Since 1926, Pelican Publishing Company has been committed to publishing books of quality and permanence that enrich the lives of those who read them.
Join Maurice as he travels through an enchanted bayou land! While fishing with his brother one morning, Maurice sees a little blue crawfish examining his watch, yelling, “I’m late! I’m late!” The crawfish then jumps into a large hole, and Maurice, seeing that the watch was left behind, decides to follow him down the crawfish hole. Little does he know of the fantastic adventure he is about to have or the unusual characters he will encounter. Hardcover.
This vibrantly illustrated story by first-time children’s-book author Margaret E. Hyde explores the ultrasticky nature of banana-slug slime and the incredible strength of the ant in a whimsical re-creation of the classic children’s story Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Hardcover.
This fun tale follows Tall Papa Tom, Pretty Mama May, Sweet Sister Isabelle, Little Buddy Earl, and other friends, as they make their way to the Peach Pickin’ Festival. Each time they pass a field, Little Buddy Earl yodels and watches as a crop grows gigantic. His singing skills soon come in handy when he turns a tiny peach into a great big fruit. But how will they ever pick that giant, juicy peach for the Festival?
An evil macaroon takes a bunch of frightened brownies hostage, and only the Gingerbread Man can save them from their sticky situation! With raisin eyes, a licorice mouth, and a kitchen towel for a cape, the superhero swiftly flies to the rescue. But flying sesames seeds and stampeding animal crackers are just a few of the dangers the tasty treat must face to defeat the wicked dessert.
In this twisted retelling, Hercules ends up in the swamplands of Louisiana growing up in the home of Claude and Claudette. Stirring together myth, Cajun culture, and Louisiana legends, award-winning children’s educator Connie Collins Morgan presents a fresh tale sure to captivate. She transforms the twelve labors of Hercules into four mini pourquoi tales brimming with elements unique to Louisiana culture.
It’s been said that librarians take their love of books to the extreme. In this story, Miss Devine, a bun-wearing bibliophile, has a passion for literacy that reaches new heights. She has actually chewed on a word, claims one small witness to this outrageous event. What is that word?
In this retelling of the classic tale Jack and the Beanstalk, Sheila Hébert-Collins gives the story a spicy Cajun twist. Poor Jacques and his mother are barely making do in their houseboat on the bayou, when a mysterious stranger offers Jacques some magical sugarcane cuttings. Soon Jacques is off on an exciting quest featuring an evil giant, an enchanted fiddle, and a very valuable chicken. Hardcover.
Everybody knows the story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” What’s surprising is that the story was originally set in Thibodaux, Louisiana, Goldilocks was known as Jolie Blonde, and the bears were actually a family of Héberts! Apparently, the Cajun story became Americanized over time. Hardcover.
“No, mon ami!” You can’t catch me! I’m the King Cake Baby!” So brags a little Mardi Gras trickster in this lively New Orleans adaptation of The Gingerbread Man. The runaway king cake baby escapes an old Creole couple, a praline lady, and a waiter at Café du Monde, but he can’t outsmart the clever baker! After all, who knows better than a baker that a king cake baby belongs inside of a king cake?
Children will howl with laughter as les trois cochons (three little pigs) outwit the wily loup-garou (wolf) in this Cajun twist to the classic tale. They’ll even learn some Cajun French and, as a little lagniappe (something extra), how to make grillades and grits with the enclosed recipe.
When the Little “Read” Hen’s friends won’t help her write an “egg-cellent” story, she doesn’t let it ruffle her feathers—she just does it herself! Readers of all ages will laugh aloud at the determined Little “Read” Hen as she coops herself up and cracks open her books for research.
Little Red jets off to take fresh crab cakes to her grandmother. Everything goes swimmingly—until a big, bad tiger shark attacks! Little Red has to use her cuttlefish defenses—camouflage, quick reflexes, and squirting an ink cloud—to outwit the shark, combining science and spunk.
This story is a beautiful adaptation of the Italian folktale of how Burano began crafting its famous lace. Rich, intricate illustrations by noted illustrator Traci Van Wagoner complement the delicate tale. Readers young and old will appreciate the resourcefulness and devotion of Gianni and Nicoletta in this title, destined to be a classic.
Mother Goose takes a trip down South in this new and hilarious collection of nursery rhymes. A cast of classical characters is reimagined on a streetcar, in the French Quarter, and on the bayous. Come celebrate the fun of the Crescent City with such rhymes as “Peter, Peter Gumbo Mixer,” “Old King Rex,” and “Sing a Song of Parades.” Witty and charming, these jazzy rhymes will delight every Jacques and Gilles.
Little Red Riding Hood lives in the hearts of many—instilling in children everywhere a fear of cloaks and big, bad wolves, of course! Way down south in Louisiana there lives a girl named Clotilde, but everyone calls her Petite Rouge because of the beautiful cloak she wears.
A mesmerizing twist on an enchanting fairytale, this story shows children that there’s a book for everyone!
In the heart of New Orleans lived an old baker named Marcel who made the most delicious beignets in the entire city. While his heart is filled with kindness, his home is cold and lonely. To repay some gratitude, a mysterious stranger grants Marcel a wish with his magic bag of sugar in this Louisiana-flavored retelling of a classic tale. Out of the sugared pastry pops the beignet boy with a penchant for trouble, who zips from Canal Street through Jackson Square and the French Market.
It’s Halloween! Kids are getting ready for trick-or-treating, families are decorating their yards, and one wrinkly old witch decides she is going to make a pie. But the big pumpkin she plans to use is just too big to move into the house. So she casts a spell on the enormous gourd, magically transporting it into the house, where it then makes itself into a delicious pie. Little does she know how much magic she baked into the pumpkin pie, for when the wrinkly old witch opens the oven, the pie sits up and yells, “I’m outta here!”