12-10-11 Dianne de Las Casas is drawing A is for Alligator at St. Bernard Parish Library

Friends:

On Saturday morning, I did my A is for Alligator: Draw and Tell Tales from A-Z program from my book of the same name (illustrated by Marita Gentry and published by ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited) at the St. Bernard Parish Library. My 11 year old daughter, Eliana, came with me and did all the photography. Thanks, Eliana! Along with the drawing steps, I told stories that went along with the steps. Janet Perez, the children’s services coordinator, asked me to adapt the program for the holidays. So I did!

12-9-11 One of the kids draws Gator Claus

“B is for Bear” was super cute. The children named the bear “Bella.” I embellished her with a bow, jingle bell earrings, and a pink tutu. Hilarious and adorable!

12-10-11 Dianne de Las Casas draws B is for Bear with embellishments

It was a family program so the grown-ups were drawing right alongside the children.

12-10-11 Library patrons at St. Bernard Parish Library work on their drawings

Here is “B is for Bear” by one of the children.

12-10-11 B is for Bella Bear

Next, I did “D is for Dog.” I drew a Dalmation and the results were so much fun. Look at this “D”-lightful Dog drawn by one of the kids.

12-10-11 A child draws D is for Dog. Love that hat!

Then it was “P is for Penguin,” a cool Winter animal!

12-10-11 P is for Penguin

My last draw and tell story from A is for Alligator was “W is for Whale.”

12-10-11 W is for Whale

Just for Janet, I developed some new draw and tell stories. They came out sooooo cute! Using the numbers 0, 1, 2, and 3, I drew Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

12-10-11 A child's drawing of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Using the Numbers 0, 1, 2, and 3

I also used the numbers 0, 1, 2, and 3 to draw Santa Claus!

12-10-11 Drawing Santa with the numbers 0, 1, 2, and 3

I ended the program with a rousing rendition of the Christmas song, “Up On the Housetop” with kids playing instruments and singing. It was so much fun!

12-10-11 Ending the program with a performance of Up On the Housetop

Thank you so much, Janet and St. Bernard Parish! I love visiting your library!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

10-1-11 Dianne de Las Casas, Judith Lafitte of Octavia Books, and Holly Stone-Barker

Friends:

On Saturday, October 1, 2011, Holly Stone-Barker and I had our big book debut party for The House That Witchy Built at Octavia Books in New Orleans, Louisiana. We had a wonderful party table with tasty treats.

10-1-11 The House That Witchy Built Book Debut Party Table at Octavia Books

Check out our table’s centerpiece, which looks like a picture in the book. It was made by the ever-talented Holly.

10-1-11 A close-up of The House That Witchy Built party centerpiece

Holly made cute spider cupcakes while Kid Chef Eliana and I made adorable ghost cupcakes.

10-1-11 Spider cupcakes made by Holly Stone-Barker and ghost cupcakes made by Dianne de Las Casas and Kid Chef Eliana

I told the story of The House That Witchy Built, our new book with Pelican Publishing, and embellished the storytelling with audience participation. The kids wore aprons with the book’s characters on them, lovingly handmade by Holly (isn’t she incredible?!).

10-1-11 Look at all the cute kids wearing those adorable character aprons that Holly made!

All the kids were given witch and wizard hats to wear. They were precious! Some of the kids even came in their own costumes!

10-1-11 Little witches and wizards participate in the storytelling of The House That Witchy Built

Look at this sweet little witch!

10-1-11 Ella Stone-Barker wears her Witchy hat!

We had an amazing crowd (my biggest book launch yet at Octavia) and sign lots of books! Just fabulous! Tom Lowenberg and Judith Lafitte were amazing hosts and I thank them profusely for allowing us to debut our book at Octavia! A very special thank you to all the little fans who came…

10-1-11 Dianne de Las Casas with the most precious pumpkin ever!

Until next time… Boo to You!

Warmly, Dianne

8-10-11 Performing the story of The Emperor's Dragon, a draw and tell tale from my book, Handmade Tales

Friends:

Yes, it has been nearly a month since this workshop! I took a break from blogging to get some writing done and to work on other projects (developing an iPad story app). I actually thought that I had posted this blog!

So last month, I had the pleasure of doing a day-long in-service for PK teachers in Lafayette Parish. It was so much fun. I began the workshop with an ice breaker in which participants had to create a self-portrait from items in their purses, bags, or wallets. I love a woman who carries chocolate in her purse!

8-10-11 A self-portrait made from items in a workshop attendee's purse. Yay for chocolate!

The morning session was dedicated to Handmade Tales. We began with a draw and tell story called Catching a Pest in 7 steps. It’s from my book, Handmade Tales: Stories to Make and Take, and is great for teaching numbers and sequencing.

8-10-11 Catching a Pest in 7 Steps - A draw and tell tale

Then they learned the story of “The Emperor’s Dragon,” another draw and tell tale.

8-10-11 The Emperor's Dragon drawn by a workshop participant

Then it was time for a cut and tell story. The PK teachers learned the story of “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.” They were having fun “cutting up.” LOL

8-10-11 Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, a cut and tell story

They learned how to make a Russian nesting doll just by folding paper. It’s so cute!

8-10-11 A Russian nesting doll made out of paper from my book, Handmade Tales

I showed them how to make a 6 page book out of a single sheet of paper. It’s a very versatile origami craft that can be used to showcase ABCs, used as an “About Me” book, or turn little ones into authors and illustrators.

8-10-11 The six page book from the story, The King's Advisor

The teachers learned the story of “Papa’s Teepee,” which features a coffee filter that is magically turned into a snowflake. Then the teachers created a snow blizzard. I always love this part!

8-10-11 Creating a snow blizzard out of coffee filter snowflakes from the story, Papa's Teepee

They learned another cut and tell story that resulted in a perfect 5 point star!

8-10-11 Lafayette PK Teachers are stars!

We had a blast with the story, “Bandana Man,” and I love this picture of the PK teachers becoming old women with their bandanas!

“Bandana Man” is another rendition of “The Gingerbread Man,” except he’s made out of a bandana and one hand becomes all the animals in the story (a spider, a snake and a fox). When they learned how to make Bandana Man, there were lots of oohs and ahs. He is pretty cute!

8-10-11 Bandana Man!

Then it was time to learn some string stories. I told the string story of “The Stubborn Turnip,” which has a cool magic trick in it. These PK teachers were great with their strings!

8-10-11 The string figure bowl from the string story, The Stubborn Turnip

They even learned how to make a star out of string. Talk about wowing kids!

8-10-11 Making a star out of string! Cool!

After lunch, it was time for the second half of the workshop featuring “A is for Alligator: Draw and Tell Tales from A-Z” and “Picture Book Make and Takes.” “A is for Alligator” is a book with Marita Gentry published by ABC-Clio. We take every letter of the alphabet and turn them into animals using storytelling as the device. It’s really amazing and kids of ALL ages LOVE it.

8-10-11 A is for Alligator from my book of the same name illustrated by Marita Gentry

The stories from A is for Alligator are great for teaching the letters of the alphabet and the sounds that they make.

8-10-11 E is for Elephant from my book, A is for Alligator, illustrated by Marita Gentry

This is “W is for Whale.” How precious is that?! You can see how the teacher highlighted the “W” in the drawing with a different color.

8-10-11 W is for Whale from my book, A is for Alligator, illustrated by Marita Gentry

The second half of the afternoon focused on “Picture Book Make and Takes.” I showed the teachers all the cool activities that are downloadable for free from my website in the “Book Activities” section. They made a Cajun Cornbread Boy puppet and Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach story shaker.

8-10-11 The story shaker from Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach

They did a baby bear collage from Mama’s Bayou, created Ma Farmer’s Down Home Cookbook from The Gigantic Sweet Potato, and created an accordion dragon puppet from There’s a Dragon in the Library.

8-10-11 The accordion dragon from There's a Dragon in the Library

It was a great way to spend the day and I really enjoyed myself with the PK teachers of Lafayette Parish schools. A special thank you to Christine Duay for bringing me in!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

8-6-11 Jay Asher, Dianne de Las Casas & Jason Roer

Friends:

It’s been more than a week since I arrived in Los Angeles (Century City) for the 40th annual SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) conference. OMG. It was a WOW weekend of superstar authors, awesome agents, excellent editors, and fun friends. This recap is going to be a long one because there was just so much to take away! Unfortunately, my camera was on the fritz so I had to use my iPhone 3GS too (without a flash) so some of the pictures are less than stellar. To begin…

Thursday, August 4, 2011 – The Arrival
This year, I was staying with Kat Yeh and Joyce Wan, two fabulous authors from NYC. We had a great room on the 10th floor of the Hyatt Century Plaza overlooking the pool and the MGM building.

8-4-11 The view from our 10th floor balcony at the Hyatt Century Plaza in L.A.

Kat, Joyce, and I headed out for eats at the nearby Westfield Mall which has a “Dining Terrace,” filled with tons of multicultural foods for a reasonable price. The ramen was my FAVE!!

8-4-11 Kat Yeh, Dianne de Las Casas, and Joyce Wan just arriving at SCBWI

Friday, August 5, 2011 – Day 1

8-5-11 Bruce Coville inspires everyone with lots of wise advice

The Friday morning opening keynote was given by Bruce Coville. He gave some very sage advice on becoming a successful author. My favorites were:

“Take storytelling lessons.”
“Take voice and singing lessons.”
“Scare yourself. Take yourself to the edge of discomfort. Be fearless.”
“Take your work seriously but take yourself lightly. Rise above your own best work.”
“Embrace the unfinished chord. It is not knowing that is more powerful than knowing.”

Jerry Pinkney was the next speaker and he talked about how his family history inspired his art. I then went to a breakout session with Debra Dorfman, V.P. Publisher of paperbacks, non-fiction, and licensed publishing at Scholastic Books. It was interesting to see how a title is treated after it is acquired at Scholastic, the steps it goes through to become part of the Scholastic Book Club and the Scholastic Book Fairs.

The afternoon panel featured five publishers talking about the “state of the union” of publishing. The message was that there is always room for excellence, even in a changing world and that they are looking for books that break the mold.

8-5-11 The incredibly hilarious Libba Bray

Libba Bray was the first afternoon keynote and boy was she uproariously funny. She talked about how “writing it wrong” helped authors to get it right. My favorite Libba quotes:

“Embrace the suck!” (The crowd guffawed at this.)
“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”
“Readers are not trends. They are readers.”
“Getting it wrong is a necessary part of getting it right.”

Then it was time for the last breakout session of the day. I chose Katie Davis‘ “Podcasting Your Way to Success.” She talked about using social media to build a platform as an author and went through the steps on how to create a podcast.

8-5-11 Emma Dryden on Traveling Through the Digital Landscape

The last keynote of the afternoon was the ever informative Emma Dryden. She talked about traveling the digital landscape of publishing. Though the publishing industry is changing, books still matter. She said:

“The digital world is reshaping the book business. Print is not going away for the sake of digital.”
“The publishing industry is evolving right before our eyes.”
“Picture books do matter. Picture books still do sell.”

Thank you for reassuring us, Emma!

8-5-11 Cheri Williams and Dianne de Las Casas at the PAL Book Sale

That evening, it was time for the SCBWI P.A.L. (Published and Listed) Book Sale. It was a cocktail reception and book sale for the published members of SCBWI, who were not on the program. I am happy to say that I sold out of my new book, The House That Witchy Built, illustrated by Holly Stone-Barker.

8-5-11 The ever-cool Illustrator E.B. Lewis

Later, it was time to schmooze in the lobby! I got to hang out with all my friends (Ellen Hopkins, Kristin Clark Venuti, Cheri Williams, Rachel Ann Marks) and even made new ones (The Hilts Brothers). Here I am with my roommates, Kat Yeh and Joyce Wan, with the amazing illustrator, E.B. Lewis.

8-6-11 Kat Yeh, E.B. Lewis, Joyce Wan & Dianne de Las Casas

Saturday, August 6, 2011 – Day 2
I attended every session on Friday so I admit that I was a bit burned out. I opted to sleep in and I missed Donna Jo Napoli. I caught the tail end of David Small‘s keynote. He was so cute dancing to “How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You.”

Then something extraordinary happened. We had a surprise guest!!! It was… Judy Blume!

8-6-11 Lin Oliver interviews surprise guest, the legendary Judy Blume

John Green, Author of Looking for Alaska, was supposed to be our keynote. Unfortunately, he had gallstone surgery and SCBWI had to fill his slot. So they brought us a spectacular substitute!! Lin Oliver interviewed the legendary, life-changing author, Judy Blume. Judy received a standing ovation BEFORE she was interviewed. Here are my favorite Judy Blume quotes:

“Get yourself though it and write a whole draft.”
“I know I start a book on the day something different happens.”
“The stuff that matters, that works for your readers, comes from deep, deep inside.”
“The first time I was rejected, I went into a closet and cried.”
On revising: “It never gets any easier. The only thing that gets easier for me is that I know how to do this.”
“Whatever way works for you is the right way.”
“You don’t think about the audience. If it’s good, it will find an audience.”
“I don’t think about my legacy. That’s dangerous. But I want a tombstone that says, ‘Are you there God? It’s me, Judy.’”

8-6-11 Carrell Gueringer, Denise Fleming & Dianne de Las Casas

Sometimes things happen for a reason. I was on my way to a breakout session on books, e-books, and apps when I saw my friend, Carrell Gueringer, talking to picture book author Denise Fleming, whom I adore. I met Denise and we took pictures. Then we all saw HER. Judy Blume!! I introduced myself to Judy (we’ve tweeted a couple of times) and I got to take this adorable picture of her.

8-6-11 The Amazing Judy Blume!!!

OMG. I met Judy Blume!! She was so sweet and I can’t believe she is 73 years old!! That was definitely a conference high for me. I don’t often get fan-girlish but I felt fluttery around Judy Blume!

Then it was time for lunch. Denise Fleming, Kari-Lynn Winters, Valerie (sorry – I forgot your last name!), and I headed to the Dining Terrace at the mall next door for some food. I had yummy ramen and totally fell in love with Denise Fleming. We all had a blast at lunch. Because I spent so much time with Denise, I missed Jon Scieszka’s afternoon keynote. But sometimes, the stars align in a different pattern than you planned and the sky is even more brilliant than you imagined. That’s how I felt about meeting Denise Fleming and hanging out with her. What a fabulous lady. Kari-Lynn Winters is my newest BFF and I totally LOVE her too! She’s such a hoot!

8-6-11 Norton Juster, author of The Phantom Tollbooth, inspires the crowd with his accidental foray into children's books

The afternoon keynote was by Norton Juster, the author of The Phantom Tollbooth, a brilliant book! Norton Juster said, “Playing with words was my great disease.” He ended his keynote with a reading of “Prinderella,” a hilarious spoonerism story.

Later that afternoon, I went to Verla Kay‘s workshop on promoting yourself using the Internet. Verla was so sweet she included ME in her slideshow!

8-6-11 Dianne de Las Casas & Lisa Rondinelli Albert tear up the stage at the 40 Winks PJ Gala. Photo courtesy of Joyce Wan.

Then, IT WAS TIME… for the 40 Winks Gala!! And it was a pajama party! My stupid camera wasn’t working so I didn’t get any pictures. I didn’t see anything scandalous but there were some crazy cool costumes! The Princess and the Pea won first prize. The princess was actually wearing a BED, yes a bed!! There was bunny costume from “A Christmas Story” and Max’s wolf suit from Where the Wild Things Are. I danced on the DJ’s stage the whole night long!! After the party was done, we moved the after-party to the X-Bar, a bar connected to the Hyatt. There, I danced with my roommates, Kat and Joyce, Michelle Parker-Rock, Lisa Rodinelli Albert, Rachel Ann Marks, Cheri Williams, and lots of other FUN people! It was a FABULOUS night!!

Sunday, August 7, 2011 – Day 3
On my third day into the conference, I was burning out (actually, my feet burned from dancing in stilettos all night!). I opted to sleep in. I missed the agents’ panel and Gary Paulsen‘s talk. But the great thing about the SCBWI conference in this digital age is that you can relive the moments through other authors’ tweets and blogs! I’m really sorry I missed Gary Paulsen. I heard that he lived in the Philippines (where I was born and where my mom is from) and can speak Tagalog!

I went to Jon Scieszka‘s workshop on “Experimenting with Multi-Platform Storytellling.” It was very interesting to hear him talk about his new series, Spaceheadz. He is so crazy and genius at the same time. His new series encourages media literacy for kids, highlighting access, analysis, evaluation, and creation. Later that night, I got to talk to Jon at length and I totally fell in love with him (in a writerly way). He’s gracious, witty, and fun. I’m mad that I forgot to take pics!! Ugh.

8-7-11 The incredible dessert to celebrate SCBWI's 40th anniversary at the Golden Kite Awards Luncheon

At noon, it was time for the Golden Kite Awards Luncheon. My friend, Michelle Parker-Rock won 2011 SCBWI Member of the Year. Woo hoo, Michelle!! Tanya Lee Stone was the non-fiction Golden Kite winner for The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie. My good friend, Jenni Holm, was the Golden Kite fiction winner for her Newbery Honor book, Turtle in Paradise. In her speech, Jenni said, “You are my family. You are my people.” Yay, Jenni! Rukhsana Khan won the Golden Kite for picture book text for her book, The Big Red Lollipop. She is an amazing storyteller – she had the audience riveted. The Sid Fleischman Award for humor went to Alan Silberberg for his book, Milo: Sticky Notes & Brain Freeze. Alan made me laugh and cry and laugh again. I was sooo moved by his speech! I talked to him in the lobby later that night and he is every bit as warm, caring, and funny as he is on stage. The Golden Kite for picture book illustration went to Salley Mavor for her book, Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes. Such beautiful bas relief fabric and embroidery!

Then we had a surprise guest! The eloquent Richard Peck embellished the stage with his funny rhetoric. Some golden nuggets and funny quotes from Richard:

“A writer’s secret: A story is always about something that never happened to the author.”
“We do not write what we know. We write what we can find out about.”
“Tweets and texts bomb the ruins of our language.”
“Every book begins in the library with the hope that it will end there.”

So Richard Peck does not like Twitter. Oh well. He’ll never have to revise his words to 140 concise characters. LOL

After the luncheon, I headed over to Emma Dryden and Harold Underdown‘s workshop on social media. I ducked out before it ended because of an oncoming migraine, which caused me to miss LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON! Crud. Anyway, social media? I have a handle on. I am really sorry I missed Laurie’s amazing and inspiring (so I heard) keynote.

8-7-11 Dianne de Las Casas & Nuria Coe, both mommies of daughters named Eliana!!

That evening, I went to dinner the Pink Taco for the Kidlit Drink Night organized (in part) by the fabulous Lee Wind. I LOVE me some Lee!! I went with Kat Yeh and Joyce Wan, my roomies. I met another author named Nuria Coe. Like me, she has a daughter named ELIANA! How coincidental is that? Our daughter’s middle names are similar too. It gave us both the chills. I met some fabulous people at the Kidlit Mixer and had the most delicious crispy brisket tacos. Mmmm!

Then it was back to the hotel lobby for my last night of SCBWI schmoozing. I met up with my friends, Jenni Holm and Katie Davis. I talked with the cool Dan Santat and met the amazing Alan Silverberg. I also spoke with Greg Pincus and Jim Averbeck — totally great guys. Then I bumped into my soul sistah, Samantha Berger. I totally missed hangout time with her this conference but at least we got to hang in the lobby for a little bit. To top off this amazing conference, like I said earlier, I talked at length to the phenomenal Jon Scieszka. Although he is a kidlit rockstar, Jon is totally approachable, gracious, and unpretentious.

I met so many amazing writers, illustrators, and authors. I know I didn’t list you all but I hope you know that, in the words of Jenni Holm, “You are my people.” Thank you for being a part of this wonderful tribe called “Kidlit.”

It was an uplifting, inspiring, kidlit star-studded weekend of tears, laughter, and hugs. Thank you, Lin Oliver and Steve Mooser, for creating SCBWI. You have enriched us for 40 years. Here’s looking at 40 more!!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

7-12-11 A panorama of The Mouse's Wedding Kamishibai story, performed by librarians in Athens, TN

Friends:

Last week, I spent the whole week in Tennessee, doing professional development seminars across the state. I was hired by the Tennessee State of School Librarians and it was wonderful. I did “Handmade Tales” in the morning and “Kamishibai Story Theater” in the afternoon. My host, Allison Roberts, drove me all over the gorgeous state of Tennessee. I saw the Smokies, the Appalachian mountains, the plateau, and all the beautiful greenery across the state. We started in Greenevillle, went to Athens, traveled to Murfreesboro, and then ended in Jackson. Unfortunately, I was so tired after my full day of workshops that I neglected to take pictures during our drives.

7-12-11 Allison (far left) and friends become old women in the the story of Bandana Man - Athens, TN

In Greeneville, our host was Mitchell, the librarian of Greeneville High School. He was so kind and helpful! Thank you, Mitchell!

7-11-11 Mitchell makes the cutest old woman - Greenville, TN

All the workshops began with a creativity exercise in which the workshop participants had to create a self-portrait on a paper plate using items from their pocketbooks (Yes, Allison, I learned to use the word “pocketbook” LOL).

7-13-11 A librarian in Murfreesboro, TN creates a self portrait from a checkbook, glasses, 2 pairs of earrings, yarn, and a Mentos cap

And look at this one… how cute!

7-13-11 Amanda creates a cool self-portrait! - Jackson, TN

Then I began with the draw and tell story of Catching a Pest in 7 Steps. It’s a fun story that uses the numbers 1-7 to create the picture.

7-14-11 LeAn draws the story, Catching a Pest in 7 Steps - Jackson, TN

Another draw and tell story followed: The Emperor’s Dragon, a story to represent the country of China. It’s such a cool story with great visuals. I know the librarians will be using this story in school!

7-11-11 The Emperor's Dragon, a draw and tell story - Greeneville, TN

I even showed a story from my new book, A is for Alligator: Draw and Tell Tales from A-Z.

7-14-11 E is for Elephant from Dianne's new book, A is for Alligator - Jackson, TN

They learned the cut and tell story of “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.”

7-14-11 E is for Elephant from Dianne's new book, A is for Alligator - Jackson, TN

Then I showed them some extras that were not in the handout: Russian nesting dolls made of paper and a “cootie catcher” magic story starter. I showed them how to fold towels to create an ugly duckling and a beautiful swan. So adorable!

7-11-11 The Ugly Duckling and swans made from towels - Greenville, TN

They learned the cut and tell story of “Papa’s Teepee,” which by the end of the story, turns a coffee filter into a snowflake. Then I have all the librarians stand up and create a snow blizzard. Mega cool!

7-14-11 A snow blizzard in Jackson, TN in the middle of July!

They learned how to make a star with a single snip of the scissors.

7-13-11 Librarians are stars in Murfreesboro, TN

Then it was time for “Bandana Man,” one of my most popular Handmade Tales. Workshop participants turn bandanas into cute little figures. The story is a riff of the classic “Gingerbread Man.”

7-11-11 Librarians in Athens, TN make Bandana Man

They learned a string story, “The Stubborn Turnip,” which has a cool magic trick in it that always wows an audience. It is the most challenging of the Handmade Tales but once you learn the one move, it’s a cinch and always garners the “Oooh and Aaah” factor!

In the afternoon, I taught them the Kamishibai story theater process.

7-11-11 Dianne checks on the progress of the Kamishibai cards in Greenville, TN

The group was assigned a story from Asia. The story was divided amongst the participants in the group and they had to illustrate their portion of the story. In Greeneville, they performed “The Battle Between Wind and Rain,” a story from the Philippines.

7-11-11 Gail performs her part in the Kamishibai story of The Battle Between Wind and Rain, a story from the Philippines - Greenville, TN

In Athens, Murfreesboro, and Jackson, they performed “The Mouse’s Wedding,” a tale from Japan. And the artwork was stunning! Here are some Kamishibai cards from different venues in order of their story sequence.

Father Mouse wants his daughter, Sachiko, to marry the mightiest creature in the world, not Makoto, a poor pauper of a mouse.

7-14-11 McIntee with her Kamishibai card from The Mouse's Wedding - Jackson, TN

So Father Mouse sees Mr. Sun, whom he thinks is the mightiest creature in the world.

7-13-11 Erin performs with her Kamishibai card from the story, The Mouse's Wedding - Murfreesboro, TN

Mr. Sun says he is flattered but Cloud must be the mightiest because Cloud covers Sun.

7-12-11 A Kamishibai card of the sun in the story, The Mouse's Wedding - Athens, TN

So Father Mouse sees Mr. Cloud, who must be the mightiest creature in the world. Mr. Cloud says he is flattered but Wind must be the mightiest because Wind blows Cloud across the sky.

7-13-11 Father Mouse talks to Mr. Wind in this Kamishibai card from The Mouse's Wedding - Murfreesboro, TN

So Father Mouse sees Mr. Wind, who must be the mightiest creature in the world. Mr. Wind says he is flattered but Wall must be the mightiest because Wall stops Wind dead in his tracks.

7-14-11 The Mouse's Wedding Kamishibai story theater - Jackson, TN

Finally, Father Mouse talks to Mr. Wall.

7-14-11 Father Mouse sees the wall in this Kamishibai card from The Mouse's Wedding - Murfreesboro, TN

Mr. Wall tells him that the mightiest creature is the one who chews a hole through him… that is the mouse!

7-13-11 This Kamishibai card from The Mouse's Wedding is so cute! - Murfreesboro, TN

So Father Mouse gives his daughter, Sachiko, permission to marry, Makoto, a mere mouse. Oshimai. The End.

7-14-11 Nancy with her Kamishibai card from The Mouse's Wedding - Jackson, TN

In Jackson, we even had time to make the cool accordion dragon puppet from my book, There’s a Dragon in the Library.

7-14-11 Nancy and Carol make their dragon accordion puppets from There's a Dragon in the Library - Jackson, TN

It was a fabulous week!! Thank you to all the librarians who came to the workshops. Thank you to our wonderful hosts: Mitchell in Greeneville, Beth in Athens (who treated me to a star dinner at her incredible house, where I stayed the night before), Dolores in Murfreesboro, and Tina in Jackson. Finally, a big thank you and hug to Allison Roberts, my hostess with the mostest. We had great (though hot) weather and perfect travel conditions (no traffic!) all the way through. It must have been her good “mojo!” She kept me fed (with chocolate) and watered (with Diet Coke). What more can a girl ask for?

I feel like I really know Tennessee now. What a BEAUTIFUL state! I can’t wait to return!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

7-9-11 Kid Chef Eliana performs her song, Cool Kids Cook

Friends:

Yesterday, my daughter, 11 year old Kid Chef Eliana, had a cooking demonstration and book signing at Cherry Books in Thibodaux, Louisiana. She made her delicious “Fresh from the Garden Salsa” from her cookbook, Eliana Cooks! Recipes for Creative Kids.

7-9-11 Kid Chef Eliana makes her Fresh from the Garden Salsa at Cherry Books in Thibodaux, LA

It was a great crowd – the bookstore was packed! Everyone LOVED Kid Chef Eliana’s salsa and ate both batches of her tasty sauce. Afterward, she signed books. There were lots of kids and we had tons of fun at Cherry Books.

7-9-11 Kid Chef Eliana signs autographs at Cherry Books in Thibodaux, LA

Thank you to all our friends and fans who came!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

7-1-11 Catching a Pest in 7 Steps - Dixie Center, Olla, LA

Friends:

Last Friday, I was at Lasalle Parish Library for my last summer reading program of the year. It was also my last summer reading program tour as I am no longer touring in the summer (more time for writing and spending time with my family). I love Andrea Book, the library director, and Donna Estis, the children’s librarian. They have been such great friends over the years. Thank you, ladies!!

My first show was in Jena, Louisiana. I began with my draw and tell story, The Emperor’s Dragon.

7-1-11 Drawing The Emperor's Dragon at Lasalle Parish Library in Jena, LA

We then had fun with Medio Pollito, a story from Spain.

7-1-11 Telling the story of Medio Pollito at Lasalle Parish Library in Jena, LA

I had just as much fun in Olla, Louisiana at the Dixie Center. Though the crowd was small, the kids were great.

7-1-11 Telling the story of There's A Dragon in the Library at the Dixie Center in Olla, LA

Kid Chef Eliana entertained the crowds in Jena and Olla. Too cute!

7-1-11 Kid Chef Eliana performs at the Dixie Center in Olla, LA

We loved eating and shopping at The Caboose, one of our favorite places in Louisiana. Lasalle Parish rocks!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

6-29-11 Kid Chef Eliana prepares for her cooking class at Camp Girl Power

Friends:

Yesterday, Kid Chef Eliana taught cooking classes at Camp Girl Power in Destrehan, Louisiana. First, she began with a presentation on stage. She sang, talked about her life as a kid chef, her travels, and answered questions.

6-29-11 Kid Chef Eliana performs and answers questions at Camp Girl Power

The girls were divided into groups of three. We set up stations in the kitchen where they had blenders and all the ingredients to make Kid Chef Eliana’s “Fresh from the Garden Salsa.”

They followed along as Kid Chef Eliana instructed them on how to prep the ingredients and what to add to the salsa.

6-29-11 Girls sweep cilantro into the blender for their salsa

All the girls raved about the salsa, saying how delicious it was. YUM!

6-29-11 Girls eat their tasty salsa creation

My favorite part about Kid Chef Eliana’s class was the feedback. Here is a fan email Kid Chef Eliana received after the class:

“Hey you probably don’t know me but I am Mary. I was also at camp girl power (Beecuz You Matter) and I was the completely psycho kid in the first group. Any way I wanted to tell you that you inspire me to become a chef so if you don’t mind can you e mail me whenever you have a new cookbook coming out and tell me where I can get one. Thanks a lot, Mary”

It’s amazing to see Kid Chef Eliana making a difference!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

6-24-11 Jane, a new librarian friend, Dianne de Las Casas & Marita Gentry

Friends:

It has been a fabulous, non-stop week in New Orleans! The American Library Association (ALA) was in town for their annual conference. I was so excited to play hostess because I live in New Orleans!

THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2011
On Thursday, I picked up my good friend, Katie Davis (children’s book author/illustrator and host of Brain Burps About Books podcast) and John Schumacher (a librarian/book reviewer of Mr. Schu Reads fame) and took them out to eat at Al Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro. Then we had an impromptu Kidlit drink night at W.I.N.O. (Wine Institute of New Orleans) and tons of children’s book authors showed up: Michelle Knudsen (Library Lion), Phil Bildner (The Hallelujah Flight), Kevin Lewis (Editor at Disney/Hyperion), Ellen Hopkins (Crank, Burned, etc.), Eric Wight (Frankie Pickle series) and Alex from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The late night ran into the wee morning… good times with good friends!

6-23-11 Dianne de Las Casas and Ellen Hopkins

FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2011
On Friday, it was the opening of the exhibit hall known as “The Stacks.” The ribbon-cutting was at 5:15pm. I signed books from 5:30-6:30pm at Pelican Publishing and ran into my long-time friend, author and storyteller Rose Ann St. Romaine, who is a fellow Pelican author.

6-24-11 Children's Book Authors Dianne de Las Casas and Rose Ann St. Romain

On Friday night, I went to dinner with my author liaison from ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited, Debby LaBaoon. Debby and I ate at Pascal Manale’s, famous for their barbecue shrimp. I just LOVE Debby! Afterwards, it was off to the ALA Dance Party at Oz in the French Quarter. I went with children’s book author, Erica Perl, who is fun and fabulous! We hung out with Ellen Hopkins, Kevin Lewis, Phil Bildner, and a large group of dancing librarians.

6-26-11 Dianne de Las Casas with Debby LaBoon

SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2011
On Saturday, it was the first full day of the stacks and it was buzzing! I signed books in the morning with illustrator Marita Gentry, who has illustrated several of my books including The Cajun Cornbread Boy and There’s a Dragon in the Library. There was a line waiting even before I sat down and we sold out of There’s a Dragon in the Library! After that, Marita and I signed books at ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited. We promoted our new professional book, A is for Alligator: Draw and Tell Tales from A-Z. Kid Chef Eliana was with me and she had a great time exploring the stacks and visiting the new “What’s Cooking?” section of the ALA exhibit hall, which hosted cooking demos and cookbook signings.

6-25-11 Dianne de Las Casas and Marita Gentry sign at ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited

On Saturday evening, it was time for the ALSC Stories for a Saturday Evening Concert. I was the headlining storyteller and shared the stage with Patty Carleton and Elizabeth Ellis (whom I have adored for years). Marita Gentry accompanied me, drawing as I told the stories. We began with “W is for Whale” from our new book, A is for Alligator: Draw and Tell Tales from A-Z.

6-25-11 Marita Gentry draws W is for Whale as Dianne tells the story from their new book, A is for Alligator

Then we performed There’s a Dragon in the Library, which is a great story that showcases Marita’s drawing and coloring skills!

6-25-11 Marita Gentry draws Dewey the Dragon as Dianne tells the story from their new book, There's a Dragon in the Library

We closed with Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, an old New Orleans folktale that has lots of boisterous audience participation with members of the audience coming on stage to play the parts of the roaches. So much fun!!

6-25-11 Marita Gentry draws Monsieur Roach as Dianne tells the story, with helpers, from their book, Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach

Then it was time for our final bow. Thank you to Mary Morgan Smith, who organized the Stories for a Saturday Evening concert, sponsored by ALSC (American Library Services to Children).

6-25-11 Taking a final bow with Marita Gentry, Elizabeth Ellis and Patty Carleton with host Mary Morgan Smith

SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2011
On Sunday, I signed more books with Pelican Publishing and ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited.

6-27-11 The ABC-Clio booth

But the big event of the night was the Newbery Caldecott Wilder banquet!

6-26-11 The Newbery Caldecott Wilder Awards Banquet

I sat at a table with my dear friend, Beth Jackson, who sat next to her friend, Ellen Ruffin, Curator of the deGrummond Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS. I wish I knew the name of the woman sitting next to Ellen! Sorry.

6-26-11 Cutie pie, Ellen Ruffin and Beth Jackson at the Caldecott Newbery Wilder banquet

To my left was Sara Rutenberg, Chief Operating Officer of SCBWI. Wow. What luck I had! She was a great table-mate and we laughed lots.

6-26-11 Sara Rutenberg, COO of SCBWI at the Newbery Caldecott Wilder banquet

My friends Jim Averbeck and Diane Chen came by to see me. They hadn’t met each other and I thought they looked so good together in this picture! GLAMOROUS!! Jim Averbeck is the host of Interviews on the Kidlit Red Carpet, in which he does red carpet interviews with kidlit authors. Even I got interviewed! He was accompanied by the lovely ladies, Kristen Venuti and Katie Davis.

6-26-11 Children's Book Author Jim Averbeck with ALA Executive Board member Diane Chen

On the red carpet, I ran into children’s book author Anastasia Suen and we discovered something we had in common: we love bows and peeptoes! LOL

6-26-11 Dianne de Las Casas' shoes & Anastasia Suen's shoes. We love bows & peeptoes!

First, they announced the winners of the Caldecott Honors: Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Bryan Collier and Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein. The Caldecott went to A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Phillip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead. Erin’s speech was so sweet and poignant. She made me cry. It made me love the book even more!

6-26-11 A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Phillip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead wins the Caldecott

Then it was time for the Newbery Medal. The Newbery Honors went to Margi Preus for The Heart of a Samurai, Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, Rita Williams-Garcia for One Crazy Summer, and Jennifer L. Holm for Turtle in Paradise. Jenni is a good friend of mine and I was so excited to see her win!

6-26-11 My friend, author Jenni Holmes, wins the Newbery Honor for Turtle in Paradise! Yay Jenni!

The Newbery Medal went to Clare Vanderpool for Moon Over Manifest.

6-26-11 Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool wins the prestigious Newbery Award

Tomie dePaola is also a good friend so I was elated to see him honored with the Wilder lifetime achievement medal. Well-deserved! Afterward, I talked to Bob Hechtel, Tomie’s assistant, and he showed me the gorgeous medal.

6-26-11 Tomie dePaola's assistant, Bob, with the Wilder medal

This is the Wilder medal up close. So pretty!

6-26-11 The Wilder medal up close!

After the banquet, a group of us went out to celebrate Jenni Holm’s special night. Crazy things happen when kidlit authors are partying! LOL Dan Santat signed John Schumacher’s shirt. Then all the kidlit authors got to sign it, including me! I got the collar. LOL

6-26-11 Dan Santat draws on Mr. Schu's shirt - how cool!

We were in the “Living Room” of the W. Tomie dePaola was there and posed for this cute picture with me. Doesn’t he look so jolly?!! Adorable.

6-26-11 Tomie dePaola and Dianne de Las Casas

As the consummate New Orleans hostess, everyone wanted a place (at 3 in the morning, mind you), where we could get some good grub and drinks. So I suggested St. Charles Tavern. We all piled into a mini-van cab and headed there: Jenni Holm, Ellen Hopkins, Katie Davis, Dan Santat, John Schumacher, Travis Jonker, and Eric Wight. It was so late, it was early. We saw the sun come up!! I didn’t get home until 6:30am!! Ssshhh! But look at how fresh we looked on Monday!

6-27-11 Dianne de Las Casas with Children's Book Authors-Illustrators Eric Wight & Dan Santat

MONDAY, JUNE 26, 2011
On Monday morning, I performed at the Pop Top stage for the National Storytelling Network. I performed The Cajun Cornbread Boy and a short string story called “The Mosquito.” I also got to see some long-time Louisiana storyteller friends, Sylvia Davis and Rosa Metoyer! Love you, girls!

6-27-11 Storytellers Sylvia Davis, Dianne de Las Casas, and Rosa Metoyer

It was off to sign books with Pelican Publishing Company one last time and it was busy. Then I was able to finally walk the stacks with my precious daughter, Eliana.

6-26-11 Kid Chef Eliana with Halle Durand and Tony Fucile, author & illustrator of Mitchell's License

That evening, I went to the International Librarians Reception. I ran into Diane Chen again and she invited me to a private reception in the ALA Presidential Suite. I met Roberta Stevens, the 2011 ALA President. What a sweetie!

6-27-11 Diane Chen - ALA Executive Board, Roberta Stevens - 2011 ALA President, and Dianne de Las Casas

After the President’s reception, I met with my friend, Ryan Sias, who is a fantastic children’s book author and graphic novelist. His work has great style.

6-27-11 Dianne de Las Casas with Children's Book Author-Illustrator Ryan Sias

ALA 2011 in New Orleans was a phenomenal conference for me! Loved every minute of it and it was so much fun playing hostess and ambassador to the stars. I look forward to Anaheim next year!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

6-19-11 Eliana is a Cupcake Cutie!

Friends:

This past Sunday, I threw a “Cupcake Cutie” birthday bash sleepover for Eliana to celebrate her 11th birthday! This is what the table looked like.

6-19-11 Eliana's Cupcake Cutie Table

This is what the individual place settings looked like. We had to kinds of cupcake plates and lots of hot pink!

6-19-11 Eliana's Cupcake Cutie Place Setting

First the girls made taco salad cupcakes, taco salads made inside ramekins that are made to look like cupcakes.

6-19-11 The taco cupcake, a taco salad made to look like a cupcake

A small tortilla is placed inside a ramekins and baked at 400 degrees for 7 minutes. Layers of lettuce, cheese, and ground meat are placed inside. Sour cream is piped on top with a grape tomato as the cherry and shredded cheese as the sprinkles. The girls’ tacos came out uber cute! Dinner was accompanied by a vanilla cream soda punch (1 part vanilla cream soda, 1 part ginger ale, hefty scoops of vanilla ice cream). Yum!

6-19-11 Eliana and the girls with their taco salad cupcakes

After Kid Chef Eliana that, made strawberry shortcake cupcakes with fresh strawberries.

6-19-11 Kid Chef Eliana makes strawberry cream cheese frosting with real strawberries

They were soooo delicious!

6-19-11 Strawberry shortcake cupcakes made by Kid Chef Eliana

Then it was time to blow out the candle on her birthday cupcake!! Actually, the cupcake she is blowing out is a candle in the middle of mini cupcakes!

6-19-11 Eliana and her birthday cake. The cupcake is the middle is actually a candle.

Then it was time to open presents. Kid Chef Eliana got a wild new apron!

6-19-11 Eliana gets a wild zebra apron for her birthday!

She also got a sweet little ceramic cupcake with an “E” on top.

6-19-11 Eliana gets a ceramic cupcake with an E on top!

I think one of her favorite presents of all was her new Cupcake Cutie Room!!!

6-19-11 Eliana's Cupcake Cutie Room

After opening presents, we played a game and the girls had a cupcake collage contest. They all voted on their favorite cupcake art. In my opinion, they are all winners!

6-19-11 Eliana and her friends with their cupcake collages

Then they made chef hats from construction paper and white plastic grocery bags. Adorable young chefs! You can make this chef hat too. Instructions are on Kid Chef Eliana’s website.

6-19-11 The cute little chefs make chef hats from construction paper and plastic grocery bags

Look at Kid Chef Eliana! Love the funky birthday glasses!

6-19-11 Happy Birthday, Kid Chef Eliana!

Then it was time to decorate cupcakes that the girls baked earlier. I created a “Cupcake Bar” with different types of frosting, different kinds of sprinkles, and chocolate chips. The girls went to town!

6-19-11 The young chefs decorate cupcakes at the Cupcake Bar

Josie’s cupcakes came out awesome!

6-19-11 Josie's cupcakes look oh so yummy!

After decorating and eating those tasty treats, we did our last craft and activity for the night. They made cupcake bags by decorating colorful canvas bags with bright fabric paint. They came out great and were perfect to tote all of their goodies home the next morning.

6-19-11 Eliana and her friends made cupcake tote bags - so precious!

It was a fabulous party and the girls had a blast. Cheers to the Cupcake Cuties! Young Chefs Rock!

6-19-11 Young chefs rock!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne