They Got Rhythm by Marigny Dupuy, The Times Picayune
With six CDs of songs for children available, well-known Louisiana singer/songwriter Johnete Downing is the author of "Down in Louisiana" a traditional song adapted by Downing and illustrated by Deborah Ousley Kadair (Pelican Publishing Company, $15.95). Her newest CD "Fins and Grins," has recently earned the prestigious Parents Choice Award, and she performed in the Kids Tent last week at Jazz Fest.

Following her earlier book, "Today is Monday in Louisiana," the latest title also uses the lyrics to one of her songs as the text. It is based on the traditional, "Over in the Meadow," but in this case the rhyme begins, 'Down in Louisiana in the wind and the sun/Lived a mother pelican and her pelican one. 'Fly,' said the mother; 'We fly,' said the one/and they flew all day in the wind and the sun."

The cumulative rhyming story includes armadillos, black bears, Catahoula hounds and crawfish, among others, as it winds through the swamp. It is easy to hear the tune as you read the playfully energetic story, and the rhythm is almost irressistible. Ousley's childlike collage illustrations are appealing.