Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach by Dianne de Las Casas, illustrated by Marita Gentry

Growing up in the rich storytelling country of the Appalachians, I latched on to stories and folktales when I was very young. There's something quite magical about listening to someone tell you a story, and I especially love to hear retellings of old classics I heard when I was a child. That's why when Pelican Publishing sent a copy of Dianne de Las Casas's The Cajun Cornbread Boy, a retelling of the Gingerbread Boy, it became a fast favorite in our house. In fact, my daughter asks me to read it to her often and even makes me chase her while she says, "Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me. I'm full of cayenne."

So, when Pelican sent a copy of Dianne de Las Casas's newest book, Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, we were eager to crack it open. Set in New Orleans back in the day when chickens and roaches were friends, Madame Poulet (a chicken) and Monsieur Roach (a roach of course) were best friends. They live together and are supposed to forage for food together, but lazy Monsieur Roach decides to pretend to be sick and invites all of his roach friends over for a marvelous fête while Madame Poulet is out looking for food. When Madame Poulet catches on, she gets a bit of revenge, and it's the end of friendships between chickens and roaches forever.

This is the kind of story that is meant to be read and acted out loud. You absolutely have to sing the song that the roaches sing while Madame Poulet is out (set to the tune of "La Cucharacha"). While the story is mostly set inside the New Orleans house of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, Marita Gentry's illustrations give you colorful glimpses of New Orleans as Madame Poulet goes about her day foraging for food. With words and phrases like fête, madame, monsieur, and "Laissez les bons temps roule!" seamlessly sprinkled throughout, you get a sense of the city's Cajun culture. A glossary in the back defines all of the French words that are in the book.

This is the type of story you can really have fun with. Kids will laugh, especially at the stomach-turning ending.

Reading Level: Ages 4-8 | Publisher: Pelican Publishing (September 8, 2009) |

ISBN-13: 978-1589806863 | Source: Review copy from publisher

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Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 by Charles C. Mann

"In Fourteen-Hundred Ninety Two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." And he found a "new world" and "new people." But was this world and its people really new? Of course not! And chances are that unless your history books in school were written by anthropologists, you most likely were taught incorrect or incomplete information about the Americas before Columbus arrived. In fact, that may have been glossed over completely, and Columbus's "discovery" of America may have been the starting point of American history for you.

In Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491, Charles C. Mann sets the record straight with a compelling look at the peoples of ancient America. Based on findings presented his book 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Before Columbus answers three questions:

• How old was the "New World?"
• Why did Europe succeed?
• Were the Americas really a wilderness?

In answering these questions, readers are taken on amazing journey and learn some surprising facts. Stunning photographs, paintings, maps, and call-out boxes supplement the narrative and bring Native Americans and their stories to life.

This would make a perfect addition to a history class or home library. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 978-1416949008 | Reading Level: Young Adult | Publisher: Atheneum, 2009 |

Source: Cybils review copy from publisher

This book was nominated for a Cybils awards in the YA/MG Nonfiction category.

The Amazon.com links in this post are affiliate links. With every purchase you make through clicking on these links, you are helping support The Well-Read Child. All proceeds are used to buy brand new books for a local women and children's shelter.