My New Book is IN!!!

Hot off the press, my new trickster tale book Why the Crawfish Lives in the Mud is in! I am so thrilled and wanted to let you know ASAP! The book will be launched at Maple Street Book Shop on Maple Street in New Orleans, LA USA on September 26, 2009 from 11:00-12:30. If you can't be there in person for the book release party, pick up your copy on my website and I'll be happy to sign them before they ship. Order your copy today at: http://www.johnettedowning.com/books.html

In the Kitchen with Johnette - Offbeat Magazine Feature Article

Offbeat Magazine - September 2009 Issue

In the Kitchen with Johnette
By Elsa Hahne


I learned to cook from my grandmother who lived in St. Amant, near Gonzales. She was Creole: French, Spanish and Native American, and she was the best cook. The only thing I didn't learn to cook from her was gumbo because she'd always say, "Start with a roux." And I'd say, "What's a roux?" And she'd say, "You know what a roux is! Just start with a roux!" But I didn't. She wasn't patient enough; she would just exasperate.



The first time I made a roux, I got the jar of roux. I still use the jar because I really don't know how to make a roux the way you're supposed to do it. I've made it before, just with flour and oil and onions, but it doesn't come out like her roux so I'm not happy. I always stop too soon because I'm afraid I'm going to burn it.



In Louisiana, music and food go hand in hand. I mean; that's what we're all about: music and food. No surprise that my music, since I'm from Louisiana, a lot of my songs have to do with food. I wrote this song called Today Is Monday in Louisiana. It's based on a traditional song, but I was looking at the ingredients, all the dishes in the traditional song, and they were Monday roast beef, then chicken and string beans, and I said, "I have to do this for Louisiana, we have the best food in the world!" So I did Monday red beans, Tuesday po-boys, Wednesday gumbo, Thursday jambalaya, Friday catfish, Saturday crawfish and Sunday beignets. That song was a really big hit; itís still one of my biggest hits. And because of that song, a lady was in the audience with her son and she came up to me and said, 'Can I illustrate that song and make it into a book?' and that's how the books started. We did My Aunt Came Back from Louisiane and Chef Creole and both have food in them.



I do about 250 shows a year so I travel a lot, but anytime I'm home, I like to cook. I do it as often as possible. I use my Today Is Monday in Louisiana book when I travel, and I travel internationally and use the book as a cultural bridge. I'll sing my version and then, whatever country I'm in, let's say I'm in Oman, we'll do their version. They might have biryani, shish kebab, or whatever foods they have in their culture, and then we'll talk about the foods we have in common. Food is a great way to reach other cultures. Food doesn't have an agenda.



When I give concerts and workshops in other countries, Ií'l say 'What do we have in common?' and usually itís rice. Or fish, depending on where it is. But usually rice, so I say, 'See, children? We're really all just rice. We can be brown rice or jasmine rice or saffron rice; long-grain rice or short-grain rice, but really we're just all rice.' Food is non-threatening, non-political, and itís just a nice way to connect the world, I find.



The funny thing about traveling and being from New Orleans is that wherever I go, I'll eat anything. I went to Morocco and I had camel. I'm not sure I want to eat camel again, but I tried it. It was kind of spongy, almost like tofu, and it's a camel color. People like when you'll try. I'm not a picky eater because I live here. We'll try anything and people appreciate that. It's a way of being accepting and open to new ideas and concepts and traditions and new ways of living, different from your own culture. I've learned that. My grandmother always made hogshead cheese and just the idea of it, 'I'm not eating hogshead cheese.' So I never tried it, but the other night my boyfriend and I went to Cochon and they gave us a complimentary piece of hogshead cheese, so I tried it. And it was so good. All this time, I never tried it! I know my grandmother's, it must have been great because people would come over when they found out she was cooking. I missed the opportunity to try hers."



Johnetteís Sausage Mambo
Johnette enjoys this dish by itself, but you could easily serve it over rice or pasta. Actually, this recipe constitutes half of Johnette's jambalaya recipe as well. The other half is Zatarainís jambalaya mix. "Like they say, donít fix what ainít broke. It works and itís great. Just add an extra handful of plain rice."



1 link Polska Kielbasa sausage (Hillshire Farm)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon Tony Chachereís Creole Seasoning
1 yellow onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 tub sliced mushrooms



Slice sausage into doubloons. Heat oil and Worcestershire sauce in a skillet. SautÈ sausage until deep red in color, adding parsley and Tony Chachereís. Add onion and garlic. When onion becomes translucent, add bell peppers and mushrooms. SautÈ until vegetables are tender.




http://www.offbeat.com/magazine/gravy.php

Home from Vacation

Hey Friends and Fans, I am back home from vacation. I had a wonderfully relaxing five week vacation in the mountains of North Carolina with my boyfriend, and am now gearing up for an exicting and busy school year.

Here's what has been brewing while I was away:

1) My latest book

Why the Crawfish Lives in the Mud

is scheduled to be released this month; hopefully, by September 15.
2) I have several book signings lined up for the new book release.
3) I am nearly finished a new CD titled

Boogie Woogie Bugs.

4) My 2009/2010 school year calendar is quickly filling up.
5) Offbeat Magazine featured me in their September 2009 issue. The feature article by Elsa Hahne is titled "In the Kitchen with Johnette," and it includes a recipe for my Sausage Mambo. Pick up a copy of the magazine while you can still find them.
6) Check out my web site for my Fall Festival schedule.

See you soon!

Tour Dates - August 2009

-Vacation-

For the first time EVER, I am taking the entire month of August off for some much needed rest and relaxation. I plan to recharge my batteries while simultaneously writing and illustrating some new books and finishing the song writing for my new Boogie Woogie Bugs CD. Sooooo, as of today, I am on vacation!!! Yeah!!!

See you in September!

Mailbox - Letters from Fans and Friends

"Thank you so much for your wonderful performances this summer and it was really nice to see you again. The children always enjoy your music and especially your performances. Your books are very popular also, especially after your performances, they stayed checked out! Especially Chef Creole! The girls doing the pyramid at Saline Branch was way too cool and so creative! I am including a photo of the pyramid with this e-mail. Take care and we are really excited that you will be performing again in 2011. Thank you so much Johnette."

Jeanie Basinger
Bienville Parish Library
Saline Branch

Music Monthly - July 2009

Sea Shell Shaker and Tongue Twister

In honor of my Clam Shell Clap song being nominated for the Just Plain Folks Award, I thought I would give you a fun sea shell craft and tongue twister to enjoy this summer.

Sea Shell Shakers
by Johnette Downing
Copyright 2009 Johnette Downing

Materials:

One plastic water bottle with lid
One hand full of sea shells and sand

Instructions:

Place a handful of sea shells mixed with sand in an empty, clean and dry plastic water bottle
Fasten the lid
Shake!
Now try playing the sea shell shaker rhythmically while reciting the following tongue twister:


She Sells Sea Shells Tongue Twister

She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
The shells she sells are surely seashells.
So if she sells shells on the seashore,
I'm sure she sells seashore shells.


Enjoy!

My New MP3 Store is a Hit!

The digital download store on my website has been a huge success which is a sign of the digital times! Download a song or an entire album and take my music wherever you go in your iPod or MP3 player. You can also download the songs that accompany my books Down in Louisiana, My Aunt Came Back from Louisiane, Chef Creole and Today is Monday in Texas. Check it out at: http://johnettedowning.com/digital.html

Grant Parish Library Schedule Changes

The schedule for my performances in Grant Parish, Louisiana has changed to:

July 30 at 10:00 & 3:00, Grant Parish Library, Montgomery & Georgetown, LA
July 31 at 10:00 & 3:00, Grant Parish Library, Dry Prong & Pollock, LA

See you there!

LaSalle Parish Library Schedule Change

I just found out that my schedule for the LaSalle Parish Library today, Friday, July 17, 2009, has changed. I will be in Olla at 10:00 and in Jena at 2:00. 

Hope to see you there!

Mailbox - Letters from Fans and Friends

"We saw you preform Fins & Grins in VA Beach in Dec. 2006 when our son was only 1. You elicited his very first clapping!! The CD is still in #1 position in the cd player. We just listened to it today by request! Hope you get up north again to perform - we'd love to see you! CONGRATS!"

- Stevie



Thanks for sending me this lovely note Stevie! I feel quite honored to have elicited your sons first clapping! Wow! Stay tuned to my schedule because I may be performing in NC/VA very soon!

- Johnette

Praise for My Blog!

This piece was featured in my Publisher's newsletter written by Caitlin Smith.


Featured Blogs:

Johnette Downing: http://johnettedowning.blogspot.com/

Johnette has the most important aspect of a blog covered: she updates regularly! Johnette posts her tour dates, reviews, notes from fans, award information, and any other important news. She also has fun photos posted, links on the side, and an online version of tic-tac-toe (just for fun!). Johnette also has a superb website, which I will feature in a future newsletter.


I have never had praise for my Blog before; that's really cool. Thanks Caitlin and Pelican Publishing. I have nothing but praise for you too!

Tour Dates - July 2009

July 3 from 1:15-3:00, Kids Stage, Mandeville Seafood Festival, Fontainbleu State Park, Mandeville, LA
July 5 from 3:15-5:00, Kids Stage, Mandeville Seafood Festival, Mandeville, LA
July 6, Ripples Camp, New Orleans, LA
July 8 at 10:00 & 2:00, Allen Parish Library, Kinder & Oberlin, LA
July 9 at 10:00, Allen Parish Library, Oakdale, LA
July 13 at 9:30, Castle Tree Camp, New Orleans, LA
July 14 at 10:00 & 1:30, Plaquemines Parish Library, Belle Chasse, LA
July 15 at 10:00, West Feliciana Parish Library, St. Francisville, LA
July 16 at 10:00 & 2:00, Iberia Parish Library, New Iberia & Loreauville, LA
July 17 at 10:00 & 2:00, LaSalle Parish Library, Jena & Olla, LA
July 18 at 3:00, Pal's Ice Cream Shop, Mandeville, LA
July 21 at 10:30 & 2:00, Lafourche Parish Library, Cut Off & Lockport, LA
July 22 at 10:30 & 2:00, Lafourche Parish Library, Thibodaux, LA
July 30, Grant Parish Library, Montgomery & Georgetown, LA
July 31, Grant Parish Library, Dry Prong & Pollock, LA

Just Plain Folks Award Nominations

I just learned from my friend Monty Harper that my Clamshell Clap song has been nominated for Song of the Year and my Fins and Grins CD has been nominated for Album of the Year from the great people at Just Plain Folks. Check out the nominations at

 http://www.justplainfolks.org/default.php?page=awards#

Summer Reading Program Photos

Happy Summer!

Here is a link to some photos taken by the Times Picayune newspaper during my May 26, 2009 performance at the St. Tammany Parish Library in Covington as a Kick-off to the Summer Reading Program 2009!

http://photos.nola.com/gallery/4500/Around%20New%20Orleans,%20Tuesday%20May%2026,%202009

Read, read, read!

Digital Store

Guess what Fans? I now have a digital Store on my website whereby you can download MP3 files of CDs, individual songs and the songs that go with my books! Download my songs into your iPod or MP3 player and take me wherever you go! How cool is that? Check out my MP3 Download Store at:

http://www.johnettedowning.com/digital.html

Tour Dates - June 2009

June 1 at 10:30 & 2:00, Ascension Parish Library, Donaldsonville and Galvez, LA
June 2 at 1:30, Ripples Camp, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
June 3 at 10:00 & 2:00, Iberville Parish Library, Plaquemines and Grosse Tete/Rosedale, LA
June 4 at 10:30 & 2:00, Iberville Parish Library, East Iberville School Band Room and White Castle, LA
June 5 at 10:00, Iberville Parish Library, Bayou Sorrell, LA
June 7 at 9:30, Mary Peyton Miracle Run, Abita Springs Trail Head, Abita Springs, LA
June 8 at 2:00, Terrebonne Parish Library, Houma, LA
June 9 at 2:00, Catahoula Parish Library, Sicily Island, LA
June 10 at 10:00 & 2:00, Catahoula Parish Library, Harrisonburg & Jonesville, LA
June 11 at 10:00 & 2:00, Webster Parish Library, Minden and Springhill, LA
June 17 at 10:00 & 2:00 Natchitoches Parish Library, Natchitoches, LA
June 18 at 2:00, Natchitoches Parish Library, Natchitoches, LA
June 19 at 10:00, St. Bernard Parish Library, Chalmette, LA
June 22 at 9:30, Castle Tree Camp, New Orleans, LA
June 22 at 1:30, Jimmy Club for Girls, St. Rose, LA
June 23 at 10:00 & 2:00, St. James Parish Library, Lutcher and Vacherie, LA
June 24 at 10:00 & 2:00, Winn Parish Library, Winnfield, LA
June 25 at 10:00 & 1:00, Bienville Parish Library, Arcadia & Ringgold, LA
June 26 at 10:00 & 1:00, Bienville Parish Library, Saline & Castor, LA
June 29, Vermillion Parish Library, Delcambre & Kaplan, LA
June 30, Cameron Parish Library, Cameron, LA

Dixieland Jazz For Children CD Reviewed on Punny Bop

Here is a great review that appeared recently on Punny Bop:

We started out with Dixieland Jazz for Children by Johnette Downing and Jimmy LaRocca's Original Dixieland Jazz Band. You can buy it on CD or for just $9 in MP3 format - Amazon's MP3 page for the album has samples of every song. Z's favorite song on this CD by far is the first one, "Dixieland Jazz' - "Dixieland Jazz, Dixieland Jazz the best jazz in the land..." - the song then goes on to introduce all the different instruments in the standard Dixieland Jazz band. Other favorite songs from the album include "Throw Me Something Mister" - all about getting some beads and doubloons from a float in a Mardi Gras parade (I can't wait to take Z to a proper Mardi Gras parade), "I've Got Happy Feet" - which for some reason reminds me of that famous New Orleans con where the con bets the mark that he can tell you where you got your shoes. (The answer plays on the New Orleans' substitution of "you've" with "you," and it's whatever street you're standing on - if you're on Decatur, for example, it's "you got your shoes on Decatur right now.") But the song is really about dancing your way through New Orleans.


http://www.punnybop.com/

Mailbox - Letters from Friends and Fans

Hi Johnette,

My name is Angie C. I am a 3rd grade teacher at Zachary Elementary School. We enjoyed your visit so much. I purchased some of your books (two that I didn't have already) and couldn't wait to try them out with my 3rd graders. Yes, I said 3rd graders. Even 9 year olds LOVE them. During iLEAP testing (standardized state testing) week, we try to create a relaxed and non stressful environment. This is where your books came in. We first read My Aunt Came Back. I gave the kids Louisiana cut outs, and I printed pictures of the different gifts that "my aunt" brought back. When I got to each city, students had to paste the gift in the location of that city on the LA cutout. They loved it! We extended it to include what their aunt would bring back if she visited Zachary.

We also read Chef Creole and created him. What's so amazing about this is that I let the students have free range to create him. We did not use templates. So, although each one looks almost the same, there are no two chefs alike in my room. The students worked hard, and loved creating him.

I have enclosed pictures of our work that I've put on display on a bulletin board in my classroom. Just like the title of the board says, you truly did inspire us!

Thank you,
Angie C
3rd grade teacher
Zachary Elementary School

Tour Dates - May 2009

May 2 at 11:00, Book Signing, Book Tent, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Fairgrounds, New Orleans, LA
May 2 at 12:45, Concert, Kids Tent, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Fairgrounds, New Orleans, LA
May 3, at 2:45 & 4:45, Children's Tent, Fest For All, Downtown Baton Rouge, LA
May 9 at 10:00, Concert, APPLE Parent Conference, Metairie, LA
May 11-15, Banners Series School Tour, Lake Charles, LA
May 16 at 10:00, Concert, Central Library, Lake Charles, LA
May 23 from 9:30-11:30, Book Signing, Sams Club, Harvey, LA
May 23 from 1:30-3:30, Book Signing, Sams Club, Metairie, LA
May 26 at 1:30, Covington Branch Library, Covington, LA
May 27 at 10:00, Causeway Branch Library, Covington, LA
May 28 at 1:30, Slidell Branch Library, Slidell, LA

Mailbox - Letters from Friends and Fans

"Yesterday I took Elise to the library to see Johnette Downing, a children's author and musician. She writes the most wonderful childrens books and we got her to sign our copy of Chef Creole. She played guitar and sang for the children and everyone danced and sang along. Elise loved it!"

-Leatherman Baby Blog

Mailbox - Letters from Friends and Fans

"My 6 year old was just slurping cereal singing…today is Monday, today is Monday…and I thought about you!"

Cheers!

LeAnne, parent, Mandeville, LA

Reader Views: By Kids for Kids

This review appeared in Reader Views: By Kids for Kids

Reviewed by Grayce Richardson (age 5) for Reader Views (4/09): 

“Chef Creole is a cook man. Oooh, boudin! I liked his nose. I want some of those ingredients and I 

liked it when they said his name is Chef Creole, Creole, Creole. I think I would add to this book 

pickles for his cheeks. He’s missing ears.” 

Parent’s Note: 

Grayce really enjoyed the repetition in this book and the idea of ingredients making the Chef’s face. 

It’s nicely written with a New Orlean’s flavor and feel. At the end, I might suggest adding a recipe 

from the Chef’s kitchen that a child could make. Overall, “Chef Creole” by Johnette Downing is a 

fun book and one Grayce likes to read.

Just One

Here is another cute thing a child said to me that I just had to share with you. I had a reading and book signing for my Chef Creole book last night at the Barnes & Noble in Harvey, LA. Since my books are songs, I sang the book. During the song, there was a little three year old boy in the front row dancing up a storm. After the reading/singing, I signed books. After patiently standing in line for quite some time, the three year old dancer made it to my table. I commented on this fabulous dancing and he just blushed. His parents had purchased one of my books and he gave it to me to sign. I asked the little boy, "Can you spell your name for me?" He proceeded to spell his name very slowly like a three year old would; L......a........n........d........o..........n.  I patiently waited for him to spell his name and I wrote each letter down as he recited it to me. I then said, "So, I am going to write To Landon." Landon immediately corrected me, "No, I'm just one." 

Appetite for Culture: Food as Identity

Check out this feature about yours truly in Louisiana Cultural Vistas!


Appetite for Culture: Food as Identity
Editor's Column from Louisiana Cultural Vistas, Spring 2009
http://www.leh.org/editorials/appetite_culture.html


Here in Louisiana while our cultural identity is characterized by our uniqueness, we inevitably begin to take it for granted and develop contempt for the familiar, sometimes to the point of succumbing to alien cultural influences, in other words Americanization. One of the most distinct markers of culture is cuisine, and with good reason Louisiana cuisine is widely bruited as the best and most distinctive in the country. Yet, with so extraordinary a cuisine native to our own state and family traditions (81 percent of Louisiana residents were born here), how does one account for the proliferation of McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Shoney’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and other such American atrocities to good taste, which far outnumber the local gastronomic options?It wasn’t until my friend, the children’s musician and author Johnette Downing, was contracted to expand her book about Louisiana cuisine, Today is Monday in Louisiana, into a series featuring other states such as New York, North Carolina, and Texas that I fully realized how sadly limited are the rest of the states in having distinctly defined foods. Johnette’s book, written for children, is structured simply around assigning a distinctive food for each of the days of a week, commencing with the classic red beans and rice for Monday. For Louisiana, finding seven distinctive dishes is literally child’s play, because there is such a plethora of options that could be only specific to Louisiana and no other state. By way of illustration, here is a quick two dozen: jambalaya, blackened redfish, beignets, shrimp creole, crawfish pie, red beans and rice, chicory coffee, chicken etouffee, fried softshell crabs, ersters Rockefeller, ersters Bienville, pralines, roux, gumbo, crawfish bisque, barbeque shrimp, corn maque choux, calas, redfish courtbouillon, cochon de lait, boudin, alligator sausage, andouille, and tasso. Once one gets momentum, even more start to tumble from memory of great meals and common foods: po’boys, dirty rice, bananas foster, creole tomatoes, satsumas, Natchitoches meat pies, king cake, turtle soup, Tabasco sauce, alligator sauce piquant, café au lait, cracklins, creole cream cheese, mirlitons, not to mention all the inventive variations on a theme: crawfish etouffee, crawfish sacks, fried crawfish ... a week would hardly be enough to encompass a catalogue; we would need a month.

Identity Crisis
Trying to employ the same principle of selection — i.e. a food that was not only widely consumed in a particular state, but could not equally be claimed by another state — leads to an exercise in futility for any other state, even ones such as New York or North Carolina which are more populous and longer-settled. For New York, for example, a few items come quickly to mind: bagels, NY cheesecake, Manhattan clam chowder, pastrami, buffalo chicken wings, Long Island duckling (apparently now all raised in the Midwest as suburbia chewed up the chicken farms), but the list of dishes unique to New York quickly comes up short. The state fruit, the apple, is hardly unique to New York, any more than is wine or cheddar cheese, and while there is some debate as to the origin of pizza (Trenton, New Haven, and Chicago all seem to have competing claims), it is now so ubiquitous that the connection to New York seems tenuous at best. One could make a case for an occasional esoteric item such as “beef on weck” a roast beef on a caraway roll (kummelweck) sandwich unique to Buffalo, but virtually unheard of in the rest of the state. One consultant in all seriousness actually suggested Chinese take-out as an option, which only serves to illustrate the point about how limited is cuisine as a definer of culture in the five boroughs.

Regional versus Local
North Carolina serves as an interesting case of how regional influences supercede local identity. Surveying locals as to regional dishes one learned of a few truly esoteric dishes, some with good reason, such as “liver mush” — a concoction of pig’s liver and cornmeal highly touted in the town of Shelby. While there are a few other foods or culinary traditions that might be distinctive to the state, such as the scuppernong grape, and the Sunday “pig pickin’”, most of its other claims actually originate in other states: Brunswick stew, which hails from Virginia, and shrimp and grits, which originates in South Carolina. Of its other most common food markers — barbeque ribs, fried chicken, and pecan pie — all are clearly regional dishes common to virtually every southern state and not unique to North Carolina, any more than was the suggestion of one informant who proposed spaghetti and meat balls for the state’s list.The evidence of regional and nationalizing influence on cuisine and its encroachment on our own communities should both give us pause, and spur us to cherish even more fiercely our distinctive cuisine and its centrality in defining who we are. Louisiana may not lead the nation in many markers of civilization, but in cuisine we stand unchallenged.

—Michael Sartisky, Editor-In-Chief

Mailbox - Letters from Friends and Fans

Just wanted to say that your last concert for TNT was your best! The children are still talking about you! Thanks again so much for the wonderful night. You are so very talented and your gift is truly making children happy!

-Leslie Domingues, Tots N Tunes, Northlake Academy of Music, Mandeville, LA
http://www.totsntunes.net/