Friends:

I haven’t blogged in a while and I am testing the WordPress app from my iPhone. January and February were fantastically busy months launching my new book, Dinosaur Mardi Gras, illustrated by Marita Gentry. We toured bookstores across Louisiana and had a great time with all the kids!

Laissez les bon temps rugir! Let the good times… ROAR!

Until next time….

Warmly, Dianne

1-7-12 The food table with Mardi Gras Mambo popcorn and a fleur de lis king cake!

Friends:

Last Saturday, Marita Gentry and I had our Dinosaur Mardi Gras book debut party at Octavia Books in New Orleans. It was so much fun! Despite the incredibly huge football weekend it was in New Orleans (Saints playoff game and LSU v. Alabama national championship game), we had a GIGANTOSAURUS turn-out! We had an amazing food table with Mardi Gras Mambo popcorn from Popcorn Bistro and a fleur de lis king cake from Hi-Do Bakery.

1-7-12 The fleur de lis king cake from Hi-Do Bakery. Yum!

The book is inspired by a Dinosaur Mardi Gras float that my nephew made a few years ago. I still have the original float that inspired the book. It is the centerpiece of our food table. It is also a craft that kids can make. You can find it in the back of the book.

1-7-12 Dinosaur Mardi Gras shoebox float, like the craft at the back of the book

I performed the story as my daughter, Eliana, turned the pages of the book. Marita Gentry, the illustrator, drew Dino doubloons using paper plates. She did an amazing job and we gave them to the kids afterwards. All the kids received DINO-MITE prizes too.

1-7-12 The kids pose with Marita Gentry's Dinosaur Doubloons, drawn live during the performance, on paper plates

Marita designed 18 different Dinosaur masks and the kids made them at the party. They came out sooo cute!

1-7-12 Dinosaur Mardi Gras masks that the kids made!

It was a CHOMPING, STOMPING up-ROAR-ious time at Octavia Books! Thank you and hugs to Judith Lafitte and Tom Lowenburg of Octavia books for hosting our CARNIVORE CARNIVAL! ROAR!

Until next time…

Warmly,
Dianne

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

12-6-11 Ms. Hadley's 1st grade class works on W is for Whale

Friends:

Today was my second day at Bissonet Plaza Elementary School in Metairie, Louisiana. My first class was my first “repeat.” I went to Ms. Whiteman’s Kindergarten class and they worked on their “P is for Penguin” for their book. I can’t wait to see how these books turns out!!

12-6-11 P is for Penguin in Ms. Whiteman's Kindergarten class

My second class was Ms. Fury’s third grade class. Their letter was “V is for Vulture.” First, I taught them how to draw the vulture. Then they began writing their stories. It was fun to see their stories come to life.

12-6-11 V is for Vulture in Ms. Fury's 3rd grade class

My next stop was Ms. Anchissi’s Kindergarten class. They had “J is for Jackrabbit.” I drew and told the story. Afterwards, I taught them how to draw the jackrabbit. We did it twice to practice. Then they colored their jazzy jackrabbits.

12-6-11 J is for Jackrabbit in Ms. Anchissi's Kindergarten class

After Kindergarten, I skidoodled over to Ms. Arnett’s second grade class. They did “D is for Dalmatian Dog.” Not only did their dogs come out uber cute, but their stories were equally engaging. They had some amazing stories in this second grade class!

12-6-11 D is for Dalmatian Dog in Ms. Arnett's 2nd grade class

After lunch, I went to Ms. Hadley’s first grade class. The students learned how to do “W is for Whale.” The funny thing is that their class was studying the “wh” sound and had “wh” vocabulary words. My story map with “who,” “where,” “when,” “what,” and “why” fit in perfectly! Ms. Hadley was “wholly” excited and “whooping” it up with joy. This class had a “whale of a tale!”

12-6-11 W is for Whale in Ms. Hadley's class

My final class of the day was Ms. Brumfield’s fifth grade class. They had “F is for Frog” and had fun drawing the frog. The last class of the day is always a shorter period so they began work on their stories but didn’t complete a rough draft. I look forward to hearing their stories!

12-6-11 F is for Frog in Ms. Brumfield's 5th grade class

It’s going to be a great day tomorrow and I LOVE how the stories are coming out. These students are going to create some fantastic books!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

12-5-11 P is for Penguin by a student in Ms. Whiteman's Kindergarten class

Friends:

Today was my first day at my annual artist residency at Bissonet Plaza Elementary in Metairie, Louisiana. The residency is sponsored by a grant administered by the Arts Council of New Orleans through the Louisiana Division of the Arts.

I am excited about this year’s project. The students are learning draw and tell tales from my new book, A is for Alligator, illustrated by Marita Gentry. The book teaches students how to turn every letter of the alphabet into an animal. After the students learn to draw the animal, they are writing stories using the animal as a character in the story. Each class will then compile their stories and we will send them to get published through Student Treasures.

My first class was Mr. Boone’s 3rd grade class. Their letter was “S is for Shark.” After learning how to draw the shark from the letter S, they created some fun stories.

12-5-11 S is for Shark in Mr. Boone's 4th Grade Class

My second class was Ms. Lambert’s third grade class. These students produced amazing drawings from “L is for Lion,” and their stories were equally charming.

12-5-11 L is for Lion in Ms. Lambert's 3rd grade class

Next it was off to Ms. Whiteman’s Kindergarten class. I taught the students “P is for Penguin” and was so impressed by the imagination of these little students!

12-5-11 P is for Penguin in Ms. Whiteman's Kindergarten Class

Then it was on to Ms. Presser’s second grade class. The students did “K is for Kangaroo.” They loved drawing the kangaroo and came up with some interesting story ideas.

12-5-11 K is for Kangaroo in Ms. Presser's 2nd grade class

After lunch, I visited Ms. Duhe’s first grade class. They worked on “C is for Cat” and did such a wonderful job drawing their cats and coming up with cool descriptions of their cats.

12-5-11 C is for Cat in Ms. Duhe's 1st grade class

Finally, my last class of the day was Ms. McLeod’s fifth grade class. They did a fabulous job with “H is for Horse” and I had so much fun brainstorming story ideas with them. I loved their idea of a snow-boarding horse being chased by an abominable snowman down a hillside!

12-5-11 H is for Horse in Ms. McLeod's 5th grade class

I look forward to my classes tomorrow!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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

Friends:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

6-27-11 The ABC-Clio booth

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

6-26-11 The Newbery Caldecott Wilder Awards Banquet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is the Wilder medal up close. So pretty!

6-26-11 The Wilder medal up close!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

6-2-11 Performing my draw and tell tale, The Emperor's Dragon, at the Webster Parish Library in Minden, LA

Friends:

On Thursday, June 2, I was at the Webster Parish Library in Minden and then their Springhill Branch Library. This summer’s reading theme is “One World, Many Stories.” My program is called “Story Safari,” to coincide with the summer theme.

I began my program with my draw and tell story, The Emperor’s Dragon. The kids love seeing lines transformed into a picture! Then I did “Catching a Pest in 7 Steps,” another draw and tell story.

6-2-11 Performing my draw and tell tale, Catching a Pest in 7 Steps, at the Webster Parish Library in Minden, LA

My middle story was “Medio Pollito,” which in Spanish means “Little Half Chick.” It’s the story of how the weather vane came to be. Then it was time for a song: “My Aunt Came Back.”

6-2-11 With helpers from the audience, Dianne performs My Aunt Came Back, a traditional song at the library in Minden

My last story was from my book, There’s a Dragon in the Library. I had helpers from the audience participate in the story. The little boy who played the main character, Max, was hilarious. His name is Kayus. My rapport with the audience was magical and I had such an amazing time with them!

6-2-11 Cute and kooky Kayus plays Max in There's a Dragon in the Library

Kid Chef Eliana closed out the show with a performance of her new song, “Cool Kids Cook!” She is so adorable! Afterward, we sold and signed tons of books, especially Eliana!

6-2-11 Kid Chef Eliana talks about her cookbook, Eliana Cooks! at the library in Minden

At the end of the show, I put on some dance music and some kids from the audience showed everyone their moves. Check out Kayus!! He was the most incredible break dancer!

6-2-11 Kayus does a handstand while is he breakdancing to Dianne's music

After the show, it was time for our annual tradition: lunch at Moody’s Place! Moody’s is this “hole in the wall” restaurant that serves stick-to-your-ribs Southern soul food – fried chicken, fried pork chops, country fried steak, turnip greens, purple hull peas (black eyed peas), yams, and pies that will make you dream about them for days!!

6-2-11 Oh me, oh my! Look at those pies!

This is the restaurant that introduced me to “hot water cornbread.” Cornbread that is baked and then fried! But it sure tastes good!

6-2-11 Hot water cornbread at Moody's Place in Minden, LA

Jennifer Heard is the children’s librarian who introduced us to Moody’s. Now we have to eat there every time we go to Minden! Look at the two Jennifers! (Jennifer Heard is on the left.)

6-2-11 Jennifer X 2 from the Webster Parish Library in Minden!

Eliana even got to talk to Ms. Moody for a little bit. Yes, Moody’s Place is one of our favorite Southern cooking restaurants in Louisiana!

6-2-11 Kid Chef Eliana in front of Moody's Place in Minden, LA

After lunch, it was time to head to Springhill, Louisiana for our second show. Springhill is on the Arkansas border. It’s waay north! Again, I told my draw and tell stories. When I did “My Aunt Came Back,” the audience had a great time getting silly!

6-2-11 The audience at the Springhill Branch Library does My Aunt Came Back

“Medio Pollito” was a hit with the Springhill Crowd. They even learned a little Spanish!

6-2-11 Showing kids a weather vane from the story, Medio Pollito

When I performed There’s a Dragon in the Library, Zach was my little helper that played “Max” in the story. We had a good time!

6-2-11 Performing There's a Dragon in the Library at the Springhill Branch Library

Kid Chef Eliana performed her song, “Cool Kids Cook!” At this show, we sold out of books – both of us!

6-2-11 Kid Chef Eliana performs her song, Cool Kids Cook!

Kid Chef Eliana was a big hit and her little fans wanted pictures with her!

6-2-11 Kid Chef Eliana takes a picture with sweet fans!

Following our show, we headed across the street to AmJenn’s Soups and Scoops restaurant. We both enjoyed cold Coke floats. We even got to sign dollar bills that were placed on the ceiling! Cool!

6-2-11 Kid Chef Eliana and Dianne de Las Casas sign dollar bills for the ceiling at AmJenn's Soups & Scoops restaurant on Main Street in Springhill, LA

Eliana and I had a MARVELOUS time in Webster Parish. Webster Parish is just full of good people – we had such wonderful audiences and the library staff is just out of this world!!! So a world of thanks to our friends in Minden and Springhill! See you down the road…

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

6-1-11 In Leesville, LA performing my draw and tell story, The Emperor's Dragon

Friends:

These past couple of days, I have been touring Louisiana for the library summer reading programs. I visit the library as a special guest, performing my stories and getting kids excited about reading. It’s so much fun. I kicked off the summer at the Vernon Parish Library in Leesville, Louisiana, a good 5 hour drive from New Orleans. I began the program with a couple of draw and tell stories, “The Emperor’s Dragon” and “Catching a Pest in 7 Steps.” The kids loved the stories.

Next, I told a story from Spain called “Medio Pollito.” It is the story of how a weather vane came to be and how a little chick with a lot of attitude learns his lesson! Then it on to a fun song called “My Aunt Came Back.” I ended my program performing the story from my book, There’s a Dragon in the Library, illustrated by Marita Gentry and published by Pelican Publishing Company.

6-1-11 Performing There's a Dragon in the Library at the Vernon Parish Library in Leesville, LA

But the finale of the show was Kid Chef Eliana! She came out in full chef uniform and performed her new song, “Cool Kids Cook!” She was adorable!

6-1-11 Kid Chef Eliana performs her song, Cool Kids Cook!

Afterward, we both signed books and took pictures with fans. Fun!

6-1-11 Kid Chef Eliana takes a picture with little Victoria, who looks only slightly amused. LOL

A special thank you and a big hug to Flo, our hostess with the mostest! She was so sweet and accommodating, just a delight to be around!

6-1-11 Kid Chef Eliana and Dianne de Las Casas with Flo, the children's librarian in Leesville

It was a ton of fun in Leesville (although it hit 103 degrees outside! Whew!).

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

5-17-11 Dianne de Las Casas and her cast for There's a Dragon in the Library

Friends:

On Tuesday, I had a special presentation of There’s A Dragon in the Library at Barnes & Noble in Mandeville, Louisiana. It was my debut of the book in Mandeville. I had such a great crowd! Marita Gentry, the illustrator, was supposed to be there but unfortunately, she couldn’t make it. She did, however, send me signed artwork to give away and this lucky little girl won it!

5-17-11 It was a special day for this little cutie ... she graduated from kindergarten AND she won the Dewey the Dragon original art by Marita Gentry!

After my performance, the kids made Dewey the Dragon puppets. I love how these come out!

5-17-11 Little fan make Dewey the Dragon paper bag puppets from There's a Dragon in the Library

Here’s a close-up of the puppet and the precious little boy who made Dewey the Dragon!

5-17-11 What a cute little dragon with a cute little boy!

Thank you to Barnes & Noble Mandeville for hosting this wonderful event.

5-17-11 Dianne and a fan pose... Smile!

I had a great time with all the kids and look forward to returning in the Fall with my new books!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

5-14-11 Signing books at Barnes & Noble in Metairie, LA for the St. Clement of Rome School book fair. Love The Cajun Cornbread Boy Artwork on the wall!

Friends:

On Saturday afternoon, I had a book event at Barnes & Noble in Metairie, Louisiana. It was a celebration of The Cajun Cornbread Boy.

5-14-11 The sign!

St. Clement of Rome School had a big crowd! They created wonderful artwork that adorned the wall behind the stage in the children’s section. I performed the story and we had a great time! Afterwards, I taught the kids how to make The Cajun Cornbread Boy’s Louisiana Cookbook, turning a single sheet of paper into a six-page book. Then they designed their own Cajun Cornbread Boy!

5-14-11 A fan designs her own Cajun Cornbread Boy!

Here is a fan who was caught reading! I love these moments when kids are full immersed in a book and the world around them ceases to exist… it’s magic!

5-14-11 Caught Reading! Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach at Barnes & Noble, Metairie, LA

Thank you, Barnes & Noble Metairie and St. Clement of Rome School! I had a ton of fun!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne