Spring Festivals Bloom!
Spring is nearly here and it’s time to shake a tail feather at upcoming festivals!
Spring Public Concert Dates
• March 2 at 11:00, Concert, New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, Dutch Alley, French Market
• March 11 at TBA - Concert and Book Signing, New Orleans Book Festival, Tulane University
• April 6 at 11:00, Concert, New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, Dutch Alley, French Market
• April 16 at 12:15, Concert, French Quarter Festival, National Park Service Stage, French Quarter, New Orleans
• April 30 at TBA, Concert, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Kids Stage, New Orleans Fairgrounds
May
• May 4 at 11:00, Concert, New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, Dutch Alley, French Market
New Book This Fall!
I am howling with happiness to announce that I have a new picture book coming out this fall titled My Parrain is the Loup Garou! The book is illustrated by Heather Stanley (we have three books together now), and published by Pelican Publishing.
This familial love story between a child and his godfather is my first original Cajun tall tale, and it is peppered with exaggerated colloquial vernacular to create humor and warmth especially when read aloud. Like children on the playground, the child boasts to the reader about his Parrain’s superhuman strength and wolf-like qualities as proof that the godfather is in fact the legendary mythical creature, the Loup Garou. As playmates, the child and the Parrain set out on magical adventures, perhaps too good to be true.
The vivid colors and bold brush strokes in Heather Stanley’s illustrations set a swampy tone and blur the lines between fact and fantasy. This lighthearted twist—to the often dark oral traditions of the Cajun werewolf—is sure to make children laugh and hopefully wildly dream.
Book cover reveal to follow!
Photo: Illustrator Heather Stanley and I sitting on an oil rig exhibit at the Audubon Zoo for some silly reason I am sure.
New Paperback!
My Down in Louisiana book, illustrated by Deborah Ousley Kadair Thomas, is now available in a paperback edition! This “singable” counting book highlights Louisiana animals and their habitats. The song is also available to download in my website digital music Store!
Music News
My Jumpin’ Jitters, It’s Halloween album was released digitally on streaming platforms in October, 2022, and, after several holiday delays, it is now at the manufacturer to be released as a physical CD this spring. The pre-orders will be shipped as soon as they arrive. The album contains fourteen original and traditional slightly spooky, mostly silly holiday songs.
For some reason, I have always been good at finding four leaf clovers. I have dozens of them tucked away in my haiku notebooks because I typically carry a haiku notebook wherever I go. The trick is to look for the odd pattern in the patch, which in this case is the even number four! Four is the odd one out of the many threes. This spring, I hope you take time to enjoy the flowers, sink your toes into the grass, and be grateful that you are here to witness this one beautiful life. - Johnette
“A flower blooms for its own joy.” - Oscar Wilde