Special Collections

St. Patrick's Day in the Morning

Jamie Donovan was the first one to awaken on St. Patrick's Day morning. Downstairs, lying on the table, were the green sashes everyone in the family would be wearing in the big St. Patrick's Day parade--everyone but Jamie, that is. "It's not fair, Nell," Jamie said to his sheepdog. "I want to walk in the parade too. They say I'm too small--that I couldn't get to the top of Acorn Hill. But what do they know?"

So Jamie took his mother's raincoat, his dad's black hat, his brother Sean's sash and his other brother Kevin's flute. With Nell trailing behind him, Jamie created his own St. Patrick's Day parade and proved to himself that he was big enough to climb to the top of Acorn Hill.

Eve Bunting's authentic portrayal of life in the Irish countryside on St. Patrick's Day is harmoniously complemented by Jan Brett's illustrations which bring the characters and the rugged countryside richly to life. EVE BUNTING was born in Ireland, and lived there for the first 30 years of her life. She now lives in Pasadena, California with her husband, three children and a dog. Ms. Bunting is the author of many books for children and the winner of the 1976 Golden Kite Award for fiction.

You'll find over 50 more books by Eve Bunting in the Bookshare library.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

A Fine St. Patrick's Day

It's almost St. Patrick's Day and the rival towns' annual decorating contest is under way. Every year, Tralah defeats Tralee. This year, though, little Fiona Riley has a wonderful idea that will help Tralee win the contest for sure. But neither town has counted on a stranger arriving--a funny little man with pointed ears and boots trimmed with bells who will turn the contest upside down! Award-winning author Susan Wojciechowski spins a charming, original folktale that's full of fun and gently reminds us of the importance of community and caring for others. Perfect to read aloud for St. Patrick's Day or any day!

Date Added: 01/15/2021

The Irish Cinderlad

Becan, a poor boy belittled by his stepmother and stepsisters, rescues a princess in distress after meeting a magical bull.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

Jack and the Leprechaun

A cute story about Jack visiting his Aunt and Uncle and learning about ST. Patrick's day.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

The Night Before St. Patrick's Day

'Twas the night before St. Patricks--the day to wear green. Not a creature was stirring, except Tim and Maureen. So what do these two kids who can't fall asleep do? They set traps all over the house, hoping to catch a leprechaun who will lead them to his pot of gold. But they don't realize just how tricky leprechauns can be!

Date Added: 01/15/2021

How to Trap a Leprechaun

Legend has it that if you catch a leprechaun, he’ll grant you a wish. But, be careful! Leprechauns are full of trickery. To catch one, you’ll need to be clever in crafting your trap. Grab some glitter and glue and get prepared for your wily holiday visitors!

On the night before St. Patrick’s Day, leprechauns show up to steal your treasures and then disappear as quickly as they came. However, if you’re careful you might be able to catch one and then he’ll grant you a wish. You’ll have to be sneaky and set just the right trap to trap a leprechaun.

Sue Fliess’s read-aloud text and Emma Randall’s whimsical illustrations will provide much fun for young readers eager to catch their very own leprechaun! But beware: leprechauns may leave you with nothing but a cardboard box and a shoe or two.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

Tales from Old Ireland

This captivating collection brings together seven of the brightest jewels of the Irish storytelling tradition. Inside these pages, you'll find larger-than-life characters, myths and legends around every bend, and, of course, plenty of magic.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

That's What Leprechauns Do

The three leprechauns Ari, Boo and Col have an important job to do. They must race to where they've buried the pot of gold and dig it up before the rainbow comes. The clouds are already gathering, so there'll be no time for mischief along the way. But as Mrs. Ballybunion's cow, Miss Maud Murphy's hen, and Old Jamie soon find out, the three can't resist having a little fun on the road to Paddywhackers Bog. For, in addition to putting pots of gold at the end of the rainbows, mischief is what leprechauns do! A charming text written in a lilting Irish style make this a perfect story for St. Patrick's Day or any other time of year.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

The Leprechaun's Gold

Long, long ago, Old Pat, a merry-hearted harpist, and his ill-spirited companion, Young Tom, set off for a contest to name the finest harpist in all of Ireland. When Young Tom recognizes that Pat is truly the better musician, he spitefully begins to scheme for his own victory. But suddenly the clever trickery of a mischievous leprechaun intervenes, and Young Tom is faced with the power of leprechaun magic. Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole create a joyful and fanciful tale with a priceless lesson about the power of good deeds.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

Leprechauns and Irish Folklore

The #1 bestselling chapter book series of all time celebrates 25 years with new covers and a new, easy-to-use numbering system! Getting the facts behind the fiction has never looked better. Track the facts with Jack and Annie!!

When Jack and Annie got back from their adventure in Magic Tree House Merlin Mission #15: Leprechaun in Late Winter, they had lots of questions. What are leprechauns? How do we know many of the old Irish stories? How do fairies spend their time? Who speaks the Irish language? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Jack and Annie track the facts. Filled with up-to-date information, photos, illustrations, and fun tidbits from Jack and Annie, the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers are the perfect way for kids to find out more about the topics they discovered in their favorite Magic Tree House adventures. And teachers can use Fact Trackers alongside their Magic Tree House fiction companions to meet common core text pairing needs.

Did you know that there’s a Magic Tree House book for every kid?

Magic Tree House: Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just beginning chapter books

Merlin Missions: More challenging adventures for the experienced reader

Super Edition: A longer and more dangerous adventure

Fact Trackers: Nonfiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House adventures

Have more fun with Jack and Annie at MagicTreeHouse.com!

Date Added: 01/15/2021

Leprechaun in Late Winter

The #1 bestselling chapter book series of all time celebrates 25 years with new covers and a new, easy-to-use numbering system! Jack and Annie are on a mission to find (and inspire!) creative people. This time, Jack and Annie meet an Irish girl and go on a magical adventure that changes the girl’s life—she grows up to be Lady Gregory, who helped bring back the Irish legends, started a theater, and helped the Irish people regain both their heritage and their pride.

Formerly numbered as Magic Tree House #43, the title of this book is now Magic Tree House Merlin Mission #15: Leprechaun in Late Winter.

Did you know that there’s a Magic Tree House book for every kid? Magic Tree House: Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just beginning chapter books Merlin Missions: More challenging adventures for the experienced reader Super Edition: A longer and more dangerous adventure Fact Trackers: Nonfiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House adventures Have more fun with Jack and Annie at MagicTreeHouse.com!

Date Added: 01/15/2021

Fluffy's Lucky Day

On the day of the school's Saint Patrick's Day party, Fluffy the classroom guinea pig learns about and meets a leprechaun.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

St. Patrick's Day Shamrocks

Short book describes the tiny green plants known as shamrocks, the customs and origins of St. Patrick's Day, and how the shamrock became the national symbol of Ireland. This is an ideal early science book or a good source of basic information about plants and St. Patrick's Day. Includes glossary and index and pictures are described. Ages 5-8

Date Added: 01/15/2021

Clever Tom and the Leprechaun

In this funny, Irish, folk tale, Tom thinks he'll have no more farm work when he catches a leprechaun who is forced to reveal the hiding place of his pot of gold. Smugly, Tom runs home for his shovel sure he can find the exact location again. There's a reason the leprechaun has kept his riches for centuries. The little man has tricks of his own. This is a short, fun, story for children to read themselves or a good choice as a read aloud story for a rainy day, Saint Patrick's Day or bedtime. Source notes at the end give in depth historical information about several elements of the story including, Crocker who recorded it about 175 years ago, Lady-days, boliaun, leprechauns, and pots of gold.

Illustrations bright with color and slapstick humor compliment the tale. Descriptions of the pictures which add to the story have been written in parenthesis, by the validator, at the ends of the pages where they appear. The word, picture, is written before the description.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

S is for Shamrock

From A to Z, Ireland is presented in poetry, prose, and illustrations. Topics include Blarney Stone, Finn McCool, fairy rings, and shamrocks.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

Finn Maccoul and His Fearless Wife

VISIT THE EMERALD ISLE FOR SOME LARGER-THAN-LIFE LAUGHS!

THE GIANT FINN MacCOUL is a loveable but cowardly fellow who finds himself in a peck of trouble after that nasty Scottish bully, Cucullin, tries to pick a fight. Aided by a wee bit of faery magic, Finn's clever wife, Oonagh, comes up with a hilarious plan: Finn will hop in the cradle and pose as his own baby. Then Cucullin will be in for a great big surprise!

Robert Byrd's fresh retelling of this favorite yarn from Irish folklore is dazzling to the eye and lilting to the ear. Shimmering with color and magically stretching perspectives, the paintings will pull readers back in time to the days when giants roamed and faeries danced and nobody was as lucky as those who sat in front of a fire, listening to stories.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland

The story of Patrick's life, from his noble birth in Britain, to his being captured and taken to Ireland by a group of bandits, to the "dreams" that led him to convert the Irish people to the Christian faith. DePaola also retells several well-known legends, including the story of how Patrick got rid of all the snakes in Ireland.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

This is Ireland

There's Dublin with its bustling crowds, tall steeples, and Trinity College; there's Clonmacnois, the burial place of kings; there's the Blarney Stone to kiss for eloquence, and much, much more in this verdant, friendly land filled with enchanted lakes and mountains that fall steep to the sea.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

O'Sullivan Stew

Someone has stolen the witch of Crookhaven's horse, and there will be no peace in the village until it is returned. So bold, brassy Kate O'Sullivan takes matters into her own hands. But instead of saving the day, she manages to land herself--and her family--in trouble with the king. So Kate sets out to save their hides the only way she knows how--with a good story. Filled with imagination, wit, and a healthy helping of good old-fashioned Irish blarney, this is a hilarious tale that will keep readers coming back for more.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

Fiona's Lace

An Irish family stays together with the help of Fiona’s talent for making one-of-a-kind lace in this heartwarming immigration story from the New York Times bestselling creator of The Keeping Quilt.

Many years ago, times were hard in all of Ireland, so when passage to America becomes available, Fiona and her family travel to Chicago. They find work in domestic service to pay back their passage, and at night Fiona turns tangles of thread into a fine, glorious lace. Then when the family is separated, it is the lace that Fiona’s parents follow to find her and her sister and bring the family back together. And it is the lace that will always provide Fiona with memories of Ireland and of her mother’s words: “In your heart your true home resides, and it will always be with you as long as you remember those you love.”

This generational story from the family of Patricia Polacco’s Irish father brims with the same warmth and heart as the classic The Keeping Quilt and The Blessing Cup, which Kirkus Reviews called “deeply affecting” in a starred review, and embraces the comfort of family commitment and togetherness that Patricia Polacco’s books are known for.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

Brigid's Cloak

The wind groaned and swirled that night and likely it seemed to tear the thatch from the roof. But when the baby gave her first cry, the wind shushed to a whisper and the stars began to sing. Brigid's Cloak retells an ancient tale about one of Ireland's most beloved saints. On the day she is born Brigid receives a brilliant blue cloak from a mysterious Druid. Years later, the young girl still wears the now tattered but beloved cloak while she tends her sheep. Is it her imagination that suddenly takes her to an unfamiliar land? Or is it something far greater that leads Brigid to a crowded inn in a town called Bethlehem?

Bryce Milligan's eloquently told story about Brigid is a moving tale of compassion and wonder, and it sparkles with the timelessness of legend and the transcending power of faith.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

The Last Snake in Ireland

LONG AGO, Ireland was plagued by snakes, snakes, and more snakes! They crawled through the crowds, hissed in the homes, and slithered through the streets. Something had to be done, so Patrick rang a snake call on his magic bell and sent all the snakes in the land to faraway places. All the snakes, that is, except for one -the biggest, sneakiest snake in all of Ireland.

Detailed in Sheila MacGill-Callahan's colorful, lilting language, a battle of wills ensues between the soon-to-be saint and the sly serpent. And although man finally triumphs over beast, this vexed viper may have a surprise of his own that Patrick - and the world - will never forget!

Date Added: 01/15/2021

Small Beauties

"One day this child shall hold the very heart of our family in the palm of her hand," predicts Granny on the day Darcy Heart O'Hara is born in a cottage on Derry Lane, in the town of Pobble O'Keefe, in County Kerry, Ireland.

Darcy grows up to be a noticer, delighting in the small beauties all around her: a dew-covered spider web, castles in the clouds, a shiny wooden rosary bead. Life is simple but sweet in Pobble O'Keefe, with her family gathered round the hearth in the evenings while Granddad's voice fills the small room with stories.

But in 1845, a blight strikes the land, the potatoes turn rotten, and Darcy and her family must leave Ireland forever. How will Darcy ever find a way to to bring the small beauties of home across the sea to America? Elvira Woodruff's story of emigration, heartbreak, and hope is vividly illustrated with the warm, evocative oil paintings of Adam Rex.

Date Added: 01/15/2021

Secret Agents Jack and Max Stalwart

The third jet-setting installment in the thrilling award-winning chapter book series Secret Agents Jack and Max Stalwart, by Elizabeth Singer Hunt (Secret Agent Jack Stalwart).

Now Jack teams up with his older brother Max to solve an intriguing Irish mystery, using their special training as secret agents. Ireland's greatest national treasure, the sacred Book of Kells, vanishes from a library in Dublin. Clues point to the Mastermind being involved. Will Jack and Max be able to find the Book and uncover the Mastermind's identity before he strikes again?

Date Added: 01/15/2021

Leprechaun Luck

A collection of Irish blessings, sayings, and verses about such things as friendship, home, and happiness.

Date Added: 01/15/2021