Hercules on the Bayou

Hercules faces his biggest challenge yet--the Louisiana swamps

Including battles with a twelve-clawed crawfish and the taming of a raging hurricane, this Cajun reimagining of the Hercules legend stirs together myth, culture, and Louisiana spice. Sent down to the hot and humid bayou from his kingdom in the clouds, Hercules must perform four daring labors to escape the immortal queen's wrath. Luckily, Hercules has godlike strength, bravery, and his new bayou family to help him conquer every incredible feat This pourquois tale is told in the style of a gentle Cajun storyteller and features vibrant and whimsical illustrations. Written by an award-winning children's educator, this adventure will have you shouting "Aiyee " from start to finish.

Connie Collins Morgan grew up minutes away from the magical bayous of Lafayette Parish in Louisiana. Her deep passion for the power of the written word led her to a degree in elementary education from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and then to an MFA in children's literature from Hollins University. She and her husband live in the mountains of West Virginia near their four children but far from her Cajun home. Her French heritage, however, remains always close at heart. Her first book with Pelican, The Runaway Beignet, was also a collaboration with illustrator Leonhard.

Herb Leonhard received a BFA in illustration from the Pacific Northwest College of Art. His award-winning work has appeared in D Magazine, among other publications. He is the illustrator of several other Pelican books, including St. Patrick and the Three Brave Mice, Way Out West on My Little Pony, A Southern Child's Garden of Verses, Leonardo's Monster, I Know a Librarian Who Chewed on a Word, A Is for Alliguitar: Musical Alphabeasts, and Southern Mother Goose. Leonhard lives in Prosser, Washington.