LITTLE PIERRE

In this Cajun-inflected Tom Thumb tale, pint-sized Little Pierre saves his dimwitted brothers Big Pierre, Fat Pierre, Wise Pierre, and Foolish Pierre from a Swamp Ogre, and rescues Marie Louise, a rich man’s daughter, in the bargain. While doing all the chores, Little Pierre overhears his brothers scheming and tags along as they venture into the swamp. Good thing, too: when the ogre turns out to be much bigger than expected, he leads the general rout, cleverly eluding a 12-legged alligator and convincing a monstrous mud catfish to chow down on the ogre along the way. Animal and semi-human forms crouch within foliage and gnarled bark in Catrow’s busy swampscapes as the Pierres hurry past oblivious, each (except for Little Pierre) looking more hilariously clueless than the last. The enormously fat ogre seems like an elemental creature too, a grossly ugly part of the surroundings until it slips headfirst down that catfish’s maw. Leaving the chores to his brothers, Little Pierre goes off to a well-earned happy-ever-after with Marie Louise. A hoot, fuh shore, for true. (long source note, glossary) (Picture book/folktale. 7-9)