Cajun Alphabet

9780882898223

0882898221

Gaston the green-nosed alligator first appeared on the literary scene as a leading character in Cajun Night Before Christmas, a book that became an instant bestseller.In this full-color volume, the friendly, lovable swamp denizen makes his appearance and in the process provides the setting for an intriguing and practical lesson in Cajun French.The creation of noted illustrator James Rice, Gaston may sometimes hold his textbook upside down, but as readers of this volume can attest, the alligator has mastered Louisiana's Cajun French from A to Z.Using a combination of poetry and delightful art, Rice traces Gaston's educational experience and in so doing provides the modern generation--youngsters and adults alike--with a basic course in Cajun society, language, and culture.Words such as baire, batture, boudin, choupique, fais do do, roux, tante and nonc, and poule d'eau are understood and used by every Cajun. Through this volume, the reader can learn with Gaston to use these and more than a hundred other Cajun words and phrases.Along with Rice's striking illustrations, a glossary of essential Cajun words is provided.Widely acclaimed as the South's leading illustrator of juvenile books, James Rice is the illustrator and/or author of over sixty titles, with almost two million copies in print. Rice was born on a farm in Coleman County, Texas, and currently resides in Hico, Texas. He has taught art at the grammar-school, high-school, and university levels and enjoys talking to schoolchildren across the country about writing and art.