Based on a traditional song adapted by Downing, this counting book tells of pelicans, armadillos, black bears, alligators, Catahoulas, nutria, possums, crawfish and mosquitoes. Set in the Louisiana bayous, marshes and wetlands, the rhythmic text offers children a tour of the Pelican State's diverse and unique natural habitats.

"NEW ORLEANS SINGER-SONGWRITER Johnette Downing adapts a bayou counting song in the April 2007 Pelican Publishing $15.95 animal nursery rhyme, DOWN IN LOUISIANA (978-1-58980-451-7), a hardcover color-illustrated with collages by Deborah Ousley Kadair, Texas. Family Choice and Parents’ Choice awards are among the many collected by Downing, who also collaborated with Kadair on Today Is Monday in Louisiana for Pelican. Louisiana wetland critters - including pelicans, of course -- are shown in their habitat, with alligators, bears, armadillos, possums and mosquitos among those getting their verse and their due. Cofounder of the Independent Children’s Artist Network, Downing has produced six CDs of her own original songs which draw on Louisiana’s musical past. Today’s Books puts Down in Louisiana on “The A-List.”"
— Today's Books, Bookweek

Based on a song by Johnette Downing, Today is Monday In Louisiana that takes children through a culinary calendar, noting a meal a day that represents Cajun, Creole, African and French foods from Louisiana.