Clovis Crawfish and Etienne Escargot

This original two-color edition re-released by Pelican with a color cover is out of print, though a newer edition with illustrations by Scott Balzek is available from Pelican

Since 1961, the fiction-fantasy world of Clovis and his bayou friends has delighted thousands of young people throughout the country. Compassionate, cheerful Clovis has become a symbol of the Cajun people, and the language and attitudes of Clovis and his friends reflect the Cajun way of life.

This two-color edition, first done independently by Mary Alice Fontenot with me through her Acadiana Press, became the stepping-stone to the four-color editions by Pelican Publishing that would eventually replace all of the original black-and-white volumes done by Claitor’s Publishing in Baton Rouge.

In this adventure, a heavy rainstorm disrupts the lives of the bayou creatures. When Christophe Cricket tells Clovis to go off and play with his rainy-day friends because it’s too wet outside for him, Clovis sets off in search of Etienne Escargot. He’s supposed to move in with Clovis, and the weather is perfect for a snail’s moving day, but Etienne has disappeared.

Rene Rain Frog and Clovis trace Etienne by following the silver trail all snails leave behind. To their surprise, they find Etienne has laid a mound of tiny, pearl-white eggs, and the eggs are threatened by the rising storm waters. With the help of Lizette Lizard and Waldeaux Woodpecker, clever Clovis comes to the rescue.

As in the other Clovis books, the story is sprinkled with Acadian-French words and phrases commonly used in South Louisiana. Included with the text is a song in praise of rain with English and French lyrics by well-known composer Denis Dirt Dauber!