The Big Once-A-Year Broussard-Bouchard Family Reunion. ­

K-Gr 3–What’s better than a family reunion? A family reunion with zydeco! The Big Once-A-Year party has all the usual things—families that live far away, new babies, older relatives, terrific food—but Alaine loves the zydeco music that her relatives play. A diverse array of skin tones, body sizes, and ages is shown, but in all the fuss, Alaine is a little sad because she accidentally let out Big Boy, the house cat who isn’t tough enough to be outside. Will Big Boy be okay? The exuberant artwork in this book mirrors the high-energy family and the raucous music. Readers who’ve never heard of this effervescent, regional music will be inspired to hear and learn more about it. This would be an excellent book to use in discussions of different kinds of family traditions or to introduce zydeco to young readers.