Gator Gumbo: A Spicy-Hot Tale
Old Monsieur Gator is very slow. He moves "slower than saw grass  grows" and "slower than a snail with sore feet." He can no longer catch any of  his tasty fellow bayou creatures to eat, "And--oh ho!--them  critters sure know it." The possum, skunk, and otter taunt him, wiggling  and sashaying just out of his reach. Finally, Gator gets hot (red hot)  and hatches a crafty plan--he will make gumbo. When he asks who will  help him, Little Red Hen-style, the creatures don't say "Not I," but "I  ain't," (a reply more fitting for a Louisiana bayou). But when Gator  finishes his okra and crawdad soup, and asks "Who' gonna help eat it?"  the chorus chimes "Me! Me!" Gator agrees to let the otter, skunk,  and possum take a sip, but when they lean over the pot, slurping and  slipping, "Them animals go into the pot." A harsh fate for Gator's sassy  tormenters? Perhaps, but revenge is downright tasty for Monsieur Gator.If all this bayou cooking (albeit with characters from the book as  ingredients) gets your mouth a-watering, a recipe for "Maman's Spicy-Hot  Gumbo" adorns the back cover of the book. Sally Anne Lambert (ofBarkus, Sly and the Golden  Eggcaptures the expressions of the tortured old gator and the  taunting bullies with great skill, and her use of color and composition  is no less than exquisite. A spicy-hot read-aloud, straight from the  bayou. (Ages 5 and older)--Karin Snelson