43 Delightful Mardi Gras Children’s Books

Celebrate New Orleans, Cajun food, parades, and carnival using these engaging Mardi Gras children’s books. 

Mardi Gras is a time of fun, festivities, family, friends, and good times. 

Share this amazing experience with children and students through the world of books. 

I’ve compiled a list of the best Mardi Gras children’s books to get you started. 

Students and kids will learn about the culture, excitement, and history of Mardi Gras in an entertaining way. 

Though these books are a perfect fit for preschool and elementary-aged kids, older students will benefit from them as well. 

Exposing students to themed books like Mardi Gras widens their schema, resulting in new experiences that help them to make connections with the world, other texts, and themselves.

What’s more, these Mardi Gras children’s books integrate well into your daily lessons because they can be used to teach a variety of literacy skills. 

Before the big celebration rolls around, be sure to grab a few of these entertaining Mardi Gras children’s books for your classroom or home bookshelf. 

Children are going to be thrilled reading these delightful books. 

Mardi Gras Children’s Books

Following you will find the best Mardi Gras children’s book recommendations. 

1. 12 Days of Mardi Gras (Melissa Thibault)

2. The Amazing Adventure of Mardi Gras Bead Dog (Cornell Landry)

3. Beads On Trees (Ginger Spedale)

4. The Bourbon Street Band Is Back (Ed Shankman)

This book is a great read that shows children the importance of music to Mardi Gras and New Orleans in general.

The entertaining fiction text showcases a band of talented animals jammin’ to electrifying sounds and demonstrates how their music impacts the community.

5. Bruno and Friday Go to Mardi Gras (Gary Mallon)

6. Delphine Denise and the Mardi Gras Prize (Brittany Mazique)

7. Dinosaur Mardi Gras (Dianne de Las Casas)

8. Gaston Goes to Mardi Gras (James Rice)

9. The Great Festival of the Mardi Gras (Baby Professor)

10. The Greentail Mouse (Leo Lionni)

11. Happy Mardi Gras (Cornell Landry)

12. Hello, New Orleans! (Martha Zschock)

13. Henri Goes to the Mardi Gras (Mildred Wright)

14. Jenny Giraffe’s Mardi Gras Ride (Cecilia Dartez)

15. Kelsey Goes to Mardi Gras (Liz Crawford)

16. The King Cake Baby (Keila Dawson)

This is a Louisiana version of the Gingerbread Man using New Orleans colloquialisms and French phrases. 

This book lends itself well to teaching compare/contrast and text-to-text connections. 

17. King Cake for Cassius: A Mardi Gras Story (Diane Boyle)

18. The Little Bead Tree (Erin Rovin)

19. The Little Purple Mardi Gras Bead (Julie Rowley)

20. Malaika’s Costume (Hohn & Luxbacher) 

In other parts of the world, Carnival is celebrated. Both it and Mardi Gras share a similar history.

This is a great time to discuss with children and students the history of the events plus comparisons between the festivals.  

Take a look at this small collection of online books that spotlight Carnival and Mardi Gras

21. Mardi Gras (Rebecca Pettiford)

22. Mardi Gras ABCs (Connie Toledano)

23. Mardi Gras Almost Didn’t Come This Year (Kathy Price)

24. Mardi Gras and Carnival (Molly Aloian)

If you’re seeking Mardi Gras children’s books online, this one is a good fit. Epic hosts a digital version of this entertaining Mardi Gras book for kids.

25. The Mardi Gras Boat Parade (Perry Guy)

26. Mardi Gras For Children (Lula Thibodaux)

27. Mardi Gras in Alabama! (Karyn Tunks)

Though New Orleans is home to Mardi Gras, it’s also celebrated in other U.S cities and states. 

This fun read-aloud shares a character’s experience celebrating Mardi Gras in the state of Alabama.

28. Mardi Gras in the Country (Mary Alice Fontenot)

29. Mardi Gras In New Orleans (Madison Webb)

30. Mardi Gras in New Orleans: An Alphabet Book (Karen Jansen)

31. The Mardi Gras Tree (M.T Falgoust)

32. Mimi’s First Mardi Gras (Alice Couvillon)

33. New Orleans Mother Goose (Ryan Adam)

34. On Mardi Gras Day (Fatima Shaik)

35. Pancakes-Paris (Claire Bishop)

36. Phoebe Cakes the Bulldog a Mardi Gras Tail (Michelle Dumont)

37. Randolph Solves the Mardi Gras Mystery (Pat Crochet)

38. The Red Feather (Sherry Milam)

39. The Runaway Beignet (Connie Collins Morgan)

This clever book will definitely keep children on the edge of their seats!

This Louisiana-styled version of the Gingerbread Man celebrates the heritage and uniqueness of New Orleans culture. 

40. Throw Me Something, Mister: Two Young Children See Their First Mardi Gras Parade in New Orleans (Malcolm Wright)

41. Timothy Hubble and the King Cake Party (Anita Prieto)

42. ‘Twas the Night Before Mardi Gras (Tiecha Keiffer)

43. Zoo Krewe (Kelly Murtagh)

Final Thoughts

Have fun celebrating the unique heritage of New Orleans using these engaging Mardi Gras children’s books.

These recommendations are sure to be a hit with your kids or students.