What's That Sound? Birds of the Bayou
written by Margaret Simon, illustrations by Drew Beech
Coming Spring 2026
About the Book
“What’s that sound?” asks the little boy, wondering about the calls of bayou birds. From the “who-ah-who-o!” of mourning doves to the barred owl’s “Who-cooks-for-you? Who-cooks-for-you-all?” nightly call, take a bird watching walk alongside the bayou with your own little one and sing along.
About the Authors
Margaret Simon is a Mississippi native who married into a Louisiana life. She lives on the Bayou Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana, with her husband, Jeff. Their now empty nest once housed three daughters, Maggie, Katherine, and Martha. Margaret has been an elementary school teacher for thirty-one years, most recently teaching gifted students in Iberia Parish. She has published poems in the journal The Aurorean, anthologies for Today’s Little Ditty, in Poetry Friday Power Book Here We Go, and in National Geographic’s The Poetry of US. She holds a master's degree in Gifted Education and certification by the National Boards for Professional Teaching Standards.
Drew Beech is a children’s illustrator newly based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a southern Louisiana native, her creativity thrives on the richness of her home state—the soft pastels and gritty textures of the French Quarter; the depth of flavors in a bowl of gumbo; the magic thrum of insects in the oaks. Drew is an alumna of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, and in her free time enjoys rock climbing, losing herself in books, collecting house plants, camping, biking, and hiking. Her greatest adventure, however, has been parenting and growing alongside her six-year-old daughter.
© 2026 University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press
Board Book | 16 Pages | 6.5" x 6.5" | ISBN: 978-1-959569-31-2