Halloween Gift Set Available Here Only!

Get into the SPIRIT of Halloween with this spooktacular gift set available here only! Trick or treaters will enjoy listening to age-appropriate Halloween songs and reading two eerie books, both with a Louisiana twist!

“Jumpin’ Jitters, It’s Halloween” is a album for children of 14 slightly spooky, mostly silly traditional and original songs.

Spooky Second Line is a Halloween book set in New Orleans during a jazz funeral. The witch plays the drum, the ghost plays the sousaphone, the cat plays the trombone, and more as the band leads a parade to the cemetery for a joyful celebration. Get out your scarves to punctuate the jazz beat when read aloud!

The Fifolet is an eerie Cajun tale about the legendary ball of light in the swamp (also known as swamp gas). This Jack of Lantern, Will-Of-The-Wisp, story is perfect for campfires, sleepovers, and just plain spine-tingling anytime fun. A gentle lesson about greed, and an author’s note about the myth are included.

Mumbo Jumbo Has a New Cover!

Well, it was time for a reprint of my picture book Mumbo Jumbo, Stay Out of the Gumbo, illustrated by the amazing Jennifer Lindsley, and the publisher and art director (Pelican Publishing) thought it might be fun to give the cover more of a Mardi Gras feel. We also added the subtitle A Cajun Mardi Gras Tale, something I wished I had done before the first printing.

This book represented the State of Louisiana at the National Book Festival in Washington, D. C. in 2017, and Jennifer and I attended the event dressed in our Cajun Mardi Gras attire!

So, tah dah! Here is the new cover! The book is being printed as we speak and should be in stores in time for Mardi Gras season. You can preorder it now, and the books will be shipped when they arrive.

Happy very early Mardi Gras!

Book Trailer for My Parrain Is the Loup Garou!

Here is a little book trailer teaser in advance of the fall 2023 release!!!

Press Copy of My Parrain is the Loup Garou is in!

I received the press copy of my new book My Parrian Is the Loup Garou, and it looks so good! Heather Stanley’s bold illustrations really set the swampy mood for this original Cajun tall tale about a boy and his Godfather as they go on wild adventures together, perhaps too good to be true. Books should be in by mid-September, and will be available in time for my book signings for the book launch as follows:

Saturday, October 7, 2023

• 11:00 AM 12:30 PM

• Blue Cypress Books, 8123 Oak Street, New Orleans, LA, 70118

Saturday, October 14, 2023

11:00 AM 12:30 PM

• Garden District Books, 2727 Prytania Street, New Orleans, LA, 70130

Saturday, October 28, 2023

• Time TBA

• Louisiana Book Festival, State Library of Louisiana, 701 North 4th Street, Baton Rouge, LA, 70802

You can also pre-order copies on my website , through Amazon, or through the two bookstores listed above.

I hope to see you there!

Summer Reading Program 2023 Schedule!

It's Summer Reading Program time, and I will be singing and dancing across Louisiana and Massachusetts. Here is my schedule, and I hope to see you there!

Twenty Bees Video Release!

Twenty Bees by Johnette Downing

During the pandemic, I created nearly a dozen animated music videos of my songs for virtual programs. I used some of them in my virtual programs, but some have never been released. Therefore, I have decided to release them once per month. The first one I released in May was “On the Farm” from my Parents’ Choice Recommended Award winning Wild and Woolly Wiggle Songs album.

This month, I am releasing “Twenty Bees” from my Silver Parents’ Choice Award winning album Boogie Woogie Bugs. I hope you enjoy this counting backwards by 1s, 2s, 4s, 5s, and 10s song. I learned from my friend Patsy Kanter, who developed the Everyday Counts curriculum, that children have difficulty counting backwards. Therefore, I decided to continue my trajectory of counting songs, but this song counts back from twenty, a higher number, not normally used in children’s music.

I illustrated the video with cut-paper collage to create depth, and my husband Scott Billington animated the video. It took dozens of frames to create the bee flying across the page at the end. Also at the end of the video, I include bee fun facts from the Bee Conservancy for educational purposes to help children help bees! I hope you have fun buzzing along!

Follow me on YouTube to get my latest releases!

Jumpin' Jitters is a 2023 Family Choice Award Winner!!!

I just found out that my Jumpin’ Jitters, It’s Halloween album for children is a 2023 Family Choice Award winner! Thank you Family Choice Awards for this amazing honor! Here is the press release!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2023 FAMILY CHOICE AWARD WINNERS

Exceptional products that enrich a family’s lifestyle and create

memorable experiences.

Los Angeles, CA – Family Magazine Group is proud to announce the 28th annual Family Choice

Award Winners! As one the most coveted and family-friendly consumer award programs in the

nation; the Family Choice Awards recognize the finest products and services that enrich the

lifestyles of children and families.

Congratulations!

“Jumpin’ Jitters, It’s Halloween"

is a Winner of a 2023 Family Choice Award!

Here is the link to the winning product:

https://www.familychoiceawards.com/family-choice-awards-winners/jumpin-jitters-its-halloween/

The creativity and extraordinary imagination utilized to develop new products and enhance

existing products for the benefit of consumers, continues to amaze our distinguished judges and

staff. We want to express our gratitude to all the entrants for their sincere commitment in making

a positive impact on families.

The 2023 Family Choice Awards are presented in the following categories: Apparel, Accessories,

Adaptive Products, Apps, Audio Books, Babies and Parenting Products, Bikes and Scooters,

Books, CD’s, Children’s Products, Developmental/Sensory Products, DVD’s, Electronics, Family

Products, Furniture, House-wares and Home Décor, Jewelry, Movies, Music, New Technology,

Speech and Mobility Aids, Toys and Games, Video Games, Pet Products and Websites.

For complete information on each winner please visit www.FamilyChoiceAwards.com.

My Parrain is the Loup Garou Book Cover Reveal!

South Louisiana folktales are as unique as they are colorful and Johnette Downing, with expressive illustrations by Heather Stanley, crafts a tale of the loup garou in a delightful way that children of all ages will enjoy. 

-Cheré Dastugue Coen, Food & travel writer, and author of Exploring Cajun Country

I have a new book coming out this fall with illustrator Heather Stanley through Pelican Publishing, and as promised, I am revealing the cover to you, my subscribers, first! Heather and I have two other books together (Petit Pierre and the Floating Marsh and Mademoiselle Grands Doigts), and in this book, she really captured the boldness and wildness of my Cajun tall tale My Parrain is the Loup Garou.

This familial love story between a child and his godfather is my 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 are sure to make children laugh, and hopefully wildly dream. 

The book will be released in fall 2023, and there are already two events scheduled:

Saturday, October 7 at 11:00-1:00, Blue Cypress Books, 8123 Oak St, New Orleans, LA

Saturday, October 28, Time TBA, Louisiana Book Festival, State Library of Louisiana, downtown Baton Rouge, LA

Pre-order your copy today for a fall 2023 delivery at

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Johnette Downing

Or contact retailers@arcadiapublishing.com