St. Patrick's Day

The otherwise unnamed narrator of this children's 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 kids 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 young 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. This children's book is for kids reading levels ages 4-8. Leave us your comments. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Let us know what other quality children's books you would like to have reviewed. Share this post with your friends. Encourage your children to keep on reading.

St. Patrick's Day

Hooray for St. Patrick's Day!

A group of children prepare for and celebrate, St. Patrick's Day. They perform a play, make crafts, dance and have a picnic, among other things. Lift-able flaps hide surprises for young readers. There is a leprechaun hidden on every page, which makes for a simple, easy game to play while you read. The pages are thin cardboard, so they are slightly sturdier than paper; the flaps are glued-on pieces, which stand up to some handling, but will tear with some minor effort. For homeschooling parents, those who just like to teach their kids new things, or those who'd like to introduce some Irish facts with the St. Patrick's Day fun, there's a small (5 word) glossary inside the back cover. This children's book is marked for ages 2 to 6; that age group is fairly accurate. I would think the pre-reading set will enjoy this kids book more than older children. Author Joan Holub's rhyming text would be better if it was consistent throughout. Most pages have two lines of rhyming text and a totally unrelated, non-rhyming line under the flap. This throws off any sense of rhythm the book might have and then, just to further confuse matters, there is one page where the rhyming line IS the line under the flap. Paul Meisel's illustrations are fun, colorful and cute and it is great that the children are of various ethnic backgrounds. Leave us your comments. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Let us know what other children's books you would like to have reviewed. Share this post with your friends.

Hooray For St. Patrick's Day