Cajun Folktales

by J.J. Reneaux

Nationally acclaimed storyteller J.J. Reneaux includes animal stories, fairy tales, ghost stories, and humorous tales from her native Cajun culture. While children will giggle over the foolishness of Jean Sot, who jumps to the conclusion that the purpose of a new fence of telephone and electricity poles is to pen up giant cows, adults will recognize the all-too-human fear of anything new and different that lies at the heart of this tale. Among the 26 stories included here are such favorites as ....

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Folk Tales, Mythology, Fantasy

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1955

Reviews

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it, pelase!
You will have a lot of fun!
Although French words are in the text you can understand all.
I heart the most of the stories in my childhood read by my grandfather.
Fairies, alligators, all, what makes Southern fairytales and bedtime stories so wonderful!

A nice little book best for a short time of relaxing - but I believe: you will not put it away until you have read it all!

[Judith Leipold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having benifitted by a live JJR performance years ago, eyeing this on a shelf was an easy decision. The book is written with dialect in tact for a knee slapping read aloud around a bonfire, or the family kitchen table. In addition to a variety of tales (fairy tales, folk lore, animal tales, myths, etc) JJR included the historical migration of people from Acadia who found themselves deposited in the Louisiana swamps. They brought their language, music and culture with them, but most of all their "grit" that allowed them to assimilate and thrive among gators and skeeters as "cajuns."

[Jonn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read. While the books claims these stories to be Cajun Folktales, I have heard the majority of these stories while growing up in South Carolina.

Still, this would be a good book to read with or to a young child; so I do recommend this as a children’s book…although, it really is not so bad for adults, either. These may remind you of some childhood stories you have forgotten about- that is what it did for me.

[Kathryn Best · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounding up. I was hoping for stories to tell my young boys to keep up Cajun traditions, but most of these stories are dark or dated in ways that make them odd to retell now. I suppose some of it comes from how hard the lives were for Cajuns of old. I’m
Interested to check out the author’s book on Cajun fairy tales.

[Carmen Agustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lived in Louisiana for awhile, I didn't know about these tales. I'm so glad I picked up this book. A very entertaining read.

[HeavyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did a search for "Cajun" in the Lawrence Public Library catalog, and this is one of the items I came up with. It was an ok book. I had never heard any of these stories before, even though I grew up Cajun in the heart of Cajun country.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories, some really cracked me up, plus quick french lessons.