Petite Rouge: Little Red Riding Hood - A Cajun Twist to an Old Tale

A Cajun version of Little Red Riding Hood set in the Louisiana bayou. Includes a glossary of Cajun terms on each page, a pronunciation guide, and a recipe for alligator sauce piquante.

Down in the bayous of South Louisiana there lives a girl named Clotilde Mouton, but everyone calls her Petite Rouge because of the beautiful red cloak and garde-soleil (sunbonnet) she wears.

A simple visit to bring her sick grandmère some soothing étouffée turns into an exciting and dangerous adventure. As Petite Rouge travels through the swamp in her pirogue, she meets not a big, bad wolf but a suave alligator named Taille-Taille.

What will happen to Grandmère and Petite Rouge? Will Taille-Taille gobble up his new friends? What is the secret ingredient in the sauce piquante? Why are the folks of Bayou Tigre fais-do-doing the night away?

Find these answers and more in this bayou-inspired revision of a classic tale. Full of Cajun words and phrases, accompanying definitions, and a pronunciation guide, Petite Rouge: A Cajun Twist to an Old Tale will teach children a petit peu about Cajun culture.

Colorful illustrations capture the movement and tension of each scene—Taille-Taille whipping his strong tail against helpless Clotilde in her pirogue and, later, Clotilde realizing that the figure in Grandma’s bed is none other than the mischievous gator she has been trying to avoid. Splashy hues and expressive tones articulate the emotional ups and downs of this dramatic tale.

 

Sheila Hébert-Collins proudly claims a heritage that is completely Cajun. A native of Abbeville, Louisiana, Hébert-Collins combined her love and pride of her culture with her love of children’s literature to create unique, Cajun fairytales. She is featured on the Louisiana State Artist Roster as an author and Cajun storyteller.