7-10-10 Dianne de Las Casas & Holly Stone-Barker perform Mama's Bayou at Barnes & Noble in Baton Rouge on Perkins Road

Friends:

This past Saturday, Holly Stone-Barker and I signed copies of our book, Mama’s Bayou at the new Barnes & Noble store on Perkins Road in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I performed the story with the help of the kids. The children placed the magnets on our giant story time magnet board, which replicates a page in our book.

7-10-10 The children place the animals on the Mama's Bayou story time magnet board

Then after the performance, Holly demonstrated her cut paper and collage art, creating a dragonfly. We gave the dragonflies away to the audience, along with a goody bag. Then we headed to the front of the store to sign books. Carron Fillingim, the Community Relations Manger, was so sweet and fun. I look forward to working with her again!

7-10-10 Holly demonstrates a cut paper and collage dragonfly

More book signings are coming up this Fall. The Gigantic Sweet Potato illustrated by Marita Gentry is coming in September!

Keep checking my schedule and join my Facebook Fan Page for updates. http://www.facebook.com/fanofdianne

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

6-28-10 The ABC-Clio Booth

Friends:

From June 25 through June 28, 2010, I attended the American Library Association conference in our nation’s capitol, Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, I did not see a lot of the District this time because I was so busy with the conference. But here is a picture of the Capitol building I took from a cab! LOL

6-28-10 The Capitol Building

I also managed to snap a shot of the Washington Monument. Fortunately, I have been to Washington, DC before and have been to many of the museums. It’s a great city to visit.

6-28-10 The Washington Monument

My first day to sign books was Saturday, June 26. I had a lunch and panel to attend first. When I went to the ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited booth, there were people waiting for me to sign their books. Very cool. I signed copies of my brand new book, Stories on Board: Creating Board Games from Favorite Tales.

6-26-10 Signing books at ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited

Here I am with my dynamic team of women from ABC-Clio!

6-26-10 Dianne de Las Casas with the Libraries Unlimited team (L-R) Shannon Hysell, Kristina Sheppard & Debby LaBoon

Later that evening, I was invited to a yacht cruise on the Potomac River by my friend, Tammy DiBartolo from Rapides Parish Library.

6-26-10 Tammy DiBartolo & Dianne de Las Casas on the Playaway Potomac yacht cruise

The cruise was sponsored by Playaway. The yacht was named, “Celebrity.” Not only was it fun but the sights were also beautiful. The city was gorgeous from the vantage point of the river.

6-26-10 The Celebrity Yacht on the Potomac

On Sunday, June 27, 2010, I signed books again at the ABC-Clio booth. I also had the great fortune of meeting Teresa Taylor who is at a DOD (Department of Defense) school in Italy. Teresa wants me to visit her school in Italy! Oh yeah! Here I am with Teresa and her friends. What great people! (Thank you to Donald, Teresa’s husband, for taking the picture!)

6-27-10 Gorgeous Gals of ALA - (L-R) Dianne, Teresa, Susan & BJ

On Sunday night, it was the night of the Newbery/Caldecott Award Banquet. What an event! There were lots of authors, publishers, editors, librarians, and book lovers. The banquet was packed. I rode to the affair with my lovely roommate, children’s book author & illustrator, Katie Davis and Brian & Beth Jackson. I visited Beth’s school in Athens, Georgia in April. Look at us!

6-27-10 At the Caldecott-Newbery Banquet (L-R) - Beth Jackson, Brian Jackson, Dianne de Las Casas & Katie Davis

Here I am with Michelle Knudsen, the author of Library Lion and many other books. Michelle and I presented at the Savannah Children’s Book Festival together a couple of years ago. She is so pretty!

6-27-10 Dianne de Las Casas & Michelle Knudsen (Author of Library Lion)

The ceremony was great. I really enjoyed the speeches, especially the one by Jerry Pinkney who won the Caldecott Medal for his book, The Lion and the Mouse. Rebecca Stead won the Newbery for her book, When You Reach Me. Look at this gorgeous program Jerry Pinkney designed! It’s really spectacular!

6-27-10 The Caldecott-Newbery program designed by Caldecott Winner, Jerry Pinkney

Here I am with my friend, Allison Roberts, who is a school librarian in Tennessee. I love see all my friends glammed up!

6-27-10 Allison Roberts from Tennessee & Dianne de Las Casas

This gentleman is Jim Averbeck, Author of In a Blue Room. He’s sweet and fun to be around, not to mention he’s nice to look at.

6-27-10 Dianne de Las Casas & Children's Book Author Jim Averbeck

On my last day in Washington, D.C., I attended the International Association of School Librarians Luncheon. The speaker was none other than Sharon Coatney, my wonderful editor at Libraries Unlimited. Sharon spoke about the many faces of school librarian leadership.

6-28-10 Sharon Coatney (my editor at ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited) speaks at the International Association of School Librarians luncheon

ALA was a great conference and I made so many wonderful connections. I look forward to the next conference, which will be in… NEW ORLEANS! Woo hoo! I can’t wait!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

5-5-10 Welcome sign at St. Paul College in Bulacan, Philippines

Friends:

I am touring in the Philippines right now. I just finished a series of workshops for Scholastic Book Fairs Philippines. I did five workshops in the past four days. What a hectic schedule!

My first workshop on May 5 was in Bulacan, Philippines at St. Paul Collage, about an hour north of Manila. My workshop was a combination of Handmade Tales, demonstrations of my children’s book activities, storytelling, story theater, and Scholastic Book talks.

5-5-10 Taking pictures with fans from Bulacan, Philippines

On Thursday, May 6, 2010, I performed at workshop in Batangas, Philippines, about 1.5 hours south of Manila. The teachers loved the workshop and were such receptive participants!

5-5-10 Workshop participants in Batangas, Philippines portray a school bus full of bad kids

They were a fun group and I enjoyed working with them. What an energetic group of teachers!

5-6-10 Workshop participants in Batangas, Philippines sing and dance the chorus in the story theater re-enactment of The Cajun Cornbread Boy

On Friday, May 7, 2010, I had a seminar at the Development Academy of the Philippines in Manila. The room was over-full, with a record number! Over 160 workshop participants!

5-7-10 Development Academy of the Philippines workshop participants depicting a ballerina during a story theater exercise

The crowd was enthusiastic, with many of the teachers having attended my previous sessions. I had a blast with this crowd. Galing!

5-7-10 Dancing with roaches in Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach at a workshop at the Development Academy of the Philippines in Manila

I loved what they did with their Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach story shakers!

5-7-10 Development Academy of the Philippines Workshop participants create Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach story shakers

I had a contest and narrowed it down to three finalists. They all won a prize but the gentleman in the middle, Argel, won the grand prize. He made a story shaker with a 3-D chicken and roaches on each side of the shaker!

5-7-10 The Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach story shaker finalists

Let me tell you, I had a room full of stars!!

5-7-10 The teaching stars of Manila, Philippines!

Later that afternoon, I had a workshop at the Scholastic headquarters for the Preschool Literacy Program. It was so much fun working with the preschool teachers, especially when we had a snowball fight in the room!! We also created a snow blizzard.

5-7-10 Preschool Literacy Program workshop participants create snow blizzard, Scholastic Headquarters, Manila, Philippines

The teachers were very receptive to new ideas for their preschool classroom and many of them were already fans, having purchased my storytelling CDs.

5-7-10 The preschool teaching stars of Manila, Philippines

My final workshop was on Saturday, May 8, 2010 at the Scholastic Grolier store in Mall of Asia.

5-8-10 Sign for Workshop at the Grolier Store at the Mall of Asia

It was for teachers and mothers to learn interactive storytelling and book activities.

5-8-10 Dancing with roaches in Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach at Mall of Asia event

I had a ton of fun working with teachers from all over the Philippines. In my eyes, they are the true stars!!

5-8-10 Workshop participants at the Mall of Asia Grolier event

After my workshop at Mall of Asia, I hung out with Zarah Gagatiga, my friend and co-author for Tales from the 7,000 Isles, her daughter, Zoe, my cousins, Joann and Katrin. Then my family (my aunts and cousins) all met me for Pizza at Yellow Cab. There were 32 of us!!! Wow!

5-8-10 Lunch with my family at Yellow Cab Pizza, Mall of Asia, Manila, Philippines

The rest of my visit in Asia consists of trips to Sagada in North Philippines, Bohol in Visayas, Philippines, and Thailand. I am excited about my upcoming trips! I will try to blog and update my Facebook but it depends on my Internet access.

A special thank you to Meinard Cruz of Scholastic Books for hosting me once again! Thank you so my special friends, Zarah Gagatiga and Jay Menes, for their friendship and support! To my family… Mahal kita!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

4-30-10 Ingleside Elementary in Athens, TN welcomes me!

Friends:

From April 28-May 1, I was in Athens, Tennessee for school visits and the Etowah Young Authors Conference. I stayed at the incredible Majestic Mansion Bed & Breakfast owned and operated by Elaine and Richard Newman. What a marvelous place. I was treated like a queen and had a delicious gourmet breakfast every morning!

4-28-10 The Majestic Mansion Bed & Breakfast in Athens, TN

Upon entering my room, I was greeted with a nice surprise. The Athens City School Librarians left me a box of goodies!

4-28-10 Gifts from Athens City TN Librarians left in my room

I visited four schools, two each day and had lunch with students each day.

4-30-10 Performing at Ingleside Elementary in Athens, TN

I signed books for students and teachers at all the schools.

4-29-10 Signing books at a school in Athens, Tennessee

Lunch with the students was so much fun. At Westside, they had the table decorated with a chicken and giant roaches all over the table!

4-30-10 Lunch with select students at Westside Elementary in Athens, TN

Beth Jackson, the Westside School Librarian, made an incredible replica of The Cajun Cornbread Boy. He was awesome, made of real cornbread in a heavy iron skillet, with chilies for eyes, peppercorn for the nose, and sausage for the nose. So awesome!!

4-29-10 Beth Jackson, Westside School Librarian, made a real Cajun Cornbread Boy!

Beth also had a Madame Poulet Cake made too! Just WOW!

4-29-10 Beth Jackson, School Librarian, had a Madame Poulet cake made in my honor! Too cool!

On Saturday, May 1, 2010, I was part of the Etowah Young Authors Conference. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed myself in Athens, Tennessee. The people are so warm and friendly! Thank you to Carolyn Grimmett, the school librarian at Ingleside Elementary, for arranging my entire visit. Carolyn made the most incredible bulletin boards of my books but I forgot to take pictures with my camera. I did post pictures from my iPhone to my Facebook. Thank you also to Renee Nicolo of the Etowah Young Authors Conference! You all made my visit to Tennessee so special!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

Towards the end of April, I was at the International Reading Association Conference in Chicago, Illinois signing my books, The Cajun Cornbread Boy, Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach and Mama’s Bayou at the Pelican Publishing Booth.

When I arrived on Sunday, April 25, 2010, it was storming. But the next day, the weather cleared and it was gorgeous. Look at the beautiful tulips blossoming in downtown Chicago!

4-26-10 Tulips bloom in Chi Town

I was fortunate that many of my children’s author friends were also signing. I tried to see as many of them as possible. One of my favorite authors is Jane Yolen. Jane lost 40 pounds and looks like a million dollars! Way to go, Jane!

4-26-10 Author Jane Yolen & Dianne de Las Casas

It was great to see all my friends because I also stocked up on books and knocked off a lot of Christmas shopping! Who wouldn’t want to receive a signed book as a gift?! On Monday night, I attended the Highlights Foundation dinner and saw more close friends like Juliet Bond and MJ Diem.

4-26-10 Dianne de Las Casas, Illustrator Eric Rohmer and Author Candace Fleming

On Tuesday, April 27, 2010 I ran around trying to see as many of my author friends who were also signing. I was able to visit with my dear friend, Mary Jo Huff (but we forgot to take a picture together!!). I also neglected to take pictures with my buddy, Illustrator Rick Anderson and author Michael Shoulders. It was great meeting Eric Ode for the first time. We’d been corresponding for years by email and Facebook. I saw many fans from Louisiana, Guam, and other states and countries around the world!! It was a great conference.

4-27-10 Author Anastasia Suen and Dianne de Las Casas

I saw Lisa Yee and had the privilege of taking a picture with her and Peepy!

4-27-10 Author Lisa Yee, Peepy & Dianne de Las Casas

I had been corresponding with Author Nancy Krulik on Facebook. I finally got to meet her in person too. Yay!

Another highlight was getting to see my buddy, Eric Kimmel. I adore his books and love him as a person. He’s such a great guy, gracious and giving…

4-28-10 Author Eric Kimmel and Dianne de Las Casas

One of my storytelling heroes has always been Margaret Read MacDonald. I love her work and what she has contributed to children’s literature through her folktale collections and children’s books. I am happy to say we are now friends. Margie, you rock!

4-27-10 Dianne de Las Casas and Author Margaret Read MacDonald

IRA was an awesome conference and I loved every minute of it. I made new friends (Hi Vanessa and Deborah from Nashville, Tennessee!). A special thank you to Caitlin Smith, the school sales manager for Pelican Publishing for everything you did to make my visit to Chicago a success!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

4-16-10 Dianne de Las Casas signing books at ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited

Friends:

What a busy week it’s been! I attended the Texas Library Association Conference in San Antonio, Texas with my two illustrators, Marita Gentry and Holly Stone-Barker. My days were non-stop, running from book signing to book signing. I signed at both of my publishers, ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited and Pelican Publishing Company. The only time I got to see the Riverwalk was from my 27th floor room balcony!

4-15-10 View from private balcony at Marriott Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas

That evening, Marita, Holly and I attended the Storytelling Swap at the Grand Hyatt. Marita and I told a 7 minute version of Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach, with her drawing the tale as I told. It was so much fun and everyone loved it. The next day, when we signed books, we had a lot of librarians come to buy the book because of our performance.

On Thursday, the girls and I hit the ground running. We signed books at Pelican Publishing during the Exhibit Hall opening from 10am-12pm. It was crazy buzy with non-stop signing for all three of us.

4-15-10 Holly Stone-Barker, Dianne de Las Casas & Marita Gentry sign books

I was lucky enough to get a picture with my good friend, Phil Bildner, a fellow author and amazing person. Phil started a non-profit called NOLATREE. He lives in NYC but takes youth to New Orleans during the summer to rebuild the 9th Ward and areas devated by Hurricane Katrina. Phil, you totally ROCK!

4-15-10 Dianne de Las Casas with Author Phil Bildner

I had a lot of librarians who came looking for me. It was a good day!

4-15-10 Dianne de Las Casas & Marita Gentry with a librarian fan

In the afternoon, I signed books with ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited. Again, it was busy but fun because I got to see people I adore like Debby LaBoon, my author rep and Sharon Coatney, my editor. Plus, I got to see a lot of librarians I knew as well as making a lot of new connections!

4-15-10 Dianne de Las Casas with a fan at the ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited booth

Later that evening, I went to dinner with Shannon, an editor with Libraries Unlimited, Kendall Haven, an LU author with nearly 25 LU titles, Debby LaBoon, and Sharon Coatney. We ate at a charming restaurant called Josephine Street Cafe, which had a tree growing in the middle! The food was delicious but the company was even better.

4-15-10 Shannon, Sharon & Debby from Libraries Unlimited

On Friday, Marita, Holly and I headed back to the convention center to sign more books with Pelican Publishing. At the beginning of my signing, Eric Kimmel, author extraordinaire and my friend, came to see me. I was so touched that he stopped by! Thank you, Eric. I <3 U!

4-15-10 Dianne de Las Casas & Author Eric Kimmel

I was also fortunate enough to hang out with the amazing Matthew Gollub, who is an author and phenomenal performer. On Thursday night, I went to the Doo Wop dance with Shannon from Libraries Unlimited and hung out with the two of them all night. What fun! Thanks for swapping tips with me, Matthew. You are one cool dude!

4-16-10 Author & Performer Matthew Gollub with Dianne de Las Casas

My last signing was at ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited, where the company interviewed me for a video podcast. I’ll let you know when the video is up. After signing, I had a little while to walk the exhibit hall, find friends, and shop. I happened to catch Jenni Holm, my friend and the author of the Baby Mouse series. Her 2 year old daughter, Millie, was with her. I sat on the floor with Millie and told stories while her mom signed books. Typical! LOL But I had a ton of fun with Millie!

4-16-10 Dianne de Las Casas with Author Jennifer Holm (Baby Mouse) and her 2 year old daughter, Millie

We had to leave on Friday evening because I had a keynote and workshop to present on Saturday so I had to stop at the San Antonio airport store to buy gifts for Eliana. To my delight and surprise, I was privileged to meet Suzanne Collins, the author of The Hunger Games series. Suzanne and I were both buying “tortilla warmers.” She was so sweet that she let me pick the one I liked best. Despite all her success, she remains humble and gracious. Now, I am an even BIGGER fan! Thanks, Suzanne!

4-16-10 Author Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games series) and Dianne de Las Casas buying tortilla warmers at the San Antonio Airport store

The Texas Library Association conference was rockin’ awesome and I had a blast. I look forward to attending next year, with several new books including There’s a Dragon in the Library, illustrated by Marita Gentry.

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

4-11-10 The door display at A Tisket A Tasket in the French Quarter New Orleans

Friends:

On Sunday, April 11, 2010, Holly Stone-Barker and I signed copies of our book, Mama’s Bayou at A Tisket A Tasket on Decatur Street in the French Quarter.

4-11-10 Holly & Dianne sign books at A Tisket A Tasket in the French Quarter

It was French Quarter Fest and business was brisk! We moved a lot of books. We met the nicest people from all over the United States and Canada! I love how New Orleans attracts people from all over – an extraordinary city attracting extraordinary people! A Tisket A Tasket was so good to us, providing a beautiful display to attract customers and prominently showcasing our books.

4-11-10 The nice sign at A Tisket A Tasket

Holly and I had a wonderful time! A special thank you to Lisa Jones and her staff for making us feel so welcome! We’ll be back!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

4-10-10 Mama's Bayou at Barnes & Noble Westbank in Harvey, LA

Friends:

This past Saturday, I had a Mama’s Bayou BIG BASH book event at Barnes & Noble in Harvey, Louisiana with Illustrator Holly Stone-Barker. We had a wonderful crowd and performed Mama’s Bayou with children from the audience participating.

4-10-10 Our lovely audience at Barnes & Noble Westbank

Afterward, Holly demonstrated her cut paper and collage technique, creating a beautiful dragonfly. We gave away prizes and the audience was treated to snacks and Frappucinos courtesy of Barnes & Noble!

4-10-10 Holly Stone-Barker demonstrates her cut paper and collage technique

Holly and I signed books for our fans and had a ton of fun. It was a great night and we look forward to returning! Special thanks to Jane French, Children’s Department Manager, and Aaron Boyd, Community Relations Manager for their help in setting up our wonderful event.

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

3-26-10 Demonstrating Tangram Tales

Friends:

Today was the second official day of Florida Story Camp held at the Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center in Leesburg, Florida. I began the day with an early morning three hour “Handmade Tales” workshop. It was so much fun! There was a lot of playing, a lot of laughter and a lot of creating.

3-26-10 Handmade Tales Set Up

The workshop had limited seating of 25 and the room was filled to capacity. We actually had more than the allotted number in the room but we made it work. I began with a cut and tell story, “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.”

Then we did some draw and tell stories and I gave them a demonstration of Tangram Tales. They created snowflakes from a coffee filter for the story, “Papa’s Teepee” and then came together to make a snow blizzard! How cool!

3-26-10 Workshop participants create a blizzard of Snowflakes from coffee filter snowflakes

I showed them how to make the ugly duckling and a beautiful swan out of bath towels, inspired by cruise line towel folding.

3-26-10 Workshop participants create Kissing Swans from The Ugly Duckling

It was so much fun and I loved every minute with these wonderful people! I ended the workshop with “The Stubborn Turnip,” a string story. Later that evening, again, I participated in a storytelling concert with Ada Forney, Eth-Noh-Tec, Susan Klein, Tamara Pierce and Dan Keding. It was wonderful. Nancy and Robert of Eth-Noh-Tec are my favorite tandem telling team in the world. Their storytelling is breathtaking!

3-26-10 Nancy and Robert of Eth-Noh-Tec, my favorite tandem tellers in the world

It was a full day and I look forward to tomorrow, when I do my “Story Fest” workshop twice and join a discussion on global storytelling.

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

3-24-10 Dianne with her books at Hudson Books in New Orleans airport

Friends:

My day started with a Southwest flight from the New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport. I decided to drop by Hudson Books and lo and behold, they had my books. The manager asked me to sign stock and take pictures for their newsletter, which I was happy to do!

After a wonderful flight and meeting some neat kids (Hi Keelin and John), I was picked up at the Orlando airport by Gene Toncray, a storyteller and long time friend. We drove to Leesburg, Florida, about an hour from Orlando to the Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center.

I am a featured speaker at the Florida Story Camp sponsored by the Florida Storytellling Association and organized by MyLinda Butterworth. The grounds are beautiful, set on a picturesque lake.

3-24-10 The dock on the lake

Look at this beautiful fountain!

3-24-20 Dianne on the grounds of Lake Yale Baptist Center

After checking in, I went to my room and a beautiful basket was delivered. Boy, do they treat their speakers well!

3-24-10 The gift basket from Florida Storytelling Association delivered to my room

At 7:00pm, I performed in a storytelling concert with Cheryl Floyd and Vivian Filer, two incredible talented and sassy Florida Storytellers. Jeri Baldwin was our adorable emcee. Cheryl is a Cajun from da bayou and Vivian has a voice like “spoken chocolate,” such a treat for the ears. I was privileged to share the stage with these phenomenal women. I performed “Handmade Tales” and we had so much fun!

3-24-10 Vivienne, Jeri, Dianne & Cheryl

I look forward to teaching the pre-conference all day workshop, The Story Biz! It will be a blast. I already love these Florida tellers!!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne