and tell of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Then it was on to demonstrating a towel folding story of “The Ugly Duckling,” a fortune teller story round, and “Papa’s Teepee,” a story that turns a teepee into a snowflake out of a coffee filter. We create a “blizzard” of snowflakes – too cool!

2-23-11 Coffee filter snowflakes fly and create a snow blizzard

When I taught them how to create Russian nesting dolls out of paper, they loved it. Rachel, an innovative librarian, came up with the concept of nesting dino robots!! ROAR! Boys will love this one!

2-23-11 Rachel created Roar-tastic dinosaur robot nesting dolls!! Way to go, Rachel!

They loved the story of “Bandana Man,” a fun rendition of the Gingerbread Man. The librarians made such cute little old ladies!

2-23-11 Librarians are fabulous old women in the story, Bandana Man!

“Bandana Man” is always such a run-away hit! Hahahaha!

2-23-11 Run, run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm Bandana Man!

I love when they experience success in my workshops. Working with string figures can be very tricky. The story of “The Stubborn Turnip” takes practice to master. So I like to leave them with simpler string figure that is easier to make. Lo and behold, now they are all stars!

2-23-11 Starry-eyed sweet string success!

Then I taught them how to make paper stars with a single snip of the scissors. The excess paper is turned into a picture frame. Very cool…

2-23-11 You never know what kinds of stars you meet at the library!

After learning how to make the origami 6-page book from the story “The King’s Advisor” in Handmade Tales, we went to lunch. Can we say, “Pizza?!!!” After lunch, we dove right into Tangram Tales. I showed them how to cut a Tangram without a pattern and then they practiced making Tangram figures.

2-23-11 Call the rodeo! This librarian created a horse and rider Tangram!

I held an Invent-A-Tangram contest. This is the lucky (HILARIOUS) winner!

2-23-11 The winner of the Invent-a-Tangram contest - Squatting Samarai

After they were familiar with Tangrams, we created a Tangram story theater from the story, “Tiger’s Tale, Anansi’s Stories” in my Tangram Tales book. My storytellers were sooo animated, the Tangram tellers made perfect Tangrams, and the story chorus rocked it out! Can we say, “Awesome!!!?”

2-23-11 Librarians perform Tiger's Tale, Anansi's Stories Tangram Story Theater

After Tangrams, it was time for picture book make and takes. I performed an excerpt from The Cajun Cornbread Boy and they made Cajun Cornbread Boy puppets. C’est bon!

2-23-11 Oh my! Cajun Cornbread Boy is much too spicy for our story time!

I showed them book activities for Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, The Gigantic Sweet Potato, and Mama’s Bayou.

2-23-11 Telling the story of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach. Fun!

They really LOVED the dragon accordion puppet from my book There’s a Dragon in the Library, illustrated by Marita Gentry. It was so much fun working with this group of librarians. We all had a blast together!

2-23-11 Taking pictures with some of my favorite people... librarians!!

I loved my whole day!! As I was being driven to my next location (Thanks, Ann!!), I saw this on my way out… Goodbye KS!!

2-23-11 Leaving Manhattan, Kansas, home of Kansas State University

It was a great day! Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

{ 0 comments }

Kansas Summer Reading Workshops – Topeka, Kansas, February 22, 2011

by dlcasas on February 22, 2011

2-22-11 Dianne's star cheerleaders in the front row!

Friends:

Today was the second day of my summer reading workshop tour in Kansas and today, I was in Topeka! It was a brisk 16 degrees when I was picked up from my hotel. Brrrr! But things quickly heated up once my workshop started. I had some sizzling librarians with warm hearts!

2-22-11 Librarians create a snow blizzard using a coffee filter to make a snowflake in the story, Papa's Teepee from Handmade Tales

I began with a creativity exercise in which the participants had to create a self portrait out of items from their purses, wallets or pockets. There were some very interesting self-portraits! I love this techie self-portrait. A cell phone for the hair, flash drives for the eyes… I soooo relate! Hahahaha!

2-22-11 A self-portait by a workshop participant using items from her purse

The first half of my workshop was dedicated to Handmade Tales. They learned some draw and tell tales and some cut and tell tales such as “Joseph Had an Overcoat.”

2-22-11 Librarians make Joseph's overcoat in the story, Joseph Had an Overcoat

They learned how to make a scroll story, how to create paper Russian nesting dolls, and how to cut magic stars. They learned the string story, “The Stubburn Turnip” and how to make a star string figure. A favorite is always “Bandana Man.” John and Jacob make such adorable little old women!

2-22-11 John and Jacob are old women in the story, Bandana Man, from Handmade Tales

I love how Bandana Man always makes my workshop participants sooo happy! Yes, he’s quite the cutie!

2-22-11 Workshop participants in Topeka, KS make Bandana Man

After an hour lunch, the second half of the workshop was dedicated to Tangram Tales and “Picture Book Makes and Takes.” First, they learned about Tangrams and cut out a Tangram set without a pattern. Then they began manipulating the Tangrams.

2-22-11 Workshop participants create Tangrams

Then I challenged them to a contest, requiring them to invent their own Tangram. This one was the winner – a plant in bloom by Jacob, AKA “Wonder Boy.” After he won the contest, he did a victory lap around the room and everyone did the wave for him. Hilarious!!

2-22-11 The winner of the Invent-a-Tangram contest - a blooming plant

Then it was time for the workshop participants to create their Tangram Story Theater. Everyone in the workshop performed “Tiger’s Tale, Anansi’s Stories.” It came out sooo cute!

2-22-11 Librarians perform a Tangram story theater - Tiger's Tale, Anansi's Stories from Tangram Tales

After finishing Tangram Tales, we moved on to “Picture Book Make and Takes,” where I showed them different book activities to go with all of my picture books. First, they made Cajun Cornbread Boy puppets. Ooh yeah, cher!

2-22-11 Spicy Cajun Cornbread Boy makes a librarian happy!

I told the story of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach with the help of some great librarians with a good sense of humor!

2-22-11 Workshop participants become dead roaches in the hilarious story of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach

My last story was There’s a Dragon in the Library. They loved all the activities that went with this story, especially the accordion dragon!

2-22-11 There's a Dragon in the Library large accordion puppet

It was a fantabulous day and I sooo enjoyed my time in Topeka! A very special thank you to my editor from ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited, Sharon Coatney. She lives in Lawrence and made a special trip to attend my workshop. She is amazing and I love her! Thank you also to Mickey Coalwell, Teri, Brenda and all the staff of the Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS) for getting me from A to B and for executing a flawless workshop! You guys rock!

Thank you especially to all the wonderful librarians with whom I had the privilege of sharing my day. Keep doing the amazing work you do!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

{ 0 comments }

Kansas Summer Reading Workshops, Iola – Monday, February 21, 2011

by dlcasas on February 21, 2011

2-21-11 All librarians are stars!

Friends:

Today I had the great privilege of doing a summer reading workshop for Kansas children’s librarians in Iola, Kansas. The first part of the morning was dedicated to Handmade Tales. I began the workshop with a creativity activity to warm the participants up. They had to create a self-portrait from the contents of their purses or wallets. Fun!

2-21-11 Participants create a self portrait out of items in their purses or wallets

Then we started with draw and tell tales. First, they learned how to draw “The Emperor’s Dragon” from Handmade Tales.

2-21-11 The Emperor's Dragon from Handmade Tales

After a couple of draw and tell tales, I taught them “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.” I demonstrated some of my other Handmade Tales such as making nesting dolls out of paper, doing the “Ugly Duckling” out of towels, and showing them a scroll story, “The Boy Who Drew Cats.” We did “Papa’s Teepee,” creating snowflakes and a snow blizzard out of coffee filter. So cool!

2-21-11 Creating a snow blizzard with coffee filters snowflakes from Papa's Teepee story

Then it was on to “Bandana Man,” a fun rendition of “the Gingerbread Man.”

2-21-11 Anita creates Bandana Man from Handmade Tales

I taught them “The Stubborn Turnip” out of string and they loved the string figures! I also taught them how to make stars!

2-21-11 String figure stars!

After lunch, it was time for a fun game. Since the theme is “One World, Many Stories,” I taught them a game that I learned from children in Singapore called “Pluck the Pearl.” Game players face each other and try to “pluck” the pearl from the open oyster. The oyster snaps closed and if the “plucker” gets snapped, she loses. It’s a lot of fun and takes a bit of speed and coordination.

2-21-11 Leah and her partner play Pluck the Pearl, a game from Singapore

Afterward, it was time for Tangram Tales. First, I had them create a Tangram set and work with Tangrams.

2-21-11 Amanda creates a bucking horse Tangram

Then they invented their own Tangrams. I made it a contest and here is the winner!

2-21-11 Wendy invents a humming bird feeder Tangram and wins the contest!

Then it was time for the creation of a Tangram story theater. They practiced and performed “Tiger’s Tale, Anansi’ Stories,” a tale from the West Indies. It came out so cute, especially the story chorus!

2-21-11 Participants perform Tiger's Tale, Anansi's Stories from Tangram Tales

After Tangram Tales, it was time for Picture Book Make and Takes. First, I told an excerpt of The Cajun Cornbread Boy. Then they made Cajun Cornbread Boy stick puppets.

2-21-11 Workshop participants create The Cajun Cornbread Boy puppets

Then I performed Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach with the help of the audience members. Rachel, thanks for playing the part of Monsieur Roach!

2-21-11 Dianne de Las Casas performs Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach with Rachel as Monsieur Roach

The roaches in the story were soooo funny! Love them!

2-21-11 Hilarious! Kansas children's librarians play like dead roaches in Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach

It was a spectacular day and I had a ton of fun!! Special thanks to Sandy Wilkerson for coordinating this portion of my Kansas tour. I felt so much love and sunshine from the Sunflower State!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

{ 2 comments }

Book Launch Party! There’s a Dragon in the Library at Cherry Books in Thibodaux, Louisiana – Saturday, February 19, 2011

by dlcasas on February 20, 2011

2-19-11 There's a Dragon in the Library fans at Cherry Books

Friends:

This past Saturday, Marita and I launched our new book, There’s a Dragon in the Library, at Cherry Books in Thibodaux, Louisiana. We had a big bayou bash!

2-19-11 Telling the story of There's a Dragon in the Library at Cherry Books, Thibodaux, LA

The story was fun and interactive. Marita drew the dragon as I had all the kids act out the parts with puppets.

2-19-11 The whole cast of There's a Dragon in the Library at Cherry Books, Thibodaux, LA

As usual, Marita’s drawing was AMAZING!! She is such a talented illustrator. I am so lucky to work with her!

2-19-11 Marita Gentry with her Dewey the Dragon drawing from There's a Dragon in the Library at Cherry Books, Thibodaux, LA

Afterward, the kids made mini accordion dragon puppets. They came out sooo cool!

2-19-11 Avid fan, Jaden B., proudly displays his accordion dragon puppet. Too cool!

We even had a fan come who matched the cover of our book! Precious!

2-19-11 A fan at Cherry Books matches the book!

Thank you to everyone who came to help us celebrate our new book. A special thanks to the Breaux family, who came from St. Mary Parish! You all rock! Thank you also to Cherry Books for your support!!

Books are for reading, not for eating! Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

{ 0 comments }

Book Launch Party! There’s a Dragon in the Library, Barnes & Noble Citiplace in Baton Rouge – Friday, February 18, 2011

by dlcasas on February 20, 2011

2-18-11 Dianne de Las Casas, Dewey the Dragon & Marita Gentry sign books

Friends:

This past Friday, Marita Gentry and I launched our new book, There’s a Dragon in the Library in Baton Rouge at Barnes & Noble Citiplace. We had a HUGE crowd with lots of fans and friends there! We began the evening dedicating a copy of the book to a very special boy, Brayden, Marita’s grand-nephew, who was the inspiration for the paintings of Max, the main character in the story. He was so cute!

2-18-11 Dedicating a book to Brayden, Marita Gentry's great-nephew and inspiration for the character of Max at the Baton Rouge launch of There's a Dragon in the Library

Marita began her illustration as I told the story with the help from kids in the audience. She started by drawing the head of Dewey the Dragon.

2-18-11 Illustrator Marita Gentry begins her live illustration by drawing the dragon's head

It was tons of fun having the kids participate in the story. I absolutely love the interaction with my audiences!

2-18-11 Dianne with Dewey the Dragon from There's a Dragon in the Library

Marita’s illustrations are always amazing but this time she did a live illustration in FULL color! So loving this dragon!

2-18-11 Marita Gentry's finished dragon in full color! WOW!

After the story, all the kids who participate in the story on stage came up to take their big final bow.

2-18-11 The whole cast of There's a Dragon in the Library at Barnes & Noble Citiplace

Afterward, we had a scavenger hunt and gave away tons of prizes: book bags, a reading pillow and Marita’s illustration.

2-18-11 There's a Dragon in the Library Prize Winners (Photo by Dianne de Las Casas via iPhone)

Abby Hannie, the CRM of Barnes & Noble Citiplace is amazing. She had dragon face painting for the kids and even had little wings for them! Soooo cute!

2-18-11 Dragon Face Painting at the Barnes & Noble Citiplace book launch of There's a Dragon in the Library (Photo by Dianne de Las Casas via iPhone)

Even the staff got into the spirit of things! Thank you so much, Nick! You rock!!

2-18-11 Nick, a Barnes & Noble Citiplace staff member, gets into the spirit of There's a Dragon in the Library w his dragon face! (photo by Dianne de Las Casas via iPhone)

We also had the kids create paper bag dragon puppets and they came out soooo cute!

2-18-11 A fan makes a paper bag dragon puppet. Smokin' hot fun! (Photo by Dianne de Las Casas via iPhone)

Kid Chef Eliana got to sign books too! Yay!

2-18-11 Eliana with her book, Eliana Cooks! Recipes for Creative Kids

We had an awesome time and everyone had so much fun! Barnes & Noble Citiplace is so wonderful. Thank you so much, Abbie! I also want to thank a very special person. Alyson G., a longtime fan and friend, took all the pictures unless otherwise noted. I forgot my camera and Aly came to the rescue! Woo hoo, Aly!!

2-18-11 Alyson Guidry, our event photographer, with her baby dragon!

Thank you to everyone who came out to support me and Marita as we launched our fourth book together, There’s a Dragon in the Library! We <3 you!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

{ 1 comment }

Craft: Marvelous Mardi Gras Mask – Tuesday, February 15, 2011

by dlcasas on February 16, 2011

2-15-11 Marvelous Mardi Gras Mask

Friends:

Here is a fun and easy Mardi Gras mask you can make to celebrate Carnival Season! This year, Mardi Gras falls on March 8, 2011.

Supplies:
1 large paper plate
1 sturdy drinking straw
Markers/Crayons
Sequins
Feathers or chenille sticks (pipe cleaners)
Ribbon
Glue
Scissors

Directions:
Cut paper plate in half. Cut out triangles around the outer edge of the round part of the paper plate, making it look like a sun. Cut out eye holes. Decorate the paper plate with markers, crayons, sequins, and feathers. If you don’t have feathers, curl chenille sticks around a pencil and attach them to the top of the mask to simulate feathers. Finally, secure a drinking straw as the mask’s stick or handle. Curly ribbon can be attached to cascade down.

Enjoy and parade around!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

{ 0 comments }

Contest Winner! There’s a Dragon in the Library – February 15, 2011

by dlcasas on February 15, 2011

There's A Dragon in the Library book cover

Friends:

Not long ago, I announced a contest: Send me a picture of a dragon or castle in your favorite library (school or public) and win a signed copy of my new book, There’s A Dragon in the Library illustrated by Marita Gentry as well as a signed copy of the sketched dummy. We have another winner! Woo hoo! Drumroll….

Emma Shroth, State Library of Louisiana in the Talking Books and Braille Library is our winner! Yay Emma!

Here is what Emma said, “This was taken at the State Library of Louisiana’s Talking Books and Braille Library. It features 2 dragons (and one baby dragon) listening to Brisingr by Christopher Paolini on digital audio cartridge on our new digital talking book machine. The dragons are surrounded by some large print dragon books with a beautiful dragon backdrop. I am the Children and Teen Services Librarian for the Talking Books and Braille Library. I serve children and teens across the Louisiana who are blind, visually impaired, physically disabled, and reading disabled with materials in special formats – Braille, audio books, large print books, Big Books and descriptive videos.”

This is Emma’s picture:

Dragons in the State Library of Louisiana, Talking Books and Braille Library

Congratulations, Emma! There will definitely be ANOTHER dragon in your library with my new book on the way!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

{ 0 comments }

There’s a Dragon in the Library Book Launch Party at Octavia Books – Saturday, February 12, 2011

by dlcasas on February 14, 2011

2-12-11 The AMAZING There's a Dragon in the Library cake at our Octavia Books Launch Party

Friends:

This past Saturday was our book launch party for There’s a Dragon in the Library, illustrated by Marita Gentry. We had our fabulous launch at our favorite indie bookstore in New Orleans – Octavia Books. It was our largest book launch at Octavia to date! There were so many people in attendance that some people couldn’t see the performance!

2-12-11 The awesome audience at Octavia Books

I had an amazing dragon cake made (Thanks, Lana and Dana) and it was DELICIOUS!

2-12-11 The Dragon cake table

Here is a close-up of that up-ROAR-ious cake, which was chocolate cake with raspberry filling. YUM!

2-12-11 A close-up of the Dragon cake!

As is our signature method, Marita and I entertained the audience with interactive storytelling and live illustration.

2-12-11 Audience participation is so much fun and Marita's dragon comes to life on paper!

I made puppets out of oven mitts, which came out sooooo cute. The templates for the puppets are on my website in the book activities. Marita did such a marvelous job on the puppets.

2-12-11 The oh so cute boys in my story, There's a Dragon in the Library. Marita is illustrating and Eliana is page-turning.

This time, instead of drawing several illustrations, Marita decided to do something different. Because the dragon is a very complicated character to draw, she decided to draw and color one enormous dragon. It came out sooo cute!

2-12-11 The whole cast comes up for a final bow

Here is a close-up of Marita’s illustration. It’s a little blurry because there were so many people that my photographer (hubby Antonio) couldn’t get close enough to even zoom in on the picture. But you can see how cute it is! Marita is incredibly talented! I’m so lucky to team with such a great illustrator!

2-12-11 A close-up of the Marita's finished illustration of Dewey the Dragon in There's a Dragon in the Library

Afterward, the children participated in a scavenger hunt, looking for a dragon tale hidden amongst the books. The winner received a reading pillow and blanket. We gave away lots of prizes including book bags, a Dragon accordion puppet, and a signed dummy of our book. Then the kids made the cutest Dewey the Dragon paper bag puppets.

2-12-11 The cutest dragon puppet with the cutest little boy!

Marita and I signed books as Judith Lafitte and Tom Lowenburg, the bookstore owners, served cake and dragon juice.

2-12-11 Dianne de Las Casas signing books with a tiara on! Viva la Diva! LOL

Caitlin Smith with Pelican Publishing Company stopped by to say hi and check in on our party.

2-12-11 Dianne de Las Casas, Caitlin Smith from Pelican Publishing, and Marita Gentry

Marita and I have such sweet fans and friends. Jon and Jordyn have been to every single one of my book launch parties!! They deserve a crown just for that!!

2-12-11 Dianne with favorite fans, Jordyn and Jon

The party was such a smashing success. We owe so much to King Tom and Queen Judith of Octavia Books, our benevolent rulers! :) Thank you, your majesties! Thank you to everyone: fans, friends, and family who came to support us as we unveiled our fun new book, There’s A Dragon in the Library. We even had someone drive in from as far away as Lafayette! WOW!

2-12-11 The Cutie Crew with their paper bag dragon puppets

It was a fantastic day and we look forward to many more book launch parties at Octavia Books.

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

{ 0 comments }

Snuggle Buggle Literacy Night at Strehle Elementary – Thursday, February 10, 2011

by dlcasas on February 13, 2011

2-10-11 Performing Mama's Bayou at Snuggle Buggle Night at Strehle Elementary in Avondale, LA

Friends:

It was a great night at Strehle Elementary. I was invited to do a presentation for their “Snuggle Buggle” night. Kids come to school in their pajamas and then later to the 6pm event. They were served spaghetti and made crafts at stations centered around my books.

2-10-11 Sweet Potato Pals that the students made from my book, The Gigantic Sweet Potato, at Snuggle Buggle Night at Strehle Elementary in Avondale, LA

I performed Mama’s Bayou and The Gigantic Sweet Potato.

2-10-11 Performing The Gigantic Sweet Potato at Snuggle Buggle Night at Strehle Elementary in Avondale, LA

It was a ton of fun and my little girl, Eliana, even came in her pajamas! :)

2-10-11 Dianne with Taylor, Kayla & Eliana at Snuggle Buggle Night at Strehle Elementary in Avondale, LA

At the end, I was presented with a sweet gift of Tulips!

2-10-11 Dianne with Patti Waddell, Principal, at Snuggle Buggle Night at Strehle Elementary in Avondale, LA

Thank you to Patti Wadell, Principal; Betty Brodtmann, Librarian; the PK Krewe: Pat, Jennifer, Tina and Katie; and all the teachers and staff of Strehle. I love you guys!

Until next time…

Warmly,
Dianne

{ 0 comments }

← Previous Entries