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

4-17-10 Performing How Funky Is Your Chicken at the Zachary Area Reading Council Conference

Friends:

On Saturday, I was the keynote speaker for the Zachary Area Reading Council (ZARC) in Zachary, Louisiana. They are a chapter of the International Reading Association. I spoke and gave two break-out sessions, “Handmade Tales,” and “Story Fest.”

In my “Handmade Tales” workshop, I taught the teachers several make and take tales that they could integrate into their lesson plans and teach the students. They did cut and tell tales, draw and tell tales, fold and tell tales, and I even showed them a little bit of Tangram Tales.

4-17-10 ZARC Handmade Tales workshop participants create a snow blizzard with coffee filter snowflakes

They loved making Bandana Man and I surprised them by giving them the bandanas to keep.

4-17-10 ZARC Handmade Tales workshop participants make Bandana Man

My second session was “Story Fest: Reading Comprehension through Story Theater.” They did individual, partner and group role playing warm-up exercises. Boy, did they stretch their imaginations and have fun!

4-17-10 ZARC Story Fest workshop participants portray a woman walking her dog in central park

It was fun seeing them move through the task progression into group work.

4-17-10 ZARC Teachers in Story Fest workshop portray a football player kicking a ball through the field goal posts

The culminating activity of the workshop was the creation and performance of a group story theater: “The Turtle Who Would Not Stop Talking.”

It was a great day and I enjoyed working with all those wonderful teachers. Thank you Michelle Cardonella for driving all the way from the North Shore to see me! Thank you to Heather Stone for coordinating the event and my schedule. And a special thank you to Holly Stone-Barker for housing me and arranging a book signing at Jack and Jill that afternoon in Zachary, Louisiana.

Up next: an author visit to Zachary Elementary on Monday, April 19, 2010.

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

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

3-20-10 Dianne dances with roaches in Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach

Friends:

On Saturday, Marita Gentry and I had a performance and book signing event at Cherry Books in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Before our show, we were interviewed by Woody Falgoust, owner of Cherry Books and TV Host of the show, Books on the Bayou. Woody was so warm and welcoming. He was a great host and made both Marita and I feel at ease, talking to us about our children’s book collaborations. When the TV segment is ready, we’ll let you know!

3-20-10 Marita illustrates Monsieur Roach pretending to be sick

Marita and I performed Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, a New Orleans folktale about why chickens and roaches are no longer friends. Marita illustrated while I told the story with tons of audience participation. We had a great crowd and I pulled several children from the audience to be “roaches” in the story.

3-20-10 Dianne and Marita perform together

Marita is so good drawing live and her illustrations are so cute. It’s a great example of how a story comes to life through pictures. She is at ease at the easel, drawing wicked fast to the amazement of the audience!

Afterward, we gave away Marita’s drawings to all the children in the audience. We also gave out posters, bookmarks, and postcards.

3-20-10 Dianne gives away Marita's drawings

Of course, we signed books too and took pictures with our little fans and friends. I love the people in Thibodaux. They are so sweet!

3-20-10 Dianne and Marita with fans at Cherry Books in Thibodaux

We had a great time at Cherry Books. Thank you to Woody and Susie Falgoust for being such big fans of our work! And thank you to Phyllis, their hardworking manager. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

3-12-10 Performing at the Kansas City Plaza Library

Friends:

After a very long, harrowing day of missed connections due to Continental Airline “maintenance” issues, I arrived in Kansas City safe and sound. My hostess, Children’s Book Author Christine Taylor-Butler, picked me up from the airport and brought me to my hotel in the Plaza area of Kansas City. I had time to freshen up, just in time to make it to the library for my storytelling concert and book signing.

It was so much fun! I began with The Cajun Cornbread Boy and then brought children on stage to be “roaches” for my story, Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach. They danced and had a blast.

3-12-10 Performing Madame Poulet with children as little roaches on stage

I even had special people in attendance! My editor from ABC-Clio Libraries Unlimited, Sharon Coatney; her daughter, Rache; and her grandson, Will. My friend and fellow storyteller, Joyce Slater, also came to the show! Thank you so much!!

I finished with a spooky favorite, “The Ghost of Mabel Gable.” The kids and grown-ups loved it. It has such a funny ending. After the show, I signed books, posters, and bookmarks. I had the sweetest fans!

3-12-10 Signing books and posters after the show

Special thanks to Christine Taylor-Butler for coordinating the event, to April from the Kansas City Plaza Library for hosting the event, to the AV and security staff of the library, and to Sherry, the CRM of the local Barnes & Noble, who handled book sales. I appreciate the opportunity to perform in such a beautiful space in such a fabulous library!

3-12-10 Inside a circle of books at the Kansas City Plaza Library

3-11-10 Author Dianne de Las Casas, Author Johnette Downing & Illustrator Holly Stone-Barker

Friends:

On Thursday, March 11, 2010, I was at the Louisiana Library Association Conference signing books for my publisher, Pelican Publishing Company. First, I signed The Cajun Cornbread Boy and Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach with Illustrator Marita Gentry.

3-11-10 Signing at LLA with Marita Gentry

Then I signed Mama’s Bayou with Illustrator Holly Stone-Barker.

3-11-10 Signing at LLA with Holly Stone-Barker

I was even lucky enough to hang out with my best friend, children’s musician and author, Johnette Downing. It was a terrific day! Thank you to Caitlin Smith of Pelican Publishing for doing such a marvelous job coordinating it all!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

3-5-10 Dianne teaches the hand motions to Mama's Bayou

Friends:

On Friday, Holly Stone-Barker (illustrator of Mama’s Bayou) and I had a BIG BASH book event to launch our new children’s picture book, Mama’s Bayou. The children’s section of Barnes & Noble was PACKED! Even Marita Gentry, the illustrator of my other children’s books (The Cajun Cornbread Boy and Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach) attended.

3-5-10 Barnes & Noble children's section is packed with fans!

I sang the story with audience participation while Holly guided the children and helped them place their magnets on the giant magnet board. Then Holly demonstrated her cut paper and collage technique, creating a dragonfly.

3-5-10 Holly demonstrates cut paper and collage, creating a dragonfly

Afterwards, we gave away TONS of prizes – the dragonfly art Holly created, book bags, stuffed gators, a cookie sheet magnet board, and a plush mama and baby frog that was the grand prize. Finally, it was time to sign books. Holly and I were busy the whole time, meeting, greeting and signing.

3-5-10 There is a long line waiting for autographs

We signed so many books that we sold out. There was not a single copy of Mama’s Bayou left on the shelves!

3-5-10 Dianne & Holly sign books and sell out!

It was a fabulous event. Barnes & Noble invited us to do another book signing in the summer! Thank you to our wonderful family, friends, and fans who came to see us and support us! A special thank you to Abby Hannie, Community Relations Manager of Barnes & Noble Citiplace in Baton Rouge and all the helpful staff at the store. You rock the bayou!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne