All books using the keywords: Shirley Strange-Allen

This a children’s book covering the early years of Cajun/country music legend Jo-EL Sonnier. The book depicts the struggles that he faced growing up autistic in the 1950s in South Louisiana. His parents were both uneducated cotton field sharecroppers and yet his mother recognized that he was different from other children. He had a true gift and she did everything she could to nurture that talent. He grew up to be a Grammy award winning singer-songwriter and still he faces the day to day challenges of being different. He wanted other young children to know that it’s okay to be different. He says that everyone has a song in their heart and they too are all different.

This is an imaginary tale about Marcel, a little deaf mouse, who lives in legendary music performer Jo-EL Sonnier's accordion. Most of the photographs and events depicted really did happen during Jo-EL's career. Only the mouse is imaginary. He is based on a real mouse that was inside Jo-EL's first accordion. We don't really know what happened to the real Marcel. In the book Marcel's mother puts him in a black box inside the humans' house to keep him safe because he can't hear. Little did she know that he was inside an accordion. As the boy begins to play Marcel can feel the vibrations of the accordion and he begins to hear for the first time. This changes his world. As Jo-EL becomes a bi ...

This cookbook is filled with Cajun and Southern favorite recipes of Bayou Legend, Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter Jo-EL Sonnier. The book includes recipes from some of his famous country music friends as well as family recipes passed down through his South Louisiana and Texas family members. The book includes swamp favorites such as alligator, turtle, shrimp, squirrel, and crawfish dishes. C'est Bon!