A Child's Story of Faith:

Katrina & the Cajun Duck
(LIMITED FIRST EDITION)

George Goggans (Author) / Veronica Leandrez (Illustrator)

George Goggans’ epic tale evokes the Spirit of New Orleans that lives in all of us. From his child narrator comes a delightful yet truly inspiring yarn that will move readers of all ages. The Cajun Duck is a legend from the narrator’s grandfather of an overgrown Louisiana wood duck that performs heroic deeds in the Louisiana area. Witness Goggans’ 2001 creation of the Cajun Duck (© 2003) come to life and restore Faith during the Katrina crisis.

Many families in the New Orleans area had heard a couple of stories about a Cajun Duck during the Hurricane of 1947, but they were scarce and not readily available (or believable). It wasn’t until Hurricane Betsy of 1965 (pictured left) that the sightings and stories became prevalent and widespread enough for people to take notice. Even then, while there were quite a few family stories, none were brave enough to tell them because of ‘what people would think’ and the usual excuses.

Now that it’s the 21st century and people are more open to new ideas, Shawn DuBois’ story has emerged. He, being an 11-year-old boy, hadn’t even thought about telling his story. But then his teacher asked for a writing assignment about his students’ Katrina experiences. Well, Shawn turned in his story and his teacher praised him for what a great imagination he had. But when Shawn continued to tell his teacher that it wasn’t a ‘made-up’ or fictional story, his teacher called his parents, and, believe it or not, the parents also insisted on the truth of the story.

One thing led to another, and eventually the teacher decided to publish Shawn’s story in the book entitled ‘Katrina and the Cajun the Duck’ . . . and the rest is history.