When a big bétail (big animal) intrudes into the swampland on a gloomy day, the bayou critters are fearful. The big bétail is Andrew Armadillo from Texas. A huge creature with a hard shell, cowboy boots, and thick-lensed spectacles, Andrew at first frightens our bayou friends with his strange accent and booming voice.
Unknowingly, this stranger destroys Clovis Crawfish’s mudhouse. Clovis tries to defend his territory by confronting this immense animal. René Rainfrog, Denis Dirt Dauber, and the others scamper out of sight when the big bétail begins to speak. As Bertile Butterfly flies away, she is trapped in a thornbush. Andrew, protected by his hard shell and propped up on his long tail, rescues Bertile.
About the Author
Mary Alice Fontenot is best known as the children’s author of books on Cajun culture. She created the famous wetland characters of Clovis Crawfish and his friends more than thirty years ago. In addition to the Clovis Crawfish Series, Fontenot wrote several other children’s books, including Mardi Gras in the Country and The Star Seed, both published by Pelican. Fontenot worked as a kindergarten teacher and, for thirty-five years, as a newspaperwoman. Her dedication to children and to her art earned her the 1998 Acadiana Arts Council Lifetime Achievement Award. She died in 2003 at the age of ninety-three.
About the Illustrator
Illustrator Scott Blazek is a Lutheran minister and an accomplished freelance artist, winning awards for poster designs for several Louisiana festivals. Illustrator Scott R. Blazek resides in Clovis, New Mexico. He has illustrated half of the books in the Clovis Crawfish Series, and he recently, won a $2,500 prize from the U.S. Mint for designing a five-dollar gold coin featuring James Madison for their Bill of Rights Commemorative Coins set.
Also available on audiocassette:
CLOVIS ECREVISSE ET LE GROS BÉTAIL
By Mary Alice Fontenot
Translated by Julie Fontenot Landry
Illustrated by Scott R. Blazek
JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / General
32 pp. 8 1/2 x 11
Color and B/W illustrations
Song with music and French and English lyrics Pronunciation guide
ISBN: 9781565543744