Accelerated Reader Program Selection
Readers familiar with Longfellow’s poem Evangeline can find an expanded and historically accurate account of the Acadians’ plight in the novel Evangeline and the Acadians. Robert Tallant’s sympathetic pen brings to life the Acadians’ painful search for a land of freedom, hope, and love. When the unwelcome British came to Nova Scotia and took over this land the French colonists called “Acadia,” faith and loyalty were continually tested. Marriages between the Acadians and British were not outlawed, but despised, and eventually Acadian parents punished any child caught speaking English.
Under British authority in 1775, the first fathers and brothers were ripped mercilessly away from their female family members and shipped off as exiles. For years bands of displaced and weary Acadians wandered in search of a haven for French-speaking people—many found that haven in Louisiana.
About the Author
Robert Tallant (1909-57), one of Louisiana’s best-known authors, participated in the WPA Writers Project during the 1930s and 1940s. Besides Mardi Gras . . . As It Was, Tallant also wrote Voodoo in New Orleans, The Voodoo Queen, and The Pirate Lafitte and the Battle of New Orleans, all published by Pelican. With Lyle Saxon and Edward Dreyer he coauthored the famous Pelican collection Gumbo Ya-Ya: Folk Tales of Louisiana.
About the Illustrator
Illustrator Corrine Boyd Dillon was a native of Kentucky, and her illustrations regularly appeared in national magazines. Illustrating children’s books and young adult novels such as Evangeline and the Acadians gave her great joy.
EVANGELINE AND THE ACADIANS
Robert Tallant
Illustrated by Corinne Boyd Dillon
JUVENILE FICTION / Historical / Other
192 pp. 5 1/4 x 8
21 illustrations
ISBN: 9781565540903