Mama’s Bayou

Missouri Summer Reading Workshops – Springfield, Tuesday, March 1, 2011

by Dianne on March 1, 2011

3-1-11 Librarians are stars!

Friends:

Today is the first day I am blogging about my Missouri summer reading workshops because I lost my blogging camera yesterday! Talk about bad luck… I almost didn’t make it to Kansas City due to weather diverting my flight to Des Moines, Iowa. Then it was losing the camera… BUT today was a great day! I bought a new camera and here we go!

My first workshop was in Carrollton, Missouri and I had an awesome time with the workshop participants there. Today, I was in Springfield, Missouri with nearly 50 librarians at The Library Center.

3-1-11 Librarians do Joseph Had a Little Overcoat cut and tell story from Handmade Tales

We began the workshop with a creativity exercise in which the participants had to create a self-portrait from items in their purses, wallets or pockets. Here’s the one I liked!

3-1-11 Springfield, MO Summer Reading Workshop participant creates a self-portrait from items in her purse

Then it was time for some stories! We began with draw and tell tales. First, I did “The Emperor’s Dragon” from my book, Handmade Tales. What was really awesome is that through a grant, the State Library of Missouri gave every workshop participant a copy of my Handmade Tales book! Lucky Librarians! Next, we did the draw and tell story of “Catching a Pest in 7 Steps,” a fun story that uses the numbers 1 through 7 to create the picture in the tale.

3-1-11 Catching a Pest in 7 Steps story from Handmade Tales

Then I showed them “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat” and I had so much fun showing them how to “blow” into a handkerchief.

3-1-11 Mallory Has a Little Overcoat. Hahahaha

Then I showed them towel folding, how to create folded paper Russian nesting dolls, how to create a scroll story, and how to use a fortune teller in a fun, educational way. They even learned how to create a coffee filter snowflake in the story, “Papa’s Teepee.”

3-1-11 Creating a snow blizzard with coffee filter snowflakes from the story, Papa's Teepee

Then they learned how to make “Bandana Man” from my Handmade Tales book. Boy, did we have fun with Bandana Man!

3-1-11 Bandana Men in the Air!

They learned a string story, how to create a star with string, how to create a one-snip star, and even how to create a six page book out of a single sheet of paper. After lunch, it was on to Tangram Tales. First, they learned how to create a Tangram set without a pattern. Then I held an Invent-A-Tangram Contest. I loved this one… It goes with my book, There’s a Dragon in the Library.

3-1-11 Roxanne invents a dragon Tangram!

But Mallory ended up the winner with her “Man Reading a Book” Tangram. Talk about awesome!!

3-1-11 Mallory wins the Invent-A-Tangram contest for Man Reading a Book

Next, all the librarians in the room worked together to create a fun Tangram Tales story theater, “Tiger’s Tale, Anansi’s Stories.”

3-1-11 Librarians perform the Tangram story theater, Tiger's Tale, Anansi's Stories

Several of the librarians helped me perform a rousing rendition of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach. Woo hoo!!

We ended the day with “Picture Book Make and Takes,” creating all kinds of activities to accompany my picture books. We ended appropriately with There’s a Dragon in the Library, my picture book illustrated by Marita Gentry.

3-1-11 A librarian creates the accordion dragon from There's a Dragon in the Library

It was such a fun day and I had a blast with the librarians in the Springfield-Greene County district in lovely Missouri! Thank you so much!! A heartfelt thank you to Naphtali Faris, the Youth Services Consultant for Missouri State Library for coordinating such wonderful workshops. Thank you also to Charla, who helped so much.

I look forward to my workshop in Jefferson City, Missouri tomorrow!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Snuggle Buggle Literacy Night at Strehle Elementary – Thursday, February 10, 2011

by Dianne on February 13, 2011

2-10-11 Performing Mama's Bayou at Snuggle Buggle Night at Strehle Elementary in Avondale, LA

Friends:

It was a great night at Strehle Elementary. I was invited to do a presentation for their “Snuggle Buggle” night. Kids come to school in their pajamas and then later to the 6pm event. They were served spaghetti and made crafts at stations centered around my books.

2-10-11 Sweet Potato Pals that the students made from my book, The Gigantic Sweet Potato, at Snuggle Buggle Night at Strehle Elementary in Avondale, LA

I performed Mama’s Bayou and The Gigantic Sweet Potato.

2-10-11 Performing The Gigantic Sweet Potato at Snuggle Buggle Night at Strehle Elementary in Avondale, LA

It was a ton of fun and my little girl, Eliana, even came in her pajamas! :)

2-10-11 Dianne with Taylor, Kayla & Eliana at Snuggle Buggle Night at Strehle Elementary in Avondale, LA

At the end, I was presented with a sweet gift of Tulips!

2-10-11 Dianne with Patti Waddell, Principal, at Snuggle Buggle Night at Strehle Elementary in Avondale, LA

Thank you to Patti Wadell, Principal; Betty Brodtmann, Librarian; the PK Krewe: Pat, Jennifer, Tina and Katie; and all the teachers and staff of Strehle. I love you guys!

Until next time…

Warmly,
Dianne

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Louisiana PreK/K Conference – Wednesday, January 26, 2011

by Dianne on January 29, 2011

1-26-11 Teachers do the cut and tell tale, Joseph Had a Little Overcoat at Dianne's Handmade Tales session at the Louisiana PreK-K Conference

Friends:

On Wednesday, January 26, 2011, I presented two professional development sessions at the Louisiana Pre-K/Kindergarten conference sponsored by the Louisiana Department of Education. My first session was “Handmade Tales: Stories to Make and Take” full of simple cut and tell and draw and tell tales. I began with “Joseph Had an Overcoat” (pictured above). Then I taught the teachers how to do a couple of draw and tell tales: “How to Catch a Pest in 7 steps” and “The Emperor’s Dragon.”

1-26-11 The Emperor's Dragon, a draw and tell tale from Dianne's Handmade Tales session at the Louisiana PreK-K Conference

They really loved making the snowflakes out of coffee flakes in the story, “Papa’s Teepee.”

1-26-11 A snow blizzard by PreK & K teachers in Dianne's Handmade Tales session

I ended the workshop with the story, “The Magic Star” for all of those “teaching stars” in the room.

1-26-11 Teaching stars in Dianne's Handmade Tales session

It was so much fun and the teachers really enjoyed the session. In fact, it was overfull; people were sitting on the floor and they had to close the session. My next session was just as full. There were 50 people waiting outside the door before it began! My second session was “Louisiana Picture Book Make and Takes.” I told excerpts of my books and showed them some fun accompanying book activities perfect for PreK and Kindergarten students. I featured activities for my books, Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, Mama’s Bayou, The Gigantic Sweet Potato, and The Cajun Cornbread Boy. Holly Stone-Barker, illustrator of Mama’s Bayou was on hand to help out and sign books. She is such an amazing artist!

1-26-11 Teachers make Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach story shakers in Dianne's Louisiana Picture Book Make and Take session

After my session, I signed books and there was quite a line. Thank you to all the patient teachers!! A special thank you to Holly and her friend, Kathy, for all their help. I would never have been able to do it by myself. Kathy was a spectacular salesperson!

1-26-11 Dianne signing books for teachers at the Louisiana PreK-K Conference in Baton Rouge

It was a fantastic day and I had a wonderful time! A special thank you to Loren Barrios, Nicholy Johnson, and all the staff from the Department of Education, Early Childhood Division. Another special thank you to some amazing teachers: Tina Champagne, Katie Tilly, Joyce Muller and Alecia Rabalais!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Bissonet Plaza Elementary Twisted Tales Residency Day 7 – Tuesday, December 14, 2010

by Dianne on December 15, 2010

12-14-10 Telling Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach to Ms. Anchissi's Kindergarten class

Friends:

Today was the 7th day of my “Twisted Tales: Spinning Stories into Fractured Funnies” residency at Bissonet Plaza Elementary in Metairie, Louisiana. I started the day signing books in the Teacher’s Lounge for all the students who ordered books. My first class was Ms. Anchissi’s kindergarten class. We had a lot of fun with Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach. They loved the story and enjoyed making their story shakers.

12-14-10 A row of chicken story shakers from Ms. Anchissi's Kindergarten class

My next class was Ms. Frechette’s third grade class. They were assigned the story, “The Gingerbread Man” to fracture. While each group had fantastic stories (“Easy as Pie,” “The Beignet Boy,” and “The Rat Race”), the stand-out story was “Easy as Pie.” Since the students had finished their stories, we worked on a final of “Easy as Pie,” with me typing the story on my iPad. The students were so amazed and watched on the Smart Board as I demonstrated my iPad using the Elmo. The refrain in the story is so cute: “Roll, roll, roll as easy as pie. You can’t catch me, I’m the pie guy!” Adorable! Needless to say, I chose this story to turn into a story theater script that the students will perform on Thursday. Phenomenal work, Ms. Frechette’s class! Woo hoo for you!

12-14-10 Easy as Pie by Ms. Frechette's third grade class

Next, I headed to Ms. Morrow’s fourth grade class. They had not progressed as quickly as I had hoped but they certainly worked hard while I was in class! The stand-out story of the class was by Jasmine, Dairon, Bennett and Madison. It is titled, “The Big Yellow Lion,” a fractured version of “The Little Red Hen.” I loved how the story was set in the jungle with a big yellow lion making a mud pie (chocolate mud pie, that is) and included a cute refrain: “Me oh my, a mud pie? I won’t help you, no, not I!” It will be so much fun to perform as a story theater!

12-14-10 The Big Yellow Lion from Ms. Morrow's 4th grade class

After 4th grade, it was on to Ms. Chieffo’s 2nd grade class. As soon as I walked into the room, they cheered for me. And it cheered me up because I had been feeling under the weather all morning. Ms. Chieffo asked me to quickly show them how to fold their “Ma Farmer’s Down Home Cookbook.” They are cute little recipe books made into an origami 6-page book using a single sheet of 8 1/2 X 11″ paper. After performing a rousing rendition of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, they made their stylish story shakers. It was such a pleasure to be in their class because they were so well-behaved.

12-14-10 Second graders from Ms. Chieffo's class with their story shakers

I spent my lunch in the teachers lounge again, signing books for all the classroom teachers I have working with during my residency. After lunch, I went to Ms. Tonguis’ 1st grade class. She asked me to share Mama’s Bayou and I happily obliged. Afterward, I performed Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, and the students created their fanciful story shakers. Ms. Tonguis is so much fun to be around! She even acted out the part of Monsieur Roach, complete with lying on the ground with her “legs up” to simulate a roach’s early demise. Too funny!

12-14-10 Showing Mama's Bayou to Ms. Tongui's first graders

My last class was Ms. Dagneault’s 5th grade class. The students worked in their groups, completing their fractured fairytales. They were assigned “Cinderella” and turned it into “Cinder Man,” “Raparella,” “Cinderella Gone Bad,” and “Minirella.” Phenomenal creativity flowed in this class!

12-14-10 Ms. Dagneault's 5th graders work on their fractured fairytale

It was such a wonderful day at school (except for the part about me being under the weather). This year, I have not written one behavior report. I haven’t had to counsel any students on their behavior and all the students have been super polite and helpful. Thank you so much, Bissonet students, for being so terrific! A special shout-out and thank you to Destiny in 5th grade, who helps carry my bag down the stairs every day! Ms. Easley, if you are reading… YAY for Bissonet!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Book Signings: Little Laughter and Barnes & Noble Metairie – Saturday, December 11, 2010

by Dianne on December 13, 2010

12-11-10 Marita Gentry illustrates The Gigantic Sweet Potato as Dianne de Las Casas tells the story with help from kids in the audience

Friends:

It was such a busy weekend of book signings! On Saturday, I had two book signings: one in uptown New Orleans at a children’s boutique called Little Laughter. It is located next to Slice Pizza and Whole Foods Market on Magazine Street. I signed books with the incomparable Johnette Downing, award-winning children’s musician and author extraordinaire. She is one of my best friends and it was so much fun being able to sign books with her! We tag-teamed, selling each other’s books as the “Leading Ladies of Louisiana Kidlit,” a title bestowed upon us by our publisher, Pelican Publishing. :)

12-11-10 Johnette Downing and Dianne de Las Casas sign books at Little Laughter in New Orleans

After lunch with Johnette at Slice Pizza, I dashed off to Metairie for a book signing at Barnes & Noble. I was scheduled to perform and sign books at 3:00pm. Marita Gentry, my illustrator, had a terrible sinus infection and laryngitis so I did all the talking (not a problem for me! LOL). We performed The Gigantic Sweet Potato with Marita illustrating live as I told the story with interactive audience participation. Students and teachers from Bissonet Plaza Elementary were there to cheer me on! Yay!

12-11-10 Marita Gentry illustrates The Gigantic Sweet Potato as Dianne de Las Casas tells the story with help from kids in the audience

After the performance, we had a nice crowd line up for autographs.

12-11-10 A big crowd lines up for autographs from Dianne & Marita at Barnes & Noble in Metairie, LA

My day ended at a friend’s Christmas party. It was a hectic but super fun day! Thank you to Kim Elms of Little Laughter, Jennifer Simon, CRM of Barnes & Noble, and the Barnes & Noble staff for your hospitality! Happy Holidays!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Book Signings: Pitot House Museum and Barnes & Noble Bluebonnet in Baton Rouge – Saturday, December 4, 2010

by Dianne on December 5, 2010

12-4-10 Dianne de Las Casas with Papa Noel at the Pitot House Museum holiday book signing

Friends:

Saturday was such a busy day! I had a book signing in the morning at 9am at the Pitot House Museum Holiday event in New Orleans. I even got to take pictures with Papa Noel! My friend, Denise McConduit, the children’s book author of the DJ series of books (DJ and the Zulu Parade, DJ and the Debutante Ball, DJ and the Jazz Fest) was also there. We couldn’t resist taking a picture together!

12-4-10 Pelican Authors Denise McConduit and Dianne de Las Casas at the Pitot House Museum holiday event

After two hours of busy and constant book signing, I had to go to Baton Rouge to perform The Gigantic Sweet Potato with illustrator Marita Gentry and to sign books at the Barnes & Noble on Bluebonnet in Perkins Rowe. Carron Fillingim, the CRM, was there to greet me. Kid Chef Eliana also had a signing!

12-4-10 Marita Gentry and Dianne de Las Casas present The Gigantic Sweet Potato at Barnes & Noble Baton Rouge in Perkins Rowe

We had a lot of fun! I performed the story with the help of the kids in the audience as Marita illustrated live. She is so amazing!

12-4-10 The kids line up with Marita's awesome drawings to create a scene in The Gigantic Sweet Potato

We signed a TON of books and sold out of every title except The Gigantic Sweet Potato. Woo hoo!

12-4-10 Dianne de Las Casas and Marita Gentry with Destiny, our pretty fan with flaxen, gold-spun hair! Just gorgeous!

Kid Chef Eliana also signed books and sold quite a few copies.

12-4-10 Kid Chef Eliana's Cookbooks are displayed and she's signing books too!

It was a full but fun day and we ended the night by going to the Cinemark Theater to see Tangled. What a great movie! It was a great twist on the traditional Rapunzel. Loved it!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Book Signing at A Tisket A Tasket with Kid Chef Eliana – Saturday, November 13, 2010

by Dianne on November 17, 2010

11-13-10 Dianne de Las Casas and Kid Chef Eliana signing books at A Tisket A Tasket in the French Quarter

Friends:

Kid Chef Eliana and I had a joint book signing this past weekend at A Tisket A Tasket gift shop in the French Quarter. Eliana signed her new cookbook, Eliana Cooks! and I signed my children’s books, The Gigantic Sweet Potato, Mama’s Bayou, Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, and The Cajun Cornbread Boy.

11-13-10 Dianne de Las Casas and Kid Chef Eliana signing books

From the moment we arrived, Eliana attracted attention! We were constantly busy, passing out samples of her Devil’s Food Monster Muffins and signing books.

11-13-10 There is a big crowd for Kid Chef Eliana!

I was so impressed by the way Eliana handled herself and spoke to people about her book. She sold 30 books in two hours! She’s such a pro! :)

11-13-10 Kid Chef Eliana poses with her sign at A Tisket A Tasket

I look forward to my next book signing with the coolest kid chef around!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Free Webinar: From Imagination to Publication w Dianne de Las Casas & Raising CEO Kids

by Dianne on September 6, 2010

Book Signing at Barnes & Noble

Friends:

I am conducting a free webinar on the children’s book publishing business on Wednesday, September 15, 2010. It’s called “From Imagination to Publication: The Journey of a Children’s Book Author.” It’s sponsored by Sarah Cook of Raising CEO Kids. You can register for the webinar here: http://www.raisingceokids.com.

What can you expect in this 1 hour free webinar? Complete with a slide show and resource links, I will talk about how children’s book publishing works, from the time you hatch an idea to submitting a manuscript to receiving a contract and finally, to marketing the published book. It’s a process and one that many people ask me about time and time again. Be prepared to take a lot of notes and ask questions!

I will say this: Writing for children is a sacred craft. Once your work is out there, it is out there forever so you want to be sure that you are giving them timeless material. Give them your very best. Write books that will make them think, laugh and learn (internally and externally). Please note that this webinar is not about HOW to write a children’s book. This webinar assumes that you have publication-ready material and that you are ready to find a publisher. A quick Google search will yield tremendous results on HOW to write a children’s book (that’s a whole ‘nother webinar!).

Book Signing at Sam's Club

So what makes me the “expert?” Well, you can read all about me on my website at http://www.storyconnection.net. Suffice to say, I spent many years learning HOW TO before I actually became a published author. My first book came out in 2005 and here in 2010, I have 12 books (a combination of both children’s and educational books). I conduct seminars around the world, attend major education and library conferences,and do tons of author school visits. And… THIS is my full time job!

I hope you’ll join me and Sarah on this free webinar. It’s time for YOU to start living YOUR dreams! And I leave you with my life’s mantra:

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams… Live the life you have imagined.” – Henry David Thoreau

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Mama’s Bayou Book Signing at Barnes & Noble Perkins Road in Baton Rouge – Saturday, July 10, 2010

by Dianne on July 14, 2010

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

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Scholastic Book Fair Seminars, Philippines – May 5-8, 2010

by Dianne on May 9, 2010

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

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