Joan Kindig, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
Down in the bayou, Monsieur Gator is old and tired. Too tired to chase down the critters he wants to eat for dinner. And those critters know it, too, and they sass and tease him all day long. When Monsieur Gator gets sick and tired of putting up with their nonsense, he sets out with a plan. He is going to make some gumbo just like his Mama made. Like the Little Red Hen, he asks who is going to help him with each and every ingredient and each and every time those lazy critters say, "I ain't." When all the ingredients are simmering in the pot, Monsieur Gator asks who will help him eat it. By now the boiling gumbo smells so good and those critters want to get some so they offer to help. Well, you can be sure that those critters are not going to get the gumbo so you'll have to read this deliciously wicked trickster tale to find out what happens to Monsieur Gator and the bayou critters! The lyrical pattern of this tale and the bayou dialect pull the reader into this tale just as the critters are pulled toward the gumbo. Readers, and critters, will not be disappointed in this tasty trickster tale. The illustrations of the characters are particularly well done and capture the personalities of the lazy critters and sly Monsieur Gator perfectly. 2004, Farrar Straus Giroux, $16.00. Ages 4 to 8.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 3))
Poor Monsieur Gator, gettin' old and slow, can't catch himself a taste of critter, no how. He suffers silently as Mademoiselle Possum, Monsieur Otter, and Madame Skunk all tease and pester him-until he decides to make Maman's gumbo. Just like the Little Red Hen, he asks who will help build a fire, fill the pot with water, catch crawdads, pick okra, grind spices, and add rice. Of course, the critters all say, "I ain't!"-except when it's eatin' time. Beggin' for just a taste, M. Gator tricks them into the pot-slurp, slip, plop-makin' a gumbo "just like Maman used to make!" The appealing illustrations dress the animals in trousers and caps and provide visual puns like dropping an egg on Gator's head. Creole cadence, playfulness with words, and good ol' out-smartin' flavor this tasty tale. 2004, Melanie Kroupa/Farrar Straus & Giroux, 32p, $16.00. Category: Picture book. Ages 4 to 8. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Becky B. Stephens (Library Media Connection, October 2004)
In Gator Gumbo, a variant of the folktale The Little Red Hen, Fleming substitutes an alligator for the chicken and gives the tale a Cajun twist. Too old and slow to catch the swamp creatures he'd like to eat, Monsieur Gator tires of these critters teasing him. His solution? "Gumbo! Just like Maman used to make!" As he stokes the fire and adds one ingredient at a time, none of the smaller animals will lift a finger to help. When it's almost ready, he tricks them into falling right into the stew pot, and as they fight to taste it, they themselves become the final ingredients. The light dialect with several French words sprinkled in adds authenticity to the setting. This tale begs to be read aloud. The repetition throughout will have young children chiming in and giggling. Lambert's softly colorful, humorous illustrations greatly enhance the story and are large enough for a group to see. The expressions on the critters' faces perfectly portray their emotions. Use this title as an example of a folktale variant or as a trickster tale. Better yet, read it for pure enjoyment. Recommended. 2004, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 32pp., $16 hc. Ages 5 to 9.

Janice M. Del Negro (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April 2004 (Vol. 57, No. 8))
This is the "Little Red Hen," Cajun-style: old Monsieur Gator, tired of being put upon by the younger, faster-moving Mademoiselle Possum, Monsieur Otter, and Madame Skunk, decides to make some gumbo "just like Maman used to make." Monsieur Gator gets out Maman's recipe book and gets himself a big pot. His questions will remind listeners of a more benign cook: "Who's gonna help me put water in the pot?"; "Who's gonna catch crawdads?"; "Who's gonna pick the okra?" To these and all such questions the teasing animals sniff, "I ain't"--until, of course, that gumbo is ready, whereupon they beg for "one taste and we won't tease you no more." Monsieur Gator agrees, but those three animals are so greedy, they fall headlong into the pot, leaving a round-bellied Monsieur Gator on the last page, grinning and saying, "Now, this is gumbo just like Maman used to make." Fleming has a rhythmic way with words, and her text has a flowing ease that makes it a winning readaloud. Lambert's watercolor animals are all possessed of sly looks and eloquent body language, but it is Monsieur Gator who is the star: with his wicked grin and telling eyes, he brings a whole new trickster to the swampy folktale forefront. This new twist on an old tale has possibility for a number of entertaining uses, from prompting the comparing of variants to encouraging the cooking up of regional delicacies. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2004, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, Kroupa/Farrar, 32p, $16.00. Ages 5-9 yrs.

Christy Finn (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 17, No. 1))
Monsieur Gator lives on the bayou and loves to eat “a taste of possum, or a bite of otter, or a whiff of stripe-tailed skunk.” The only problem is that Monsieur Gator is getting too old to catch these tasty treats, so every day he must eat leaves, moss, and roots. The possums, otters, and skunks tease him mercilessly, but Monsieur Gator comes up with a plan to make a tasty gumbo treat, “just like Maman used to make.” This is a wonderful Cajun-style storyline that most children will really enjoy having read to them by someone that can approximate the Cajun accent. The illustrator does a fantastic job of connecting the words from the author through the pictures. This is an ideal book to read to a class when discussing such a topic as how to treat others. Fiction, Highly Recommended. Grades 2-3. 2004, Farrar Straus Giroux, Unpaged., $16.00. Ages 7 to 9.