Today’s featured children’s story is called Pink Hair, written by Gypsy Damaris Boston of Shreveport (and Ida). Her daughter, Janet Damaris Boston, also from Shreveport, is narrating this story. Pink Hair is a the true account of what happened to Janet as a little girl!
Janet gets herself into a delightful predicament when her hair turns pink! But her delight turns to dismay when some grown ups laugh at her.
Why do people think it is funny if you are different and don’t look like everyone else?
This week’s Confetti Park Storytime feature is Ew! The Shabby Sheep, a terrifically fun story in rhyming verse, delightfully narrated by author Scott Lemonier.
In a town on a farm not far away,
There lived a sheep who loved to play.
Now, this sheep was odd, and quite smelly, too.
And because of all this, she was simply called Ew.
Poor Ew cannot find any friends. Is she just too shabby?
Scott is a veteran journalist of 26 years with the Times-Picayune, a teacher, and an accomplished children’s book author and illustrator. (And he is a talented vocal artist!) His freelance credits include illustrating and editing a variety of children’s picture books via Ally-Gator BookBites, a Lake Charles publishing services company.
Scott lives in a community on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana.
In this episode of Confetti Park, Johnette Downing narrates her wonderful trickster tale, Why the Crawfish Lives in the Mud.
Long ago, the Crab and the Crawfish used to be best friends. But one sweltering day, Crawfish is feeling lazy and decides to take advantage of Crab’s generosity. Young readers will enjoy the colorful collage art while they learn a lesson about the consequences of tricking other people.
This narration, which is available on Johnette’s Reading Rocks CD, is for sale as a book and available from Pelican Publishing on Amazon.com and from Johnette’s website. There is also a fun activity book associated with this story!
Johnette Downing is an award-winning and internationally recognized singer and songwriter. Her many accolades include Parents’ Choice Awards, iParenting Media Awards, and National Parenting Publication Awards. She is a favorite guest and contributor to Confetti Park!
Charlie is hungry. He simply can’t wait. What will his dear mother put on his plate? Charlie picks up his fork and stops in midair. Oh, no! On his plate! What is THAT sitting there?”
Lousy Liver is an award-winning, deliciously whimsical tale that follows the imagination of a young boy as he devises one wild plan after another to help him avoid the “lousy liver” being served for dinner. Soon, Charlie discovers that something different isn’t always something bad. Buy on Amazon.com
This cute story is narrated by the author, Melinda Taliancich Falgoust, of New Orleans. In addition to being a published author of several books for kids and adults, Melinda is a mom, a Navy veteran, a teacher of drama to young children, and an actor who performs on stage and screen. Learn more about her work on her website.
Award-winning Louisiana children’s musician and author Johnette Downing shares with Confetti Park another marvelous trickster tale—this time about a possum! (Also listen to Why the Oyster Has the Pearl.)
When hungry Deer asks Possum how he stays so plump during the long dry season, the sly marsupial gets an idea. It wouldn’t take much for Possum to help Deer; he could just climb that ol’ persimmon tree and knock down the fruit. But Possum is just plain lazy and he’d rather trick Deer into doing the work for both of them. Once Possum decides to take advantage of his starving neighbor they both become marked forever.
This narration of Why the Possum has a Large Grin is available on Johnette Downing’s Reading Rocks CD, and in book form by Pelican Publishing. It is also available for purchase on Amazon.
Audio used by permission.
In this episode of Confetti Park, New Orleans-based children’s author Alex McConduit narrates his adorable story Snoballs for All.
The best part of a hot, humid New Orleans summer is slurping up a big, round, icy-cold, brightly-colored snoball. That’s exactly what Paul wants to do, but he can’t find the snoball festival! He searches all through the city for just one snoball (although two would be better, and three would be best). Where will Paul find snoballs for all?
Snoballs for All is a perfect gift for any Southern kid. We all understand the need for an icy snoball on a hot summer day! Kids from the Confetti Park Players provide the chorus in this narration.
Snoballs for All was illustrated by Paulina Ganucheau. It is available through Pelican Publishing and for sale on Amazon.
Alex is the owner of Big Boot Books and founder of W.R.I.T.E., a youth publishing program that transforms students in New Orleans into published authors.
This week’s featured story is The Pea in Peanut Butter by Allyn Stotz of Baton Rouge.
The Pea in Peanut Butter is the story of little Kailee, who absolutely loves peanut butter and resists other healthful foods. But a bedtime snack turns into a dance party with all of the foods in the kitchen pantry when they come to life. This story teaches young children about the various healthy foods hiding in the pantry.
The book was illustrated by Valerie Bouthyette and was published by FutureWord Publishing. The Pea in Peanut Butter is for sale on Amazon.
Allyn maintains a blog at http://www.allynstotz.blogspot.com/
In this episode of Confetti Park, children’s author Tommie Townsley of Lake Charles, Louisiana narrates the story of Amos the Artistic Alligator.
Set in the Atchafalaya swamp, this is the tale of how Amos the alligator tries to outsmart old Mr. Homer, a Cajun trapper, who is looking for the perfect alligator to be placed in the zoo. But Amos and his friends create something that most alligators would never think of, and the surprise adds a cute twist to the story.
Tommie Townsley was born in Sulphur, Louisiana and now lives in Lake Charles. She is Cajun and has written numerous children’s books about Cajun life, many of them about animals.
This narration of Amos the Artistic Alligator is shared here with permission from Tommie Townsley. The book, illustrated by Anne Dentler, is available for purchase on Amazon and at http://kidscajuntales.com/
Tommie is the chairperson of the Southwest Louisiana Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Guild and publisher of Ally-Gator BookBites Publishing House in Lake Charles. Learn about Tommie Townsley and check out her books at http://kidscajuntales.com/
Award-winning Louisiana children’s musician and author Johnette Downing shares with Confetti Park this marvelous trickster tale about generosity.
A long time ago, the Oyster was not only generous and kind; he was also the keeper of all the gems in the world. Whenever any type of creature would come to him in need, the Oyster would share his jewels without hesitation. One day, a very greedy snake hatches a plan to shift the balance of wealth in the sea. But he’s in for a surprise when he tests the limits of the Oyster’s generosity.
This narration is available on her Reading Rocks CD, and in book form by Pelican Publishing.
Audio used by permission.
New Orleans author David Eugene Ray narrates his adorable story The Little Mouse Santi, which received a Kirkus star.
The little mouse Santi may be small, but he has a big dream. This beautifully illustrated story explores one of the most important aspects of a child’s life, the search for identity. Santi wants to be a cat, and even though all the other mice laugh at him, he follows his dream. This timeless story ends with a whimsical twist: Santi learns a valuable lesson about self-determination and also learns he is not the only dreamer!
The gentle and lovely illustrations in The Little Mouse Santi, by Santiago Germano, are not to be missed! Order the book at https://confettipark.com/santi/ or at Amazon.
BONUS: This podcast concludes with a song called “Dream Big, Little Santi” composed by David Ray and Katy Hobgood Ray.
In a beautiful park in Louisiana, a wonderful old oak tree grows sideways. While the other magnificent oak trees rise out of the earth straight, tall, and proud, this one very special oak tree twists and turns out of the earth, parallel to the ground.
What happens? The little children flock to her…. she provides them with a magical haven in the sky.
In this episode of Confetti Park, New Orleans children’s author Tiger R.R. Chaplain tells us the story of how The Sideways Oak came to be.
Tiger Chaplain is the author of several children’s books, including Tristan and the Wise Little Dragon. Connect with Tiger on Facebook.
This episode of Confetti Park features the children’s story Thorn in My Horn, by Alex McConduit of New Orleans, La.
Thorn in My Horn is a book about a young musician in New Orleans who LOVES to play his horn. His mother, on the other hand, cannot stand to hear the noise! She’s a thorn in his horn! This fun rhyming book includes illustrations by Darrell Rollo that showcase the French Quarter, Jackson Square and other iconic places in The Big Easy.
Thorn in My Horn was written by Alex McConduit and published by Big Boot Books. Learn morn about Alex and his books at http://bigbootbooks.com/about/
Confetti Park is a radio show out of New Orleans, featuring children’s and kids books narrated by the author. The Confetti Park hosted by Katy Hobgood Ray, features music and stories spun in Louisiana. It showcases songs that kids love, songs created for kids, and songs created by kids. Sparkling interviews, in-studio performances, delightful music medleys, jokes, local author storytime, and a little surprise lagniappe make for an entertaining show!
