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

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

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

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

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

12-9-11 Dianne de Las Casas takes a photo with her iPhone of Z is for Zebra in Ms. Naugle's 4th grade class

Friends:

Friday was Day 5 of my Bissonet Plaza Elementary A is for Alligator Draw and Tell Residency. Since most of the school was on a field trip to see The Wizard of Oz play, I spent the morning with fourth grade. My first class was with Ms. Vega, who was a teacher at Strehle Elementary, another school I’ve done residencies with, so we were old friends. The students were assigned “Q is for Quail.” I loved how excited they got when I told them my writer’s secret… That really spurred some creative stories! Want to know the secret? Sshhhh. I can’t tell you… or it wouldn’t be a secret! But the fact that the Bissonet Plaza students are talented is definitely no secret!

12-9-11 Ms. Vega's 4th grade class works on Q is for Quail

My second class was Ms. Morrow’s fourth grade class. They did “U is for Unicorn.” They had so much fun inventing stories about unicorns. “U is for is or Unicorn” is the only story in my A is for Alligator book that is a mythological beast and not a real animal. Only this unicorn is definitely not a beast… so cute!

12-9-11 U is for Unicorn in Ms. Morrow's 4th grade class

Then it was on to Ms. Naugle’s fourth graders. I just love Ms. Naugle and how technologically savvy she is. She creates videos, Skypes with schools around the country, blogs, and Tweets! In fact, we were tweeting each other in class. Ms. Naugle’s group was given “Z is for Zebra.” There are so many great artists in this class!

12-9-11 Z is for Zebra in Ms. Naugle's 4th grade class

After lunch, I went to see the itty bitties in Pre-K. Because of the field trip, Ms. Joy and Ms. Muller had to combine their classes into one. I thought it was going to be more challenging but the kids were AMAZING. They worked on “B is for Bear” and did such a fantastic job! I was astounded by these kids. It just goes to show you… never underestimate the power of imagination!

12-9-11 B is for Bear in Ms. Joy's and Ms. Muller's Pre-K classes

Next it was on to Mr. Boone’s third grade class. They worked on the final copies of “S is for Shark.” I had some really great stories like this one:

12-9-11 S is for Shark story in Mr. Boone's 3rd grade class

There was some equally stunning artwork as well in Mr. Boone’s third grade class.

12-9-11 A final drawing for S is for Shark in Mr. Boone's 3rd grade class

My last class of the day was Ms. McLeod’s 5th grade class. They worked on their final stories and art for “H is for Horse.” This class is definitely a class of writers! I was so impressed by their story writing.

12-9-11 Working on the final story book pages for H is for Horse in Ms. McLeod's 5th grade class

I look forward to my upcoming final week with Bissonet Plaza Elementary!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

Here is the book trailer for my new Halloween title, The House That Witchy Built, illustrated by Holly Stone-Barker and published by Pelican Publishing Company. The voiceover is done by none other than my talented daughter, Eliana! Fantastic job, Eliana! The book can be ordered at your favorite local bookstore or through any online book retailer.

Books are Bewitching Fun!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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

6-17-11 The draw and tell story of The Emperor's Dragon from Dianne's book, Handmade Tales

Friends:

This past Saturday, I performed at the NAS Belle Chasse Library for their summer reading program, which was themed “A Mid-Summer Knight’s Read.” It was a special performance for me because my mom, who retired last month, worked on base for many years, my step-dad still works there, and I am a certified Navy brat! Thank you to Chaney Foote, who brought me to the base library. We had a small but super-fun crowd and I LOVE the castle and knight decorations that Chaney put up! The library was so cute!

6-17-11 An intimate but fun audience at the NAS Belle Chasse Library

I told my draw and tell story, “The Emperor’s Dragon,” from my book, Handmade Tales. Also from my book, I told another draw and tell story, “Catching a Pest in 7 steps.”

6-17-11 The draw and tell story of Catching a Pest in 7 Steps from Dianne's book, Handmade Tales

We got down, we got funky, we even became monkeys! Hilarious!

6-18-11 Monkeys in the audience!

I told the story of “Medio Pollito” with the help of Robin, an energetic boy in my audience. Thanks, Robin!

6-17-11 Tell the story of Medio Pollito

I also told There’s a Dragon in the Library but my camera died so I don’t have any pictures! We had a great time and I loved being at the NAS library!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

6-17-11 Dianne de Las Casas does a draw and tell story called The Emperor's Dragon from her book, Handmade Tales

Friends:

This past Friday, I performed at the St. Bernard Parish Library for the summer reading program. I opened with a gift to Janet Perez, the children’s librarian. I gave her a set of poi balls from my trip to Hawaii. Poi balls are balls at the end of a long yard rope that are twirled in patterns. They are used by the Maori people of Aotearoa (New Zealand), which is part of the Polynesian Triangle. Janet tried her hand at the poi balls and did a great job!

6-17-11 Children's Librarian Janet Perez tries her hand at Maori Poi Balls

I apologize for the quality of the pictures. The backlighting made it hard for my little digital camera to take good pictures. My first story was “The Emperor’s Dragon” from my Handmade Tales book. After I drew the story, I showed them a Chinese dragon marionette that I picked up from my travels to Hawaii.

6-17-11 Dianne shows a Chinese dragon marionette she brought back from Hawaii's Chinatown

The next story I told was another draw and tell story from my Handmade Tales book called “Catching a Pest in 7 Steps.”

6-17-11 Dianne does another draw and tell story, Catching a Pest in 7 Steps, from her book, Handmade Tales

I did a fun traditional song, “My Aunt Came Back” and then told the story of “Medio Pollito,” a tale from Spain in which a half-chick with a full attitude does not listen to his mom. It’s a fun story with lots of audience participation. I ended with my book, There’s a Dragon in the Library.

6-17-11 Performing There's a Dragon in the Library

Dewey the Dragon made an appearance at the end of the story.

6-17-11 Dewey the Dragon from There's a Dragon in the Library makes an appearance

Then special guest, Kid Chef Eliana, came out and rocked the house with her song, Cool Kids Cook!

6-17-11 Kid Chef Eliana rocks her song, Cool Kids Cook

We all had a great time and I love visiting the St. Bernard Parish Library. Thanks so much, Janet!!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne