indergarten-Grade 3–A spicy Louisiana tale about a boy and his dog as they search for turtle eggs. Trosclair and Ollie are drawn to forbidden Bee Island Swamp, home of Gargantua, the notorious, omnivorous, enormous alligator, because it also affords the tastiest turtle eggs. Trosclairs father had warned him to stay away: ‘That alligator eat you and Ollie so fast, Père said, ‘he wont even stop to burp. Stepping on a log thats really Gargantua, the two flee up the nearest tree where a buzzing hive presents the means for their clever escape. The language is rich with imagery and vernacular that begs to be read aloud. Huggins provides a careful balance between evocative dialect and a readable tale. The mixed-media artwork combines watercolors, ink, and cut paper in a visual gumbo, layered with heat and cool, humor and fear.