Down on the Bayou

From the award-winning creators of Ice Cream Man and Good Things comes a journey through the mystical world of the Louisiana Bayou. Follow along as a young boy learns about the environment and the history of the bayou while on a boat ride with his grandpa. This stunning picture book features sidebars with fun facts and snippets of a poem woven throughout the narrative.

The bayou’s calling out to me.
“Come back, my son,” it says. “Come see.”
What holds me back, I do not know,
But I promised, and so I’ll go.

While Troy is on vacation in Louisiana, his grandpa has promised to take him down to the bayou. Grandpa explains that the bayou is not only a shallow, slow-moving, muddy river—but also so much more. 

When the time finally comes, Troy and Grandpa climb into Uncle Joe’s pirogue and set off on a unique adventure that stirs up Grandpa's memories and Troy's imagination. Grandpa shares stories about their enslaved ancestors who escaped to the bayou, the ghosts who rise from the moss, and a chorus of creatures that sing around them. 

At the end of the day, Grandpa gives Troy a notebook so that he can write about everything the bayou has taught him, or even compose beautiful poems like Grandpa’s. Troy discovers that there is so much to learn about the legends, history, flora and fauna, and yourself, down on the bayou.

Award-winning author Glenda Armand's inviting and informational text along with illustrator Alleanna Harris's lush illustrations capture the young protagonist's imaginative perspective, the lovely bond between a grandfather and grandson, the power of poetry, and the beauty and history of the bayou.

Glenda Armand, a former teacher and school librarian, enjoys writing historical fiction and picture-book biographies that teach and inspire. Glenda is the author of Ira’s Shakespeare Dream, Love Twelve Miles Long, Song in a Rainstorm, and All Aboard the School Train, as well as Black-Eyed Peas and Hoghead Cheese, The Night Before Freedom, and Ice Cream Man, which she coauthored with Kim Freeman. When not writing, Glenda practices the piano and tends a garden full of succulents and roses. She lives in Los Angeles.

Alleanna Harris is a children's book illustrator and artist from southern New Jersey. Alleanna is the illustrator of the picture books Good Things, Patricia's Vision, Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book, among others. She has been drawing for as long as she can remember, and after graduating from the University of the Arts, began illustrating children’s books. Harris uses her platform to tell stories as a way to inspire readers. In her work, she seeks to create images that are immersive, rich in color, and provide readers with a sense of warmth.