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Summary
Summary
"A leprechaun can be alone without being lonely," says Brian O'Shea.
And that's how Brian likes it-- so when a big human man tries to build a cottage on top of Brian's underground home, the leprechaun does his best to scare the fellow away with his magical tricks.
But Sean McDonald refuses to be frightened off-- and over time the two develop an unlikely friendship. After all, a leprechaun in the house is a fine piece of luck-- and that luck comes in handy when news of Sean's good fortune attracts dangerous attention.
Cleverly told and brightly illustrated, this folktale friendship is a delightful tale for St. Patrick's day-- or any day when you could use a little magic.
Author Notes
Teresa Bateman is a school librarian, a storyteller and the author of many lively stories and poems for children. She has won both the Storytelling World Award and the Anne Izard Storyteller's Award. Her books include Red, White, Blue, and Uncle Who? and Keeper of Soles, an ALA Notable Children's Book. She lives in Tacoma, Washington.
Paul Meisel is the author and illustrator of See Me Run, a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book, and See Me Dig, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book, and is the illustrator of many books for young people, including The Schmutzy Family by Madelyn Rosenberg, a Sydney Taylor Honor Book. He lives in Connecticut.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Brian O'Shea loves his solitary life. He has built a home underground where he happily cobbles shoes. When a tall human, Sean McDonald, decides to build a cottage right above his home, the leprechaun is distressed. He tries to scare the intruder away with ghosts, but to no avail. Brian creates a front door under Sean's bed and begins to devise ways to disturb his sleep with hammering and thumping. Whenever Sean seems to move, the leprechaun whispers that it is only the cat making noises. That works until Sean realizes that he doesn't have a cat and must be blessed with a lucky wee friend. He leaves food for Brian and talks to him, and a comfortable alliance is made. When robbers break into Sean's home, the leprechaun's magic saves the day. This nicely told story with a sprinkling of enchantment is complemented with lively, simple illustrations depicting plain country life. Children will love this story and ask to hear it at any time of the year, but it is a wonderful choice for St. Patrick's Day.-Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The luck o' the Irish-even if it comes from a begrudging leprechaun-is alive and well in Bateman's original folktale set on the Emerald Isle. All is pleasant and peaceful in cobbler/leprechaun Brian O'Shea's underground home, until a man named Sean MacDonald begins building a cottage overhead. Brian conjures headless ghosts and a banshee to stop Sean's encroachment on his turf, to no avail ("It's just like my sainted mother always told me," Sean says. "The land of Ireland is full of magic and surprises"). Brian makes a trap door underneath Sean's bed so he can pop into the cottage unseen, but Sean catches on soon enough, and the two come to an unspoken understanding that serves them both. Bateman (The Christmas Pups) sprinkles her humorous prose with traditional folklore tropes, but the end result feels pleasantly fresh. In his jaunty watercolor and acrylic paintings, Meisel (The Haunted Hamburger and Other Ghostly Stories) captures a timeless countryside dotted with stone walls, thatch roof cottages, and patches of green. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.