Cajun Folktales — J.J. Reneaux

Winner of Anne Izard Storytellers' Choice Award & Selected as Outstanding by the Parent Council

Nationally acclaimed storyteller J.J. Reneaux grew up Cajun for true, surrounded by the stories, music, food, and culture of rural communities in southeastern Texas and southern Louisiana. Cajun Folktales serves up a spicy gumbo of more than twenty traditional Cajun animal stories, fairy tales, ghost stories, and humorous tales.

A traditional storyteller who collects by word-of-mouth, Reneaux has developed her repertoire over years of collecting―on front porches, school playgrounds, and her beloved fishing trips. She has refined her work in performances nationwide, including the National Storytelling Festival, where she has appeared numerous times. These stories of Cajun treasure and lost jewels will teach readers the importance of resourcefulness, courage and responsibility.

Publishers Weekly wrote, "While the tales of African Americans and Native Americans have been much anthologized, the vibrant oral folk tradition of the Cajun has been more or less neglected by American publishers. This excellent anthology by Reneaux helps plug that inexplicable gap. Reneaux, a noted storyteller and a Cajun herself, retells 27 tales she heard in childhood from relatives or has heard since from fellow Cajuns. Their folklore is as spicy and interesting as their famed food and reflects a variety of flavors and influences."