Down In Louisiana

Johnette Downing's picture book and song Down in Louisiana showcases the natural environment of the bayous, basins, wetlands, live oaks, marshes, and swamps and the creatures that inhabit them. Readers are encouraged to participate as active observers as they tour the landscape, counting the number of animals on each page. A mother and her pelican one begin the story, and a mosquito and her little skeeters ten conclude it. In between readers encounter alligators, Catahoula, nutria, possum, crawfish, and more as they swim, bark, eat, sleep, buzz, and snap. Deborah Ousley Kadair's mixed media collage illustrations add texture, warmth, and a hidden letter on each page for children to find. The sheet music for this "singable" story is included in the back of the book. "Attractively portrays wildlife in Louisiana's bayous and swamps . . . Offers good storytime possibilities." -School Library Journal "Louisiana wetland critters-including pelicans, of course-are shown in their habitat, with alligators, bears, armadillos, possums and mosquitoes among those getting their verse and their due." -Publishers Weekly "The rhythm is almost irresistible." -New Orleans Times-Picayune "A delightful gift that entertains and educates." -Acadiana LifeStyle

With Clifton Chenier's amazing life and career as the centerpiece, this collection of profiles gathered across two decades unites some of the world's most innovative creative forces.

Illustrations and rhythmic text celebrate edible treats that characterize Louisiana, such as beignets and po boys. Includes facts about the foods mentioned and a recipe for red beans and rice.

Upon seeing a Louisiana-handmade diatonic accordion for the first time in 1957, a teenage Marc Savoy began a quest that arguably no one has come closer to achieving: to build the perfect Cajun accordion. Told in Marc's own words, Made in Louisiana is the story of the evolution of his Acadian brand accordions--but it is also the story of how an instrument once known as the "German-style" accordion became the iconic image of Louisiana's Cajun culture.

Charlie Moore was married with two kids (and one on the way) when his Massachusetts bait-and-tackle shop sank without a trace. A skilled fisherman and a savvy entrepreneur trained in his father's cigar shop, Charlie decided to support his family by starring on his own TV fishing show. After all, the ones playing on the TV in Charlie's shop all day had one thing in common: they were dull. As a rule, people called Charlie many things, but never, ever dull. In fact, when he told friends about his television idea, they called him crazy. Today, everyone calls him the Mad Fisherman. The Mad Fisherman is the incredible story of how Charlie cold-called his way into doing short spots for no money for a regional outdoors show while working odd jobs to pay for diapers. When the TV station refused to pay up once the show was a hit, he hooked show sponsors himself, turning Charlie Moore Outdoors into a profitable enterprise. Charlie's success opened doors at ESPN and gave birth to the groundbreaking Beat Charlie Moore, an entirely new kind of outdoors show on which Charlie goes mano y mano with pro fishermen and celebrities alike. Charlie's very competitive, but he still pays more attention to amusing his audience than beating his competitors. But he usually does both, anyway. Guest fishermen on Charlie's boat have included NFL quarterback Drew Bledsoe, Massachusetts governor and presidential hopeful Mitt Romney (who waterskiied off the back of Charlie's boat), Rickey Medlocke of Lynyrd Skynyrd, UConn basketball coach Jim Calhoun, Ted Nugent, Adam West (TV's Batman), and Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC. No matter how famous they are on dry land, they turn into ordinary guys when Charlie hands them a fishing pole. Well, except Ted Nugent. With unflagging energy, a wild sense of humor, and a sheer love of the outdoors, Charlie Moore entertains and amuses a million and a half people every week.

From two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo comes a story of discovering who you are — and deciding who you want to be. When Louisiana Elefante’s granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn’t overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return. Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny) and find a way home. But as Louisiana’s life becomes entwined with the lives of the people of a small Georgia town — including a surly motel owner, a walrus-like minister, and a mysterious boy with a crow on his shoulder — she starts to worry that she is destined only for good-byes. (Which could be due to the curse on Louisiana's and Granny’s heads. But that is a story for another time.) Called “one of DiCamillo’s most singular and arresting creations” by The New York Times Book Review, the heartbreakingly irresistible Louisiana Elefante was introduced to readers in Raymie Nightingale — and now, with humor and tenderness, Kate DiCamillo returns to tell her story.