On a sparkling Christmas morning in New Orleans, a little girl named Camille wakes up to the most anticipated day of the year: Teddy Bear Tea at the legendary Roosevelt Hotel. With her faithful poodle Lulu tucked under her arm and her Maman by her side, she rides the St. Charles streetcar through a city draped in garlands and light, steps through the Roosevelt's gilded revolving door into what she can only describe as the North Pole — and discovers a world of frosted Christmas trees, fine china, dancing elves, a Second Line parade, and a very special gift from Santa himself: a tiny golden teddy bear charm that has traveled from her grandmother to her Maman and now, at last, to her.
This is a story about tradition, family, the particular magic of New Orleans at Christmas, and the feeling of knowing — deep in your bones — that you are part of something timeless and beautiful. It is a holiday book for children who love wonder, and for the adults who remember what wonder felt like.
This book should feel like a cherished memory painted on paper.
Story concept developed from personal family tradition — Teddy Bear Tea at the Roosevelt Hotel, New Orleans. Decision to build a multi-book series: Camille and Lulu in the Crescent City.
Complete manuscript written: ~7,000 words across 12 chapters. Full story arc established including trolley ride, lobby reveal, ballroom, Santa scene, Second Line parade, and room service ending.
Major editorial revision: word count reduced to ~4,800. Camille's voice sharpened to drive the narrative. Lobby description tightened. Room service compressed. New ending selected and finalized — the velvet ribbon closing with the trumpet lullaby.
Full illustration brief written: 8 sections covering artistic style, color palette (pink-forward, non-traditional Christmas), character design for Camille, Rani, Ava, Emma, and Lulu, setting notes for Roosevelt Hotel, composition rules, key spread briefs, and what-to-avoid list.
Project dashboard built. Submission packet in development. Illustrator outreach pending. Publisher research: Pelican Publishing (New Orleans-based), Sleeping Bear Press, Cameron Kids identified as primary targets.
The narrative voice is warm, French-Southern, and entirely Camille's. She observes, she feels, she notices. The text reads aloud like something you'd want to return to — unhurried but never slow, specific but never cluttered. Italicized thoughts carry her interior life. Dialogue is short, expressive, and character-specific. Maman speaks with warmth and intention. Camille speaks with wonder and conviction.
The model is Eloise in energy and confidence — never in tone. Eloise is wry, urban, comedic. Camille is tender, rooted, deeply feeling. She is not precocious. She is awake.
Southern French. Every scene should feel like it's lit from inside.
New Orleans detail — roux, streetcars, second lines. Nothing generic.
Camille sees things for the first time and we feel it with her.
The charm travels grandmother → Maman → Camille. Past holds the present.
Show. Don't narrate. The lobby doesn't need three paragraphs.
The Second Line is New Orleans joy. Earn it. Then let it fly.
The Roosevelt Hotel at Christmas is the most photographed hotel in America at this season — and the book earns that distinction without announcing it. The setting is rendered through Camille's senses: gilded columns, mosaic floors, the bronze clock, crystal chandeliers hanging like icicles, frosted white trees with ornaments catching the light. The city itself is as alive as any character: garlands on balconies, wreaths on gas lamp posts, the streetcar jingling through damp streets.
Gilded columns. Mosaic floors. Crystal chandeliers. Frosted Christmas trees. The iconic bronze clock. Gold Nutcrackers at the entrance. Thousands of twinkling lights bouncing off every surface.
St. Charles Avenue at Christmas. Garlands on iron balconies. Wreaths on gas lamp posts. Damp streets catching the light. The streetcar jingling as it rolls.
A snow globe come to life. Frosted trees, fine china, white linen, teddy bear centerpieces. Music floating through warm air. The feeling that anything could happen.
Christmas lights through the window casting tiny gold stars on the ceiling. Lulu curled warm. Roux tucked under one arm. The trumpet from the lounge, far below — a lullaby just for Camille.
French-Southern. Blonde, wavy hair, slightly Parisian in her bearing — she tilts her beret, her chin, her whole self. Watchful and composed, with a capacity for wonder she doesn't always show immediately. Not a doll. Not a type. A girl who feels things deeply. Wears winter-white for the trolley, black velvet tartan for the tea.
Protagonist First-person wonder Parisian-SouthernJoyful, regal, magnetic. Full natural afro with a delicate jeweled headband. Deep warm brown skin, luminous in illustration. Tall for her age, with the posture of someone who knows she belongs everywhere. Wears deep sapphire blue velvet for the tea. Commands her space. Never a supporting character in visual weight.
African American Presence & warmth Sapphire velvetSpunky, warm, quick to laugh. Copper-red curly hair, slightly wild. Smaller and rounder than the others, with the energy of someone perpetually mid-thought. The one who names her bear Beignet. Wears emerald green with Christmas bows that sparkle like Christmas lights — Camille's words.
Red hair Emerald green Comic energyEarly 30s. Graceful, unhurried, Southern French in manner and movement. Blonde, usually worn up. The one who carries the tradition — the Roosevelt, the necklace, the memory. Wears emerald green for the evening. Always warm, never overwhelming. The anchor, not the focus.
Generational thread Emerald gownTiny, white, fluffy, perpetually delighted. Always accessorized — a red Christmas bow for the tea. Drawn with affectionate looseness. She understands everything and approves of most of it. Never incidental on a spread. Always adds a small beat of warmth and humor.
Comic warmth Red bow