St. Patrick's Day Book

On St. Patrick's Day, come dance a jig with the students in the classroom ALA Booklist calls "a lively place."

Today in Mrs. Madoff's class we all wore something green to school. Kate played the fiddle and we danced to Irish music. Then we learned about St. Patrick and many Irish tales and traditions. Now we know why there are no snakes in Ireland. Not every-one in school is all Irish like me, but we all can celebrate St. Patrick's Day together!

Children's Literature

The otherwise unnamed narrator of this book, identified as Evan from the lunchbox he carries and the shamrocks decorating the flyleaf, wears green to school on St. Patrick's Day. His friend Pablo wears green sneakers. Teams of other children also wear green while they share what they have learned about Ireland for a class program about the holiday. Evan and his teammates draw pictures and write about St. Patrick, who taught people to be kind to each other. Their classmates, including Michiko and Eveline, explain the saint's role in ridding Ireland of snakes, dance a jig, and distribute shamrocks. All Irish, Evan relates his family's history. After school, he and his mother share her homemade soda bread with Pablo and his mother. Through the diverse members of the class and through their participation in celebrating the holiday, the message of the book is clearly conveyed: "So many Irish people came across the sea to America that we celebrate St. Patrick's Day whether we're Irish or not." One in a series of books that focuses on Mrs. Madoff's classroom, this title conveys basic information about St. Patrick's Day in a straightforward, matter-of-fact way. There is no story, conflict, adventure, suspense, or subtlety. There is nothing for readers to investigate or with which to engage. The illustrations—pastels with a predominance of green, including Evan's eyes, which are the same color as his shirt—are similarly lifeless. If no other books on St. Patrick's Day are available, school children could give a report on the report that Evan and his classmates give. It would likely be brief and dull. Reviewer: Cynthia Levinson