Howard Jacobs Trosclair

St. Nick makes a visit to the Louisiana bayou, with a sled pulled by alligators and a sherry red nose. He comes down the chimney, but burns a hole in his pants! After his work is done, he flies off into the night.
I spent Katrina on the bayou with my grandparents, both Cajuns. The book is written in Cajun dialect and reading it made me feel like I was back with them. The book could also be used as a way to teach how some writers use a unique voice, and that not everyone speaks Queen's English.

Take the traditional story of jolly old St. Nicholas, place it in a Louisiana Bayou setting, dress Santa Claus in a muskrat from his head to his toes, pile his skiff with toys and hitch it to eight friendly flying alligators and you have Christmas on the Bayou! This is a very fun and intriguing take on the classic Christmas book. I do believe that this book isn't grammatically correct but hey its Cajun. This isn't a book that can be easily read or even understood in your head so it's best to show more be read aloud. If I were to read this to my classroom, I would have someone or a tape with the actual Cajun dialogue reading it to my students. show less

My favorite thing about this book was the language! "He got on his foots! an' jump like a cat, out to de flo' where he lan' wit' a splat!". That is the kind of authentic language you can expect from this book, and it's amazing. I also like how funny this book is. Santa has gators (alligators)! Reindeer were nowhere to be found. We see a very vivid depiction on what Christmas on the bayou is like. I would recommend this book to locals, and others. I was in Barnes and Noble and I decided to show more get this book for my friend's son, because she is from here but lives away. I think she will totally LOVE reading it to him. I will be mailing this soon. It also has a matching coloring book, that can be purchased separately. show less

A Cajun spin on the Christmas classic, this book is essential for all young kids from Louisiana. Instead of a sleigh, Santa rides a skiff and reindeer are replaced with alligators of course. A funny tale about Santa Claus, but we need to be aware as teachers that not all students participate in Christmas so may not be appropriate for the classroom.