Wednesday, June 29, 2011

ALA + Nola










New Orleans!

My first introduction to the fabulous city rich with all sorts of mixes.

The Creole people are a combo of Spanish, French and African American– creating divine cuisine (definitely not easy on the hips!). Sean and I indulged in a mix of delicious rich fried foods and fine dining, including beignets, cafe au lait, creamy pralines, seafood, oysters and bananas flambe.

We attempted a mix of ALA (convention floor walking, signings & cocktail parties) with touring the city. We saw some of the Katrina ravaged neighborhoods (a mix of sadness and, to my surprise, hope– in the rebuilding efforts), and funky areas like the French Quarter and the Merigny. Way too much for just 4 days!

These pictures show Sean and I together with colleagues in the picture book world from all over; An incredible gumbo of artists and writers converged at the end of June in The Big Easy.

(Top - bottom: random art in the French Quarter, Sean signing at S&S, Sean changing the guard to Brian Floca, Sean & Selina with Yugi Morales & Maya Soetoro-Ng, Selina with Rebecca Sherman & Grace Lin, beignets, Sean with Wilder recipient Tomie dePaola, Sean with Caldecott honor recipient David Ezra Stein & family, Selina with Newbery honor recipient Jennifer L. Holm.)