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Bissonet Plaza Elementary A is for Alligator Draw and Tell Residency Day 9 – Thursday, December 15, 2011

by Dianne on December 16, 2011

12-15-11 Drawing D is for Dalmatian in P.E.

Friends:

Today was Day 9 of my residency at Bissonet Plaza Elementary in Metairie, Louisiana. Today, I was in P.E. with Ms. Lombardino, Ms. Tammie, Ms. Kelly, Coach Eric, and Coach Mark. It was such a fun day. I saw all the grades in groups and told draw and tell stories that they had not yet heard.

12-15-11 W is for Whale in P.E.

I love the P.E. staff. They are zany and fun to work with! Check out Coach Eric, who became a part of my story, “A is for Alligator,” literally! hahahaha

12-15-11 Drawing A is for Alligator - the end of the tail ended up on Coach Eric's head!

The students were fun and also had the opportunity to hear stories of my travels around the world, and my life as an author.

12-15-11 An embellished B is for Bear in P.E.

I loved being in P.E. with the P.E. staff. They are fabulous to work with!

12-15-11 We <3 Coach Eric at Bissonet!

It was a great day and I look forward to my last day at Bisonet!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Bissonet Plaza Elementary A is for Alligator Draw and Tell Residency Day 8 – Wednesday, December 14, 2011

by Dianne on December 14, 2011

12-14-11 T is for Turtle in final by a student in Ms. Penton's Kindergarten class

Friends:

Today was Day 8 of my A is for Alligator: Draw and Tell Stories from A-Z residency at Bissonet Plaza Elementary in Metairie, Louisiana. It was my last day to work with the students in the classroom and finalize their books for publication.

Because there are so many activities going on in the school during the holidays, my schedule was crazy today. I had to rearrange four classes but everything worked out. My first visit was to Ms. Muller’s and Ms. Joy’s Pre-K babies. I had to combine the classes but the students were amazing. They drew their final “B is for Bear” in markers and the illustrations came out gorgeous! We were all so happy with the results!

12-14-11 Ms. Muller's and Ms. Joy's PK classes create their final pages for B is for Bear

Next, it was on to Ms. Lambert’s third grade class. They worked on the final art and stories for “L is for Lion.” I love how the title page and cover came out! Great job, guys!

12-14-11 L is for Lion final book art for cover and title page in Ms. Lambert's 3rd grade class

Then it was on to Ms. Penton’s Kindergarten class. They did a great job with their words and their “T is for Turtle” illustrations! Yay!

12-14-11 A student in Ms. Penton's Kindergarten writes her T is for Turtle words

My next class was Ms. Vizzini’s second grade classs. The class finalized their art for “R is for Rooster.” These students did a fabulous job and I love their Rockin’ Roosters!

12-14-11 R is for Rooster final book art for cover and title page in Ms. Vizzini's 2nd grade class

For lunch, Ellen Miller, the awesome librarian, treated me to a dine-in lunch of Thai food, our annual tradition. Delish! Thank you, Ms. Miller! After lunch, I visited Ms. Bonanno’s first grade class and they worked on the final illustrations and stories for “X is for X-Ray Fish.” They had so many great artists that I had to choose three: one to illustrate the dedication page, one to illustrate the title page, and one to illustrate the cover. How eXciting!

12-14-11 X is for X-Ray Fish final book art for cover and title page in Ms. Bonanno's 1st grade class

My last class was Ms. Vegas’ 4th grade class. I had to see them during their P.E. period because of all the scheduling challenges. While many of them managed to finish the final art for “Q is for Quail,” the class as a whole was wound up and disruptive. Their stories and illustrations were wonderful, however, their behavior needed work. There were a couple of phenomenal students like Savannah and Logan, and they made me smile! :)

12-14-11 Q is for Quail final book art for cover and title page in Ms. Vega's 4th grade class

Tomorrow, I hang out with the P.E. gang and see all the students during their P.E. period. I look forward to telling lots of draw and tell stories!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Bissonet Plaza Elementary A is for Alligator Draw and Tell Residency Day 7 – Tuesday, December 13, 2011

by Dianne on December 14, 2011

12-13-11 E is for Elephant art in Ms. Tonguis' 1st grade class

Friends:

Today was the 7th day of my A is for Alligator: Draw and Tell Stories from A-Z residency at Bissonet Plaza Elementary School in Metairie, Louisiana. My first class was with Ms. Anchissi’s Kindergarten class. The class worked on the final pages for their book, creating final words and pictures. Ms. Anchissi’s class had “J is for Jackrabbit” and these little ones remembered all the steps of the story!

12-13-11 J is for Jackrabbit book cover in Ms. Anchissi's Kindergarten Class

My next class was Ms. Frechette’s third grade class. These students are so industrious and created wonderful stories and art for “O is for Owl.” I can’t wait to see their final book! I’ll have to come back for a special visit, just to see how amazing their book comes out.

12-13-11 O is for Owl title page in Ms. Frechette's 3rd grade class

After third grade, it was time to head over to Ms. Morrow fourth grade class. Although my time with them was shortened, I was impressed with the amount of work they did. They had some fabulously fanciful stories about unicorns.

12-13-11 U is for Unicorn story and art in Ms. Morrow's 4th grade class

Then it was on to Ms. Chieffo’s second grade students. When I walked into the classroom, the students gave me a rousing cheer. :) When we were going over the illustration for “I is for Iguana,” I was impressed with how these students recalled all the details of the draw and tell story. They created their own imaginative stories about the iguana and fantastic artwork as well.

12-13-11 I is for Iguana book cover in Ms. Chieffo's 2nd grade class

After lunch, I ambled over to Ms. Tonguis’ class. Ms. Tonguis has a tremendous sense of humor and we are always laughing up a storm. I just love to see that much joy in the classroom. It’s infectious! The students were so excited to show me their work on “E is for Elephant.” I was proud of both their awesome art and their stupendous stories.

12-13-11 E is for Elephant book cover in Ms. Tonguis' 1st grade class

My last class of the day was Ms. Daignault’s 5th grade class. What a talented group of kids. This class has both a mixture of writers and artists. It was so difficult to choose the book’s cover and title page illustrators. The jobs went to Dairon and Bennett, respectively. “M is for Monkey” is absolutely marvelous!

12-13-11 M is for Monkey book cover in Ms. Daignault's 5th grade 6th period class

Wednesday is my last day to work in the classroom with the students. On Thursday and Friday, I see them in P.E. for group work and performances. It goes by so quickly!

I look forward to my traditional Thai lunch with Ms. Miller, the librarian. I also look forward to another day of remarkable classes!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Bissonet Plaza Elementary A is for Alligator Draw and Tell Residency Day 6 – Monday, December 12, 2011

by Dianne on December 12, 2011

12-12-11 D is for Dalmatian book cover in Ms. Arnett's 2nd grade class

Friends:

Today was my 6th day of my two-week A is for Alligator: Draw and Tell Tales from A-Z residency at Bissonet Plaza Elementary in Metairie, Louisiana. My first class was in Ms. Naugle’s 4th grade class. She is such an amazing teacher! Congratulations on graduating with your masters this past weekend, Ms. Naugle! Woo hoo for you!

12-12-11 The ever awesome Ms. Paula Naugle, 4th grade teacher

Ms. Naugle’s fourth graders worked on their final versions of their “Z is for Zebra” stories for the class anthology. Look at these zippy zebras!

12-12-11 Z is for Zebra in Ms. Naugle's 4th grade class

Next, I went to Ms. Fury’s third grade class. They worked on “V is for Vulture” and putting their stories in final form. There were some really great artists and writers in the class!

12-12-11 V is for Vulture art and stories in Ms. Fury's 2nd grade class

Then it was on to Ms. Johnson’s Kindergarten class to work on “G is for Giraffe.” The class is so well-behaved and talented. Just look at the front cover of their book, created by Juliette. G is for GORGEOUS!

12-12-11 G is for Giraffe book cover in Ms. Johnson's Kindergarten class

In Ms. Arnett’s second grade class, there were so many amazing stories and artists. Armin was chosen to embellish the book’s cover and I am in love with Nicholas’ story, “My Dog is a Hero.” I mean, how can you not love a dog in a tuxedo?!

12-12-11 Nicholas' story, My Dog is a Hero, in Ms. Arnett's 2nd grade class

After lunch, it was a whale of a time in Ms. Hadley’s class. This first grade class students with great art skills, fabulous penmanship, and incredible creativity. “W is for Whale” and “W is for Wonderful!”

12-12-11 W is for Whale final book cover in Ms. Hadley's 1st grade class

My final class of the day was Ms. Brumfield’s fifth grade class. My time is so short with fifth grade that it is difficult to really work with them. Nevertheless, I have been impressed with the quality of the stories and the art that has come out of these classes.

12-12-11 Final art in progress for F is for Frog in Ms. Brumfield's 5th grade class

This year at Bissonet has been such a pleasure. The students are well-behaved, considerate, and respectful. And, as usual, it’s been a rewarding experience to work with such fine faculty. All around, it’s been such a joyous time. I look forward to two more days of working with my classes, then it’s working in groups for my last two days this week.

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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St. Bernard Parish Library A is for Alligator

by Dianne on December 11, 2011

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

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Lafayette Parish Schools PK In-Service – Wednesday, August 10, 2011

by Dianne on September 7, 2011

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

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American Library Association Conference 2011, New Orleans, LA – June 23-28, 2011

by Dianne on June 30, 2011

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

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Texas Library Association Conference, Austin – April 12-15, 2011

by Dianne on April 20, 2011

4-14-11 Dianne de Las Casas at TLA with Dewey the Dragon from There's A Dragon in the Library

Friends:

Last week, I signed books at the Texas Library Association conference with my children’s book publisher, Pelican Publishing Company, and my professional book publisher, Libraries Unlimited, an imprint of ABC-Clio.

4-13-11 Dianne de Las Casas signs books at ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited at TLA

I went to the conference with Marita Gentry, illustrator of several of my children’s books. We have a new book out this Spring, There’s A Dragon in the Library, and it went over very well at the conference!

4-13-11 Marita Gentry and Dianne de Las Casas pose with TX librarians at the Pelican Publishing Booth at TLA

I didn’t get to do as much as I wanted to at the conference because I was constantly signing books. I had a back-to-back, packed schedule with both of my publishers. :)

4-13-11 Dianne de Las Casas, Dewey the Dragon and Nina Fancher at TLA

Marita and I had a fabulous time. I love the fact that our new book gave us an excuse to wear tiaras because of its fairytale theme. The tiaras and Dewey the Dragon stole the show!

4-13-11 Marita Gentry and Dianne de Las Casas signing books at the Pelican Publishing Booth at TLA

This year I didn’t get many pictures with author friends! I got to hug Phil Bildner and say hi to my Texas storytelling friends. Lucky me, when I went to dinner at Guero’s with my phenomenal team at Pelican Publishing (thank you Caitlin and John), I also got to dine with the fabulous children’s book team of Jan Peck and David Davis. We ran into Jeanette Larson and Melanie Hope Greenberg and they joined us. On another night, I had dinner at Moonshine with my incredible team at Libraries Unlimited (much love to Sharon, Debby, Blanche, Shannon). Kristin Fontichiaro and Alexey Root, both Libraries Unlimited authors, are sweet as pie, and I hung out with them at dinner with the LU team.

4-14-11 Dianne de Las Casas and Melanie Hope Greenberg taken at Guero's Restaurant in Austin, TX (iPhone pic)

I managed a bit of shopping and met a wonderful husband and wife team at GSH Designs, where I bought lots of great jewelry for my daughters and for friends. Thank you Rosa and Johnny!

4-15-11 Rosa and Johnny of GSH Designs jewelry. Such nice people!

It was a wonderful conference and I love the city of Austin. I wish I could have seen more of it! A big hug to Marita Gentry for making my TLA conference such a special one.

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Kansas Summer Reading Workshop SCKLS – Friday, March 25, 2011

by Dianne on March 25, 2011

3-25-11 Love these STAR librarians!

Friends:

Today was the final day of my Kansas Summer Reading Workshop tour. South Central Kansas Library (SCKLS) was my 7th library system in Kansas!

We started the day with a creativity exercise. Workshop participants had to create a self-portrait using items from their purse, wallet or pockets. There were lots of creative librarians!

3-25-11 Dana creates a self-portrait out of items from her purse with a Reeses peanut butter cup nose and Twix eyes! My kind of girl!

I opened Handmade Tales with a draw and tell story called “The Emperor’s Dragon.” I love this story because it’s fun to see the dragon come to life with lines. Kids adore this story!

3-25-11 The Emperor's Dragon, a draw and tell tale to represent China

Next, I taught them the draw and tell tale of “Catching a Pest in 7 Steps.” This story creates a mouse using numbers!

3-25-11 Catching a Pest in 7 steps, a draw and tell tale that uses numbers to create the picture

We did the cut and tell story of “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat,” a cute story with audience participation, humor, and transformations.

3-25-11 Librarians do the cut and tell story of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

I showed them a scroll story from Japan, Russian nesting dolls made of paper, and “The Ugly Duckling,” made out of towels.

3-25-11 The Ugly Duckling is made out of a hand towel

It’s so much fun to do the story of “Papa’s Teepee” and see the coffee filters transform into snowflakes. I love having everyone create a blizzard.

3-25-11 Librarians create a blizzard of coffee filter snowflakes from the story, Papa's Teepee

After the morning break, it was time for “Bandana Man,” my popular adaptation of “The Gingerbread Man.” Look at these cute old women! Thanks, Chris, Brandon, Eric and Steve!

3-25-11 SCKLS men as little old women in the story, Bandana Man

This bandana man is so cute!

3-25-11 Look at this cute Bandana Man with colorful leopard spots!

I taught the librarians the string story of “The Stubborn Turnip,” an adaptation of the Russian story, “The Enormous Turnip.” Then I taught them a star string figure. So cool to see all of these librarians with their stars!

3-25-11 These librarians reach for the stars... with string!

After lunch, we worked on Tangram Tales and I showed the librarians how to create a Tangram set without a pattern. Then we had an “Invent-a-Tangram” contest. The winner, Diane, won one of my giant There’s a Dragon in the Library posters. I love this person sitting down reading a book Tangram.

3-25-11 Diane is the winner of the Invent-A-Tangram contest with her person sitting and reading a book

The group performed a Tangram story theater of the story, “Tiger’s Tale, Anansi’s Stories.” It is a tale from the West Indies and their story chorus was fun and rhythmic. I love seeing their collective creativity and how it comes together so quickly!

3-25-11 The SCKLS Librarians perform Tiger's Tale, Anansi's Stories, a Tangram story theater

I finished the workshop with “Picture Book Make and Takes,” showing them different activities from my picture books: The Cajun Cornbread Boy, Mama’s Bayou, and The Gigantic Sweet Potato. Then I performed Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach with the help of Steve and his roach buddies.

3-25-11 Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach are the best of friends...

It was so much fun to see these roaches getting down and having a good time partying!

3-25-11 Monsieur and friends party while Madame Poulet is a away!

We ended the workshop with activities from my new picture book, There’s a Dragon in the Library. I LOVE these accordion dragons!

3-25-11 Librarians model their accordion dragons from There's a Dragon in the Library

I had such a great time with these wonderful librarians! Thank you to Marquita Boenke, Gail Santy, Shelly, Kathy and Abby for doing such a great job with the workshop. They took such good care of me! I LOVE the gorgeous framed, signed art of Kansas sunflowers, a photograph taken by a local photographer that was given to me as a gift from SCKLS! WOW! Thank you so much!

Gail Santy drove me to Wichita but on the way, we stopped in the town of Newton for dinner at the Bread Basket, a Mennonite German buffet. I had German sausage made by Yoder Meats, sauerkraut, home-baked bread, German potato salad, verenika (dumplings stuffed with dry curd cheese) and chicken borscht (soup). It was such different fare for me — I don’t often get to eat German food, and it was delicious! I loved it!

3-25-11 Dinner at the Bread Basket, a Mennonite German Buffet in Newton, Kansas

I really enjoyed my visits across the vast, open state of Kansas. Everyone was so sweet and hospitable. Thank you so much, Kansas librarians! I <3 U!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Kansas Summer Reading Workshop for SWKLS – Thursday, March 24, 2011

by Dianne on March 24, 2011

3-24-11 Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach are BFFs...

Friends:

Today was my fifth library system in Kansas for my summer reading workshop tour. Today I went to Southwest Kansas Library System in Dodge City. We began the workshop with a fun creativity exercise in which the workshop participants had to create a self portrait out of items from their purses, pockets and wallets.

3-24-11 A creative self-portrait by a SWKLS Librarian made out of items from her purse

Then it was time for some draw and tell tales to open the workshop. First, we began with a story I created to represent China, “The Emperor’s Dragon,” which is in my Handmade Tales book.

3-24-11 The Emperor's Dragon, a story to represent China

I taught the librarians another draw and tell story, “Catching a Pest in 7 Steps,” which utilizes the numbers 1 through 7 to create the picture of a mouse. So cute!

3-24-11 The mouse from the story, Catching a Pest in 7 Steps from Handmade Tales

After showing the librarians a Japanese scroll story, Russian nesting dolls made of out paper, and “The Ugly Duckling,” we did the story of “Papa’s Teepee,” which turns into cool snowflakes made out of coffee filters!

3-24-11 Southwest Kansas Librarians create a blizzard from coffee filter snowflakes

Then it was time for “Bandana Man,” a fun version of “The Gingerbread Man.” First, they had to use their bandanas to make themselves into old women.

3-24-11 Look at the cute little old women from the story, Bandana Man

Then, they turned their bandanas into babies.

3-24-11 Librariaas crack up as they burp their babies

Finally, they folded their bandanas into Bandana Man! “Run, run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me, I’m Bandana Man!”

3-24-11 Librarians made Bandana Man, an adaptation of The Gingerbread Man

Then it was time for string figure stories. I taught them “The Stubborn Turnip” and how to make a string star. It’s so adorable!

3-24-11 Stephanie is a star! Woo hoo!

I also showed them how to make the “One Snip Star,” creating a five pointed star with just one snip of the scissors. Very cool!

3-24-11 The One-Snip Star! Too cool!

After lunch, we switched gears and did Tangram Tales. After demonstrating Tangrams and teaching the librarians how to create a set out of Fun Foam, I challenged them to an “Invent-A-Tangram” Contest. Look at the winning Tangram! I love it!!

3-24-11 The winning Invent-A-Tangram - A woman in the tub reading a book

When it was time for the Tangram Story Theater, these librarians got revved up! They performed “Tigers Tales, Anansi’s Stories” and had a fantastically fun story chorus singing, “Feel the story beat, feel the story beat, shake-a-shake-a-shake, shake-a-shake-a-shake. Feel the story beat, feel the story beat, shake-a-shake-a-shake, shake-a-shake-a-shake. UH!!” The storytellers involved the audience with participation and sound effects and the Tangram artists made every Tangram perfect! It was AWESOME!!

3-24-11 The Queen Bee Tangram in Tiger's Tale, Anansi's Stories Tangram story theater

The last part of the workshop focused on “Picture Book Make and Takes.” I showed them activities for The Cajun Cornbread Boy, Mama’s Bayou, and The Gigantic Sweet Potato. Then I performed Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach with Johnny and his roach friends…

3-24-11 Monsieur Roach and friends party like it's 1999!

It was so much fun seeing all the “roaches” on the ground, legs up! Hahahahaha!

3-24-11 Madame Poulet's aftermath - no more roaches partying in her house!

I ended with show them my new book, There’s a Dragon in the Library and all the activities that go with it. Look at this accordion dragon made by Millie Dearden!

3-24-11 Millie is a cutie with her accordion dragon puppet!

I worked with such a phenomenal group of librarians! Thank you so much for your energy and hospitality. Sara McFarland, I hope you feel better… here’s a hug! Then it was time to get the heck out of Dodge (I have always wanted to say that! LOL) and head to Salina, Kansas, a three hour drive from Dodge City. On the way, I caught this cool picture near a wind farm. It looks sort of like a tornado funnel forming but it was just rain…

3-24-11 It looks like a funnel is forming in the Kansas plains but it's just rain...

But on the way to Salina, there was hail! Lots of it! Kansas weather is always an adventure! Thank you to Charlene and her hubby, Ed, for transporting me from Dodge City to Salina. We stopped to eat at Woody’s Smokehouse in Great Bend. Look at all these barbecue sauces!

3-24-11 The many barbecue sauces of Woody's Smokehouse in Great Bend, Kansas

Another great day in the fair state of Kansas! Tomorrow is my last summer reading workshop in Kansas. I’m looking forward to meeting another cool group of librarians!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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