Artist Biography
 Johnette
Downing is a multi-award winning musician and author presenting concerts and
author visits for children, and keynotes and workshops for educators globally.
Dedicated to cultural exchanges and fostering literacy through her music and
books, Johnette has performed in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Central America,
North America and the Caribbean. Johnette's presentations celebrate childhood
and speak to a child's interests in an engaging, interactive, thought-provoking,
educational, entertaining and culturally respectful way; earning her a reputation
for being the "Musical Ambassador to Children."
Downing's has garnered multiple awards including six Parents' Choice
Awards, four iParenting Media Awards, two Parent's Guide To
Children's Media Awards, four National Parenting Publications Awards, a
Family Choice Award, a Family Review Center Award, an
Imagination Award and a Haiku International Association Honorable
Mention Award. Her work has received rave reviews on Grammy.com and in
Nick Jr. Magazine, Family Fun Magazine, Parenting Magazine,
Parent's Magazine, Publisher's Weekly, American Library Association's
Booklist, School Library Journal, Washington Post, Early Childhood
News, Cookie Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily News,
New Orleans Magazine and Big Apple Parent to name a few. Further, she was
selected as one of "The Women of the Year 2008" by New Orleans CityBusiness Magazine, "Thirty
People to Watch in 2000" by New Orleans Magazine and "Forty Under Forty" by Gambit Weekly
Magazine.
In addition to her work as a performer, Downing is an author and poet. Based on
one of her songs, Johnette's book Today Is Monday In Louisiana takes young readers through a
culinary calendar describing a delicious Louisiana meal for each day of the week. Her counting
book and song Down in Louisiana teaches young readers about Louisiana animals and their
habitats. Her book and song My Aunt Came Back from Louisiane offers readers a Louisiana
geography lesson as the Aunt travels across the state bringing back something special from each town
visited. In her book and song Chef Creole, Johnette introduces readers to a savory Chef who
is made out of delectable New Orleans dishes. Johnette's book Why the Crawfish Lives in the
Mud is an original trickster tale teaching the moral - what goes around, comes around.
Today is Monday in Texas, the sequel to Today is Monday in Louisiana, gives readers a
culinary calendar of traditional Texan food. Downing's upcoming 2010 and 2011 books include: There
Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Bugs, Today is Monday in New York and The Amazon
ABC's.
Cofounder of the New Orleans Haiku Society, Johnette's haiku have appeared in
numerous haiku journals, anthologies and books.
Downing is listed on the SouthernArtistry Registry, Louisiana Artist Roster and
the Louisiana Touring Directory.
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