La Diablesse and the Baby
by Richardo Keens-Douglas
A legendary creature, La Diablesse, is said to roam the Caribbean nights stealing babies, but wise Granny knows how to outwit the mysterious woman who comes to visit one night while Granny is singing the baby to sleep. Characters like La Diablesse come out of the rich Caribbean oral tradition. Today's children are, of course, aware that there are no hoofed creatures who steal children and disappear into the mountains!
Richardo Keens-Douglas Author Biography
Richardo Keens-Douglas, an actor, playwright, author, and storyteller, has published several picture books for children, including "The Trial of the Stone" and "The Nutmeg Princess." His works have appeared on American Bookseller's "Pick of the Lists" and been nominated for the Governor General's Award and the Silver Birch Award, among others. He presently divides his time between Grenada and Toronto.
Marie Lafrance Illustrator Biography
Marie Lafrance has been drawing all her life, from her childhood's queens and kings with crowns on their heads, to her most recently published book, Bunny the Brave War Horse, which tells the story of a brave and invaluable World War I war horse.
Marie studied Graphic Arts and Etching, worked as a printmaker and eventually started illustrating, a career which is not really a career as much as a lifestyle, so she basically lives in her studio, cooking up characters and trying to give graphic life to authors' great stories.
In the past twenty years, Marie has been illustrating mostly children's books. Her work was nominated three times for the Governor General's Literary Award, and she recently won the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award for A Hen for Izzy Pippik.
Marie lives in Montreal, Quebec, with her Beau, their daughter, Béatrice, and numerous critters, her favorite being an old red dog named Lélé.