March 18, 2025 By Maria
St. Patrick’s day snuck up on me this year. In a busy blur we managed to pick up buttermilk over the weekend and yesterday afternoon, my daughter and I, up to our elbows in flour, kneaded and baked Irish soda bread. We started the day by reading Tomie dePaola’s St. Patrick book. Afterwards my green clad daughter proceeded to cut a small pile of shamrocks from green construction paper while I set up her lessons for the day. The day felt like a green busy blur.
Growing up, I always enjoyed wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day – especially proud that I was a bit Irish – and eating Irish soda bread. My mom hates to bake, yet she would almost always make it for the day. The easy recipe was given to her by an old Irish lady at our church who was from County Cork, Ireland.
I never grew up eating corned beef and cabbage. It seemed strange when it was introduced to me as a teenager by friends and I still haven’t come to enjoy it. Irish soda bread and stories by my favorite Italian/Irish children’s book author/illustrator, Tomie dePaola, are my St. Patrick’s Day traditions. Tomie dePaola grew up in Connecticut, born to Italian and Irish parents. His maternal Irish grandparents introduced him to St. Patrick and the marvelous Irish tales. The St. Patrick’s Day stories my kids and I love to read are all by dePaola. It doesn’t feel like St Patrick’s Day without at least one of his Irish books.
Of course, the first book to discuss is about the saint himself. Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola tells Patrick’s story from his childhood kidnapping by Irish pirates to his extensive mission work on the Emerald Island. My kids really enjoy the collection of St. Patrick legends at the end of the book, especially the story of St Patrick banishing the snakes and the story about when he sailed on the altar stone.
DePaola’s Jamie O’Rourke stories are hilarious. I remember my mom reading me Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato as a kid. And I, who was not fond of potatoes as a child, couldn’t imagine eating all that potato for so long. Jamie O’Rourke, the laziest man in Ireland, catches a leprechaun but is tricked into accepting a magic potato seed in place of a pot of gold. Despite the mayhem created by the giant potato, the situation turns in lucky Jamie O’Rourke’s favor.
Jamie is not quite as lucky in dePaola’s second Jamie O’Rouke story. My kids and I discovered Jamie O’Rourke and the Pooka on the library shelves years ago. It is a fun story that acts as a playful warning against laziness. When one of my kids is especially chore avoidant, one of us will lightheartedly remind them not to turn into a pooka. The kids did find the illustrations of the pooka a bit scary when they were tiny and we first read the book, but they grew to love the story. Hopefully, we learn a lesson from the pooka even if poor Jamie did not.
The lessons in Fin M’Coul are a bit different. Fin M’Coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill is a book I read many times while growing up. I always knew where to find it on the library shelf. Since he was small my oldest son has always loved trickster stories (the first non-reader book he read was an Anansi picture book. It was quite long, but he was motivated). The kids all love the tricks Fin and his wife Oonagh play on the evil giant, Cucullin. I also appreciate Fin’s trust in Oonagh and her plan and her decision to face Cucullin. It’s also pretty neat how the Giant’s Causeway is included in the story. We looked up pictures of that incredible rock formation after reading the book. We always love finding a bit of real life in fiction.
Life isn’t fiction, so I did not get this post out before St. Patrick’s Day. In spite of that, I hope you had fun this St. Patrick’s Day! The week of the 17th isn’t over yet, so eat your Irish soda bread or corned beef and cabbage, if that’s your preference. Brew a cup of Irish breakfast tea and enjoy an Irish story. Wear your green and watch out for those tricky leprechauns attempting to give away potato seeds instead of pots of gold!
More Bookshelves Please 