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 spent a week in San Francisco and Berkeley, California. I presented two storytelling concerts and two professional development sessions at the International Association of School Librarianship Conference in Berkeley. I met librarians from all over the globe – the United States, Japan, Korea, China, Sweden, Germany, Australia, Austria, India, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, and so many other countries. I even received a gift of vegemite to go! It was such a wonderful conference – I was truly inspired by my new international friends. Thank you so much, IASL librarians! A special thank you to Blanche Woolls and Kristin Fontichiaro.

This is a picture of librarians doing a story theater exercise in my Story Fest workshop.

IASL 2008 - Story Fest Workshop

Here is a picture of me with sweet librarians from the U.S., Japan and China.

IASL 2008 - Dianne and International Librarians

This is a picture of one of the librarians performing Kamishibai Story Theater. The story is a Japanese folktale called “The Mouse’s Wedding.”

IASL 2008 - Kamishibai Story Theater Workshop

Prior to the IASL conference, my husband, Antonio, joined me for nearly a week in San Francisco. We stayed at the luxurious Harbor Court Hotel on the Embarcadero. We toured Napa wine country and brought back eight bottles of wine! Woo hoo! We wined and dined our way through San Francisco, eating the most delicious cuisine and sampling the region’s best wines.

San Francisco 2008 - Champagne Tasting at Domaine Chandon, Napa Wine Country

Although I have visited San Francisco before, it has been quite some time since I toured the city and I fell in love with her all over again. The undulating hills make the city scenic and adventurous. Antonio and I saw most of the San Francisco must-sees: the weekend Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero, Chinatown, Lombard Street (we drove down the world’s “crookedest” street), Pier 39 (including the seals that have taken over the boat slips), Fisherman’s Wharf, the Cliff House overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Golden Gate Bridge (we drove over it and took pictures from a vista point), the cable cars (Antonio hung off the side – talk about cold!), Alcatraz (we viewed it from a distance on a very clear day), and the rolling fog!

Here is the Golden Gate Bridge. The actual color of the bridge is called “International Orange.” It was supposed to be a primer but it was so beautiful that the city decided to keep the bridge that color.

San Francisco 2008 - The Golden Gate Bridge

This is one of the famous buildings in Chinatown, on the corner of California and Grant, where you can catch the renowned cable car.

San Francisco 2008 - Chinatown, California & Grant Streets

Check out the cakes at this Chinatown Bakery. Wow!

San Francisco 2008 - Chinatown Cakes

While in Chinatown, we ate lunch at a very nice restaurant called The Oriental Pearl. The food was delicious. It was also on must-eat list because Rachael Ray (Eliana and I are big fans) ate there for $40/day. So I took this picture just for Eliana.

San francisco 2008 - Dianne at the Oriental Pearl

Antonio and I both had must-eats on our list – I wanted a slice of sourdough pizza and he wanted an authentic Mission burrito. We took the BART and ventured into the Mission district to find the BIGGEST burrito on the planet at Farolito’s, a hole-in-the-wall place that everyone recommended. I found my sourdough pizza at Fisherman’s Wharf at The Franciscan Restaurant’s walk-up window. We did find out that even in August, San Francisco can be quite chilly. We both brought home new jackets. LOL

Here I am at Pier 39. Check out the beautiful city line behind me.

San Francisco 2008 - Dianne at Pier 39

This is the gorgeous Pacific Ocean, viewed from the historic Cliff House.

San Francisco 2008 - The Pacific Ocean at the Cliff House

I can’t forget to show you the famous Cable Car. It’s fun to ride but you better bring a jacket because it can be chilly with the wind whipping around you.

San Francisco 2008 - The Famous Cable Car

This is a view of Lombard Street from our rental car – we’re driving doooooown. You have to ride the brakes and go very slooooowly.

San Francisco 2008 - Driving Down Lombard

San Francisco is definitely in my Top 5 U.S. cities. It’s a city for couples, friends, families, and singles. Thank goodness we didn’t experience any earthquakes while we were there (a 5.4 hit the L.A. area just the week before). But I was definitely shaken and taken by the city’s beauty.

Though we didn’t spend a lot of time in Berkeley, we did tour the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory (it’s free). That was AMAZING and the chocolate is superb (satisfying the chocoholic in me…). Scharffen Berger (now a division of Hershey’s Artisan Chocolates) is a gourmet chocolate maker in every sense of the phrase. They pay above fair trade prices for their cacao beans and create the chocolate from beginning to end – from roasting the beans to hand-packaging the bars. If you love chocolate, you must try Scharffen Berger. Here I am being goofy, getting ready to tour the factory. The cover on my chin is for “beards.”

San Francisco 2008 - Dianne Touring Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory and Being Silly

Antonio and I also dined at Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse in the “Gourmet Ghetto” area of Berkeley. Alice Waters has, for over 25 years, served finely and simply prepared organic in-season food from sustainable agriculture farms no further away than 100 miles from the restaurant. The menu changes daily. Chez Panisse restaurant was named Best Restaurant in America by Gourmet magazine in 2001.

San Francisco 2008 - Chez Panisse Restaurant, Berkeley

Visit the Bay Area – you’ll love the city but be sure to bring a warm jacket!

San Francisco 2008 - Keeping Warm by the Toy Car

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

Today, I did a professional development workshop for teachers at an elementary school in the metro New Orleans area. What made the day so special was that my youngest daughter, Eliana (7), accompanied me and was my little assistant throughout the workshop. She passed out supplies and even took all the pictures (except for the one of us). (Thank you, sweetheart! Mommy loves you!)

I began the workshop with a cut and tell of “Joseph Had an Overcoat.” It was fun seeing the teachers cut out all the shapes. Next, we moved to draw and tell stories. Here is a picture of my original draw and tell tale called “Catching the Pest.”

“Catching a Pest” uses the numbers 1-7 to illustrate the story and at the end, becomes a mouse. The teachers loved the story. Next, we did another draw and tell story titled “The Emperor’s Dragon,” based loosely on a Chinese folktale. It’s a fun story that kids love watching and drawing themselves.

Following that story, I told the story of “Bandana Man.” The teachers really responded to the story. It’s an adaptation of “The Gingerbread Man,” told with bandana folding. The story begins with an old woman…

Here’s my favorite old woman…

Here are the teachers with their bandana men. “Run, run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me, I’m Bandana Man.”

The workshop ended with the story of “The Stubborn Turnip,” a string story based on a Russian folktale. It was so much fun and the teachers loved every minute of it. Eliana helped me perform the story. She was definitely a show stopper! Here is a picture of us telling together.

It was a funtastic workshop full of energetic, enthusiastic teachers. I’ll get to see them again soon. Next Friday, I have  performances at their school for “Family Literacy Day.”

Eliana was such a big help that I treated her to a surprise lunch. Lunch was the show and the show was lunch! We went to a Hibachi Bar. It was a blast. The Hibachi chef really knew how to heat things up.

Eliana, thank you so much for all your help today. You were an absolute angel!

Happy Handmade Tales to You! Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne