La Belle Terre

Ivey De’Long is an inquisitive, young boy entering his adolescent years. He lives in Baton Rouge with his mom and dad but spends his summers visiting his grandparents in Middle Creek Bottom, Louisiana. It’s the summer of 1919, and he’s just arrived, set to explore the swamps of this beautiful land, or, as his French grandmother calls it, “la belle terre.”

Upon his arrival, Ivey reunites with his best friend G.W., and together they fish the bayous, search for hidden treasure, and make some mischief. All his life, Ivey has been taught people are the same on the inside, regardless of race, so he doesn’t understand why townsfolk don’t always look fondly on a white boy running around with a poor, black kid in the swamp.

In the spirit of To Kill a Mockingbird, young Ivey tells the story of racial tension in the American South and proves that prejudice goes well beyond skin color.