Clovis Crawfish and the Feu Follet

by Julie Fontenot Landry

Hardcover: $17.99 (including autographed copies while available)

Since he first burst into the mind of author Mary Alice Fontenot over sixty years ago, Clovis Crawfish has taught children about friendship, teamwork and problem-solving. Generations of fans have learned about the ecology and denizens of the bayou through the stories, giggled over Acadian-French phrases sprinkled across the pages, and sung the songs in Cajun French. Fontenot’s daughter Julie has added a new tale to the series, continuing in the tradition of her mother.

In this adventure, Clovis and his friends have been enjoying spring on the prairie. They’d just settled in for the evening’s rest when they’re suddenly awakened by Rene Rainfrog. He’s been frightened by the silly fire, the feu follet, over some nearby water! Together they sing through their fear, learning that not everything is what it seems.

Review presented by Books Along the Teche

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LUANN DUHON

Medium: Ceramics

Work: Barn Plate

Available at: San Souci, Lafayette

Price: $165

This Cincinnati-area native arrived in Lafayette in 1981 to attend USL (ULL), met her future husband there, and has been embracing her Cajun family and community ever since. She has been a potter for more than 40 years, and added mixed media pieces and horse hair raku to her repertoire along the way. She’s also a skilled, certified floral designer. Duhon has been credited with assisting in the establishment of the Louisiana Crafts Guild and she and her husband have been a part of the arts festival community for decades.

DIRK GUIDRY

Medium: Acrylic on canvas

Work: Circulate #13

Available at: dirkguidry.com

Price: $675

Mesmerizing in their fluidity, motion and color, Dirk Guidry’s large-scale abstracts like Circulate #13 (24×18) have become his signature works. The Galliano native arrived in Lafayette in 2005 to attend ULL, eventually earning his bachelor of fine arts degree in painting, and has called Acadiana his home ever since. Although he specializes in acrylic on canvas paintings, the professional artist also does landscapes, murals and (most recently) acrylic on polyurethane abstract sculptures. Guidry’s work is in private collections nationwide and on display throughout Louisiana.

DOUGIE AND THE TONE DRIFTERS

Medium: Cajun music

Work: Mme Zin Zin

Available at: tonedrifters.com

Price: $15.00

Released in September of 2021 and titled after Madame Zin Zin, a Creole traiteur (healer) from Breaux Bridge, this newly released album is Dougie and the Tone Drifters’ first. The large band is a veritable patchwork quilt of award-winning Cajun musicians, talented amateurs, and fiddle-playing transplants from Virginia and Switzerland. The ten-song album was originally intended to be a one-and-done single in 2017: “La Valse de la Peine.” Instead, over the last four years, band members have organically developed nine more tunes sung in Cajun French and one country song in English –all originals.