Gaston(r) Goes to Mardi Gras

By James Rice

Book Overview

Gaston 1/2 the Green-Nosed Alligator has returned from the swamp and is taking adventurous readers on a tour of Mardi Gras. Experience the real events of Carnival with him through these beautiful illustrations. In Cajun country, he joins a courir du Mardi Gras group, enjoys spicy gumbo, and dances in a fais do-do until dawn.

Follow Gaston 1/2 as he travels to New Orleans for even more new sights. He spies a secret krewe building unique floats. He even gets to ride along with the Krewe of Zulu as they deliver painted coconuts to crowds who are yelling "Throw me something, mister " The magnificent parade of Rex, King of Carnival, delights Gaston 1/2, and the festivities continue late into the night as krewe members dance the night away at magical balls. Come join this gator in his Mardi Gras discovery

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 156554286X
• ISBN13: 9781565542860
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 9.1" x 11.4"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Informative & educational

I bought this book for a recent preschool Mardi Gras party. I found the book informative & easy to understand. Even the youngest of my listeners (Age 3)were able to enjoy the story, as I supplemented it with visuals (beads, doubloons, masks). My only complaint would be the illustrations. I found the pictures to be more like an artist's view of the Mardi Gras scene, rather than easy to decipher, kid friendly pictures.

Gaston Goes to Mardi Gras Coloring Book

Exact copy of the book. Unfortunately, the pages are a little more complicated to color that I had hoped. Perhaps for 8-9 year olds, not 5-6 yr olds as I was hoping.

Gaston Goes to Mardi Gras

This book was quite fun as Gaston appears on every "spread". Finding Gaston was a great addition to the BASIC story. if you know nothing about Mardi Gras- this is NOT the book for you. The pictures are fun to view but do not present crisp clear images easily recognizable. Nor does the narrative do much to further explain this wonderfuly historic tradition. Nonetheless, I used this as an aid to explaining Mardi gras to a group of 1st graders. It was a hit. As a supplement used in conjunction with other items it was great!

Great Book for Teaching Elementary Age Students

I used this book as my read aloud in a lesson plan on Mardi Gras. It is a great book. The illustrations are in purple, green, and gold and are just beautiful! Also, Gaston the alligator keeps the students' interest during the reading. Gaston is found on almost every page. In addition, there are many Mardi Gras traditions used in text. Examples are gumbo, fais-do-do, beads,parades, Boeuf Gras and King Cake. It was a great book to use for an anticipatory set of my lesson plan. I was able to transition into my teaching activities very smoothly after this interactive read aloud. I plan on using this book in the years to come. I enjoyed reading it and the children enjoyed listening and learning from it!

Mardi Gras Fun for All!

This colouring book version of James Rice's Mardi Gras classic, "Gaston Goes to Mardi Gras," is fun for the whole family. It can be used as a way to explain some of your family's traditions, or to prepare children for a family trip. The pictures can be coloured, cut out and used for party decorations. The story reminds me of my childhood, and the Carnivals of days gone by. Rice presents a short, but comprehensive overview of Carnival, and the major krewes, balls, and parades. I highly recomend this book.