Leif Nedland Pederson, author of “The Adventures of the Swamp Kids: The Missing
Chord” published by Ally-Gator Bookbites of Lake Charles has written a charming
holiday sequel that delivers a great message titled “Tutu’s Christmas on the
Bayou.”
Tutu
the turtle enjoys his Louisiana Christmas but for once he’d like to see a real
Christmas tree. By the time he drags a Christmas tree from the lot to his home
on the bayou the tree is devoid of needles. Heartbroken, Tutu’s friends make
light of the situation and decorate it nonetheless. The moral of the story is
“Whenever you give those you love something special, you’ll always feel good in
return.”
Pederson
concludes the book with a holiday lagniappe lesson and ways to create holiday
pinecones and popcorn and cranberry garlands. The book is illustrated by Tim
Banfell.
A
young boy awakens in Tonya Bolden’s “Beautiful Moon,” realizing he hasn’t said
his prayers. He quickly falls to his knees beneath a full moon and prays for
the hungry to be fed, the sick to be healed and for wars to end, in addition to
those he loves. What makes this story so exceptional — beautifully illustrated
by Eric Velasquez — is the intertwining of other people’s stories relating to
the child’s prayers, proving that one person’s prayers are universal. Both the
story and illustrations make this a heart-rendering book.
Pelican
Publishing has several new children’s books out in time for the holidays,
including “New Orleans Mother Goose” by Ryan Adam, illustrated by Marita Gentry
and “Macarooned on a Dessert Island,” a fantasy about being marooned in
candyland by the ever imaginative Johnette Downing, illustrated by Christina
Wald. There’s also a couple of holiday tales — “The Great Pirate Christmas Battle” where Santa stops marauding pirates from stealing Christmas toys by
Michael G. Lewis, illustrated by Stan Jaskiel and “My Puppy Gave to Me” by
Cheryl Dannenbring, illustrated by Cynthia Kremsner, a canine take on the “12
Days of Christmas.”
For
more information on these books and to view their covers, check out the
“Louisiana Books” Pinterest board.
Ally-Gator
At
the recent Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge I met Tommie Townsley,
publisher of Ally-Gator Bookbites in Lake Charles. This innovative woman has
not only created a publishing house for her own children’s books, but of those
of several authors. Townsley’s
“Cajun Tales” with illustrations by Anne Dentler involve whimsical animals such
as Adolpheaux the Adventurous Dolphin, Amos the Artistic Alligator and Dixie
the Ole Dawg. Rebecca Stelly writes and illustrates “To the World Above,” centering
around an imaginary deep sea creature named Ruke who sends a message in the
bottle to the surface and receives a reply. The correspondence between the two
educates readers about the deep sea, including science lessons throughout the
book disguised as storyline, a handy glossary in the back and activities. Townsley
is also the chairman of Southwest Louisiana Children’s Book Writers and
Illustrators Guild and a board member for The Children’s Museum of Lake
Charles. For
more information, visit www.ally-gatorbookbites.com.
Meeting authors
Another
author I was privedged to meet at the Louisiana Book Festival was Kendare
Blake, winner of the Louisiana Teen Readers’ Choice Honor Book Award for “Anna Dressed in Blood,” a young adult paranormal mystery in which a teenage ghost
hunter meets his greatest challenge in the ghostly Anna of Thunder Bay, Canada.
Being a ghost lover — and a fan of modern young adult fiction — I nabbed a copy
as well as her latest, “Antigoddess.” Blake smiled sweetly when she handed me
the book and added, “Hope you like it.” I think she secretly doubted a woman my
age would. But I did, couldn’t put it down, even though I always cringe at the
death of teenagers (it’s a mother thing) and am amazed at how many people die
in YA books. Even better, there’s
a Louisiana connection, but I won’t give that away.
On
Nov. 15, I was honored to be a part of the Heart of Louisiana Romance Writers
annual author luncheon, with best-selling author Diana Crosby as the keynote
speaker. Participating authors — and ones you will not want to miss —
included Christa Allen, Nancy and Steve Brandt, Donna Caubarreaux, James Buddy
Estes, Shana Galen, Lori Leger, Trish Leger, Anne Clarye Mason, Shirlee McCoy,
Judy McDonogh, Rhonda McKey, Farrah Rochon, Wendy Russo, Lynn Shurr, T.S. Tate
and Jo Templeton. For more information on these authors and a list of their
books, visit my blog post at http://louisianabooknews.blogspot.com/2014/11/heartla-author-luncheon-celebrates.html.
The
Heart of Louisiana RWA chapter meets at 10 a.m. the fourth Saturday of every
month in Baton Rouge. For more information, visit www.HeartLa.com.
Book news
Authors
Stacey Judice, Kathy Higginbotham and Donna Latiolais will discuss and sign
their new book “Images of America: Carencro” from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday
at the North Regional Library in Carencro.
Carol
Stubbs and Nancy Rust of Lafayette created a delightful combination Louisiana
holiday celebration-cookbook with “A Louisiana Christmas: Heritage Recipes and Hometown Celebrations.” The book sold well for the duo but now that Pelican Publishing
of New Orleans has picked it up, the title will be available everywhere. Don’t
miss this charming blend of Louisiana travel with holiday recipes, perfect for
holiday giving.
I’ll
be signing copies of my latest book, “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Wild Birds Unlimited.
Cheré Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom
Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A
Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding
Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.
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