Friends:

I arrived in East Brunswick, New Jersey on Thursday, November 13, 2008 at the Hilton Hotel for the New Jersey Association of School Librarians Conference. After signing books at the Libraries Unlimited booth, I went to dinner with Debby Laboon (Libraries Unlimited’s Authors Respresentative) and Anne Scharff (Greenwood Press’ Sales Representative). We met Judy Freeman and her sweet husband, Izzy, at a restaurant in New Brunswick called Soho. Dinner was delicious. After returning to hotel, I went to my room, Skyped with my family and then crashed.

The morning of November 14, I attended a session by Wayne Free, who works with the Louisiana Association of Educators. The room was small and the crowd was spilling into the hallway. Wayne spoke about how librarians could incorporate using media (the Internet, etc.) into their library lesson plans.

Wayne Free 11-14-08

After Wayne’s session, I attended Judy Freeman’s session on picture book “Winners.” It was a fabulous session and her room was full. Judy is so animated and energetic, a great storyteller, singer, and entertainer. The books she showcases are definitely winning reads. This is Judy reading Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel.

Judy Freeman 11-14-08

I had to leave Judy’s workshop a tad early because I had to set up for my workshop. I presented “Handmade Tales.” Here are the attendees creating “Joseph Had An Overcoat” cut -and-tell story.

NJASL Workshop Participants creating "Joseph Had an Overcoat Cut and Tell" - 11-14-08

We were having so much fun in the workshop. They really enjoyed “Bandana Man,” an adaptation of “The Gingerbread Man” done with a bandana.

NJASL Workshop Participants with "Bandana Man" - 11-14-08

Look at this cutie! He was the old woman in “Bandana Man.”

The Old Woman in "Bandana Man" - 11-14-08

I received rave reviews on my workshop from the workshop participants. It was so much fun. Afterward, I went to the Libraries Unlimited booth to sign books. Then it was time for dinner. I went to dinner with Debby Laboon, Judy Freeman, and Susan Fichtelberg (another LU author). We ate at a swanky diner that had the best food and we had the best time.

Susan Fichtelberg, Debby Laboon, Dianne de Las Casas & Judy Freeman - 11-14-08

The next day, Saturday, November 15, 2008, I ate a quick buffet breakfast at the hotel’s cafe and then headed to the ballroom to set up my second “Handmade Tales” workshop. Another author was presenting and went over time, giving me less than 10 minutes to set up. I was frantic!

Nevertheless, I had a room full of enthusiastic librarians, who enjoyed the workshop as much as the previous group. Here is a workshop participant’s rendition of an original draw-and-tell story, “The Emperor’s Dragon.”

Draw-and-tell Story "The Emperor's Dragon" - 11-15-08

Here is a table of librarians who are all “Reading Stars!” The star is made with a single sheet of paper, five folds and one snip of the scissors. The librarian on the right is author Susan Fichtelberg.

The Magic Star - 11-14-08

My final story was “The Stubborn Turnip,” a string story adaptation of the Russian tale “The Enormous Turnip.” Below, workshop participants celebrate their successful attempt to make the string bowl in the story.

"The Stubborn Turnip" String Bowl - 11-14-08

Both of my workshops were full of lively librarians who appreciate the hands-on activities of the workshop. I had a great time presenting at the New Jersey Association of School Librarians state conference. The 2009 Conference Chair attended my first workshop and asked me to return next year. Now that gives me warm fuzzies all over! My Handmade Tales book sold out even before my first presentation began - wow!

Thank you so much to the conference chair, Pam Cheskey, the conference staff (especially Aliah), and all the lovely librarians who chose to attend my session when there were other wonderful sessions ongoing simultaneously. Thank you to all the librarians who helped me set up and pack up, especially Karen and Wendy. I just love librarians! They are always willing to lend a hand.

A special thank you to Debby Laboon (I just luv u!) and Anne Scharff (my bud), who are both wonderful women. I so appreciate what you do for my books!

Happy Tales to You! Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

I had the pleasure of performing at Audubon Elementary in Kenner, Louisiana. I performed at the school last year and many of the students remembered me! When they saw me, they began singing my song “Peanut Butter and Jelly Jam.” My “Scared Silly” show began with grades 3-5.

Audubon Elementary Grades 3-5 Dianne performing Scared Silly - 10-31-08

The school was celebrating a Fall Math Fest so I was asked to add math to my show. For the upper grades, I adapted a Chinese Folktale called “The Magic Pot” and turned it into a Halloween tale about Mr. and Mrs. Dracula, who have a magic cauldron that doubles everything that is placed inside the pot. The story turned out great and the students really enjoyed the tale, especially the voices of the vampires!

Here I am performing “The Fifolet,” a Louisiana tale about a bogey from the bayou.

Audubon Elementary Grades 3-5 Dianne Performing "The Fifolet" - 10-31-08

At the end of the show, I had time for one more song so my 8 year old daughter, Eliana, who did not have school, joined me in singing “Shake-A-Shake Them Bones.”

Audubon Elementary Grades 3-5 Shake-a-shake Them Bones - 10-31-08

After I finished with the upper grades, the lower elementary came in - pre-school through 2nd grades. It was such a fun show. I started with performing an original story based on a Mother Goose tale. The story is called “The House That Witchy Built.”

Audubon Elementary Grades PK-2 Dianne performing The House that Witchy Built - 10-31-08

To fulfill the math request of my client, I wrote a new song for the lower grades called “Baby Monster.” Eliana helped me with the song. It was so much fun and turned out cuter than I had anticipated.

Audubon Elementary Grades PK-2 Dianne and Eliana performing Baby Monster - 10-31-08

Here I am performing “The Viper.”

Audubon Elementary Grades PK-2 Dianne performing The Viper - 10-31-08

There was a lot of audience participation with the lower grades. Here are some students helping Eliana and me perform “5 Little Ghosties,” an original Halloween fingerplay.

Audubon Elementary - Dianne, Eliana & students doing 5 Little Ghosties - 10-31-08

The show for the little ones ended with “The Ghost of Mable Gable,” which sent the audience and teachers rolling on the floor with its hilarious ending and then my song “Shake-a-shake Them Bones.”

Thank you to all the students, teachers, and staff at Audubon Elementary. I had a great time celebrating Halloween with y’all! A special thank you to Ms. Roques and Jeanne Castanza for always inviting me to their school. You rock!

Happy Tales to You!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Friends,

To celebrate my husband, Antonio’s, 40th birthday on February 23, 2008, I decided to take him to Orange Beach, Alabama for some R&R. We arrived in the late afternoon and had just enough time to walk on the beach and frolic in the sand.

While walking on the beach, we saw some MASSIVE jellyfish. Good thing it was too chilly to swim! You can see the size of this monster in proportion to my foot, right next to it.

Of course, there were the most amazing sunsets. The beach is my favorite place in the whole world. One day, I am going to own a house on the beach so I can see sunsets like this one.

I took Antonio out to eat at this restaurant called The Voyager, located at the Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach.

The food was absolutely phenomenal. My favorite was the appetizer I ordered, a large wood-smoked portabella mushroom stuffed with chorizo and topped with a tasso ham cream sauce. I was in gastronomic heaven. A picture wouldn’t have done the dish justice. I’m still dreaming about the mushroom appetizer!

Antonio’s entree’ was equally tantalizing. He ordered the Southwest steak, which was hand-rubbed with spices. It was laid next to a bed of creamy chipotle Mexican cheese rice garnished with spinach tortilla strips. Alongside, aged balsamic vinegar topped avocados resting on heirloom tomatoes. Antonio said it was one of the very best meals he had in his life! He said, “My tastebuds are having a party.” We found out that the executive chef worked at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. No wonder the food was so delectable.

Then the restaurant surprised Antonio with a “birthday cake,” chocolate dipped strawberries complete with a birthday candle!

We even had a romantic moonlight dance on the beach under a glittering diamond-covered sky. A perfect way to end the day!

The next morning, I watched the sun rise from our ocean side veranda. This was the view from our room. Spectacular! This is what you call a room with a view!

We had a delicious lunch at a beach side cafe’ called Bahama Bob’s. Their motto is “The lower the latitude, the better the attitude.” Following lunch, we decided to spend the afternoon at a public beach. I HAD to do some work. I can’t think of a better way to work than overlooking the ocean! We camped out in a large pavillion outfitted with multiple picnic tables. Next to us, some gentleman were playing beanbag toss (”old man’s horseshoes,” as one of them so wittingly stated). I actually got a lot of work done!

What a way to spend a birthday! I think Antonio had a great time. A little birdie told me so…

Happy 40th birthday, sweetie! I <3 U! Friends, take some time out of your life to do the things you really enjoy (even if you have to work a little while doing it… LOL). Have a great week!

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

This past week has been crazy, trying to meet deadlines - book deadlines, workshop handouts, finalizing details for my international trip to Guam and the Philippines, sending out contracts, and working on some big projects. But I had to take time out for my husband, Antonio. His birthday is Saturday, February 23, 2008 and he is now 40 years old!

We started celebrating on Thursday by attending the New Orleans’ own NBA basketball team, the Hornets’, casino night. It was a night full of fun, a promotion for season ticket holders with a “Meet and Greet the Players.” The Hornets are the #1 NBA team in the West so it was a celebratory night with delicious food and gambling for prizes (not real money). Antonio and I didn’t win but we had a blast and ended the night dancing. I even got to buzz around with the Hornets’ mascot, Hugo (in a tux, no less!).

On Friday, I sent my sweetie a gourmet gift basket to his work. It’s full of yummy fruit, cookies, nuts and candy.

We’re taking this basket to the beach. I made reservations for a hotel in Orange Beach, Alabama, about a three and a half hour drive from New Orleans. We will have a gourmet dinner sea side at a resort and a champagne brunch on Sunday at another resort. The beach is my absolute favorite place in the world. I can’t wait to celebrate Antonio’s birthday ocean side! Our room has a balcony overlooking the Gulf. I look forward to fun in the sun!

We leave on Saturday, February 23 after church. Eliana, our 7 year old, has her first reconciliation in the morning. She was also chosen to read a passage of the Scripture. I’ll post pictures later this weekend. So you can see, we have a busy weekend ahead!

I wish you a Happy Weekend! Take time to enjoy life, even if it’s just for a moment.

Warmly, Dianne