Christopher Columbus journey to America in 1492 towers throughout history as one of the most daring adventures of mans exploration. In sailing his three tiny ships through uncharted waters to a new land, Columbus became the central character in an event that changed the course of the world. Cajun Columbus offers a slightly revised version of that historic venture, one in which a pivotal role is held by an intrepid Cajun named Pierre Lastrapes, whose descendents today inhabit the bayou country of South Louisiana. Pierre falls asleep in his pirogue and winds up in Spain, volunteering to use his navigational skills to lead Columbus and his hardy band of explorers across the Atlantic Bayou to the New World. Calling upon knowledge gleaned from a roving band of Vikings, Pierre leads Columbus to a landing on Avery Island and later saves the explorer from hostile Attakapas Indians. In the process, Columbus is introduced to an exotic new crop which he carries back to Spainthe hot pepper for which Avery Island is world famous.

 

This book has been graded for interest at 4-8 years.

There are 40 pages in this book. This book was published 1991 by Pelican Publishing Co .

Author/illustrator James Rice (1934-2004) produced sixty books, including the illustrations for Pelican's treasured The Night Before Christmas Series. Rice's first book, the well-loved classic Cajun Night Before Christmas (R), has more than 750, 000 copies in print. Young readers can enjoy more of Gaston (R)'s adventures in Gaston (R) Goes to Mardi Gras and sample Rice's other children's stories with favorites such as Texas Jack at the Alamo. With more than 1. 5 million copies of his books in print, Rice ranks among the nation's best-selling creators of children's books, receiving awards from Printer Industries of America and the Children's Book Council, among others. Years after his death, Rice's family found the art and text Gaston (R) Joins the Circus, and this discovery has brought Gaston (R) back for one more adventure!