Every year when the leaves start to fall, I visit my Grandpa and we have a ball.
With snoballs, streetcars, beignets, and the Dome, New Orleans is a place he is proud to call home.
So begins this adorable love letter to New Orleans, as told through the eyes of a child who is visiting her grandfather.
Many of the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and wonderful attractions of the city are featured in this aural tour of New Orleans. From the Audubon Zoo to City Park, from the Mississippi River to the Lake Pontchartrain, Patricia Reece of Slidell, Louisiana gathers up the aspects of New Orleans that she has learned to cherish through a loving, nurturing relationship (and friendship) with her grandpa.
For Patricia and her grandfather, nothing can beat Gumbo, Fried Cheese, the Saints and Drew Brees.
From the swamps of the Atchafalaya Basin comes The Ghost Tree, a tale so terrifying that children will never forget its warning, and will never look at oak trees the same.
The story of three brothers who defy their parents on All Hallow’s Eve was written by musician Yvette Landry of Breaux Bridge. We are so delighted that Yvette narrated her spooky story for Confetti Park! It is a winner of the 2015 Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Award.
The story begins in her ancestral home, the small, somewhat isolated community of Isle Labbé, and ends in the swamps of the Atchafalaya Basin. Her grandfather tells her of an ancient Native American legend: A cursed tree that comes to life every Halloween. Unlucky travelers who stumble across the tree on that fateful night are never seen again. He would know after all, he’s the only one ever to survive an encounter with … The Ghost Tree.
From her website: Yvette Landry grew up in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, not far from the levees of the Atchafalaya Basin, North America’s largest swampland. It was in and around that swamp where she learned to hunt, fish, ride horses, dance, understand French, and tell stories.
After earning a master’s degree in education and developing a successful teaching career, she began telling stories through song. The songs were a hit, and so was Yvette. Playing a variety of instruments in several Cajun bands, Yvette also fronts her own band.
Her debut award-winning album titled “Should Have Known” was released in 2010. Over the past several years, Yvette has traveled the world and played countless cultural festivals from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival to the GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance in New York. She toured Russia and served as a Cultural Ambassador on behalf of the Library of Congress to perform at the Festival of Traditional American Music.
Learn more about Yvette Landry’s music and stories and her marvelous career on her website, http://yvettelandry.com/.
In this edition of Confetti Park, we have a very special reading by Louisiana children’s author Johnette Downing. This is a narration of her new book, The Fifolet.
The fifolet (or feufollet) is a very spooky Louisiana legend that appears frequently in Cajun and Houmas Indian folklore. The say that the fifolet are swamp spirits making lights deep in the swamps…… Great big eerie balls of light, that seem to float above the water, and beckon the watcher to follow! Interestingly, this kind of legend appears not just Louisiana culture, but around the world. (Ever heard of the will o’ the wisps in Europe or ghost lights in Japan?)
Different explanations blame supernatural spirits, or mischievous elves and fairies, or even the lost souls of pirates guarding lost treasures in the swamp. And some people say it’s nothing but phosphorescent swamp gas making the blue fire.
In her book, which was illustrated by Jennifer Lindsley, Johnette Downing tells about the fifolet through the experience of fisherman Jean-Paul Pierre, who has his heart set on finding the fifolet’s buried treasure.
“Through cypress trees and beards of moss, there is a fire spirit that you never want to cross. It will tease you and coax you and draw you near, but all the Cajuns know that you better beware.”
Worth noting is that the music to this story was also written and performed by Johnette. The music is actually from a song about another swamp creature known in Louisiana: the loup garoup, featured on her CD From the Gumbo Pot.
Hey Saints fans! Football season is here! And we have a very special book to celebrate.
In this episode of Confetti Park, Alexander Brian McConduit narrates his original story, The Little WHO DAT Who Didn’t, which is all about one little boy’s love/hate relationship with his favorite team.
The book takes you through the Saints’ amazing Superbowl season and tries to put into words what THAT season was like through the eyes of Buddy.
All of the characters are named after Saints players & figures, pre & post. Follow Buddy, his family, friends & the city of New Orleans as we relive one of the most memorable times the citizens of New Orleans have ever seen.
The story is scored with accompaniment by the Confetti Park Players, a kids chorus based in Algiers.
Thank you Alex for reading The Little WHO DAT Who Didn’t for Confetti Park! What an emotional rollercoaster that season was—and so is this book!
T-Boy was just a Louisiana kid. One with a terrible turtle that ran away! Oh yes, he did… but exactly where did that pet run off to?
Mel LeCompte, Jr. narrates his original story, T-Boy and the Terrible Turtle, a delightful adventure that doubles as a fun geography lesson of the Bayou State, for Confetti Park!
In T-Boy and the Terrible Turtle, Mel keeps track of T-Boy as he searches along the state looking for clues of where his darn pet turtle went! North, south, east, and west our protagonist travels, looking for the runaway reptile in Louisiana’s largest of cities and smallest of towns, gathering interesting tidbits about the places he visits along the way.
Mel, who lives in Westwego today, has traveled all over Louisiana, and spent many years living in Natchitoches and Prairie Ronde. Mel is an award-winning journalist/ editorial cartoonist (Associated Press/ Louisiana Press Association), children’s entertainer, and social studies educator. He has written several other books, including another children’s book called The Ice Cream Cow, a bedtime reader for little ones.
Kiko and Kevin, illustrated by Marguerite S. Hardy
Debbie Hardy LaGrange of Arnaudville, La., narrates this original trilogy about the adventures of a Louisiana dog named Kiko.
Told in playful rhyme, this is a story that delivers the tough message that life isn’t always a perfect picnic. But, with a little help from our friends, we can abide! The messengers are Kiko, a black lab, and her friend Kevin, a precocious eight-year-old who is obsessed with costume changes.
Kiko in the Country
Kiko in the City
Kiko Gets Her Cake
Debbie Hardy LaGrange is a native of Arnaudville, and says she writes for the pure joy of it! These stories are based on the real life adventures of her friend Kevin, an artist who lives in New Orleans today.
Kiko sees a streetcar, illustrated by Marguerite S. Hardy
Far across the great wide world, where the sun melts into liquid gold, great Buddhas smile in their fancy temples and towering skyscrapers brush the clouds. And in a tiny house in a tiny town lives a tiny girl who dreams of doing something BIG!
Thank you to Melinda Taliancich Falgoust of New Orleans, La. for your wonderful narration of this very powerful story, Footprints, for Confetti Park!
Footprints is an environmental picture book that crosses cultural boundaries and invites readers to follow in young Aiko’s footprints as she journeys through the Japanese countryside and discovers the universal concept that the biggest difference can be made by the smallest hands…or feet! Readers who love Shelley Meyer’s “Where the Buttercups Grow’ and “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss will delight in making “Footprints” part of their personal library.
The Little Red Hen, illustrated by Florence White Williams.
Millie Calais Darby, of Cecilia, La., sings for Confetti Park Storytime!
She shares with us her beautiful rendition of The Little Red Hen, an old folk tale known by children of countless generations. It’s a sweet moral tale about what happens when you don’t step up to hard work and help your friends in need.
When the little red hen finds a grain of wheat, she gives her barnyard friends many opportunities to help her plant, thresh, mill, and bake it into bread. But they won’t help her. Of course, they want to eat the delicious bread when it’s all baked up into warm goodness!
Meet Kyser, a dog who loves to sing! Author Tommie Townsley of Lake Charles, La., narrates this fun tale written in rhyme, inspired by her own dear pet. Apparently, the real-life Kyser really can sing!
The picture book is available through Tommie’s company, Kid’s Kajun Tales and Ally-Gator Book Bites. Written for 3-6 year olds, it is written in rhyme and rhythm.
Kyser says, “Sing along with me, and you will see, it is so much fun, and when you are done—YOU CAN READ!”
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.
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.
So begins this adorable love letter to New Orleans, as told through the eyes of a child who is visiting her grandfather.
