Lucky Tales for St. Patrick’s Day
By
Joanne Grumman
March is the month for the “Wearin’ of the Green,” a tradition
honoring St. Patrick that has come to us from the Emerald Isle. On
March 17, everyone becomes a little bit Irish as they celebrate the
holiday with shamrocks, parades and those pesky little people known
as leprechauns. Sharing Irish legends and folklore with children can
be both fun and entertaining, especially for adults who wish to pass
on the traditions of their Irish heritage to the next generation.
But just about everyone can enjoy a delightful story with a St.
Patrick’s Day theme!
 Well-known children’s author Eve Bunting, who was born and raised
in Ireland, has written several books for the holiday. That’s
What Leprechauns Do is a hilarious story about three leprechauns
who have an important job to do one day. Before a rainbow comes they
must race to where they’ve buried their pot of gold and dig it up.
Clouds are gathering, so they know there is no time for mischief
along the way. But wait! Isn’t mischief what leprechauns do?
St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning, another title by
Bunting, tells the story of Jamie Donovan, a young boy who wants to
walk in the local St. Patrick’s Day parade with his family. They say
he is too small, but Jamie is determined to prove them wrong. He
grabs his mom’s raincoat, his dad’s black hat and his brother’s sash
and flute and along with his dog Nell, Jamie creates his own parade.
 A spirited Irish tale that combines folklore with a fairy tale is
Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk by Gerald McDermott. Tim O’Toole
and his wife Kathleen are so poor that they have not a penny or a
potato between them. Tim decides he needs a job, so he goes out to
find one. In his quest, he stumbles upon a troop of little people
who are laughing, singing and carrying on. When they hear about his
plight, they provide Tim with something better than a job: a gray
goose that lays golden eggs, and a linen tablecloth filled with food
to last Tim and his wife for the rest of their lives. But when the
evil McGoons trick poor Tim out of his goose and tablecloth, he
teams up with the wee folk to regain the fortune he has lost.
Author Steven Kroll takes the tradition of the St. Patrick’s Day
parade along with the legend of the shamrock and weaves the story of
Mary McLean and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Mary had just
arrived in America in the Fall of 1849 and loved hearing the story
about Mr. Finnegan, who each year rode in a grand horse-drawn cart
in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. She wanted more than anything to
ride with Mr. Finnegan in the parade. No one has ever ridden with
Mr. Finnegan before, but he tells Mary she can if she finds a
perfect shamrock. But where in snow-covered Manhattan can she find
any shamrock, let alone a perfect one? Add a leprechaun visiting
America to the story, and you have a great children’s holiday tale!
 Award-winning
author and illustrator Tomie dePaola has also written a delightful
Irish story called Jamie O’Rourke and the
Pooka. A pooka is an animal spirit who appears in many Irish
folktales. In this magical story, Jamie O’Rourke’s wife has to leave
him alone for a week to visit her sister. She has cleaned the house
from top to bottom, and all he has to do each day is a bit of
“washin up” and sweeping. But Jamie is the messiest and laziest man
in Ireland, and when his cronies come to visit, he’s left with a
mess! All of sudden a pooka comes to visit and ends up doing all of
the housework. Jamie feels like the luckiest man in the world, but
will the helpful pooka be too good to last? Kids will love the
ending of this spirited tale!
Events at the Bethel Public Library
The Bethel Public Library provides programs for kids from two
years old to fifth grade who live in Bethel. Each of the programs
provides both education and entertainment to all.
Pre-registered Storytimes for ages 2-5 are held each week on
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Drop-In Storytimes are held once
monthly during our Storytime Saturday program. Ages 3-8 are welcome
to attend on March 15 and April 12. The Children’s Library will
present a special craft program, Origami For Kids, on Thursday,
March 13 from 6:30-7:45 p.m. for kids in grades 2-5. The staff will
teach kids a basic introduction to origami folding. They will make
creatures such as flapping cranes and jumping frogs. Registration is
required, and the class is limited to 15 children. During school
vacation week in April, the library will present a fun musical
program for ages 3-9 on Tuesday, April 15 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. The
Robert the Guitar Guy/Moving to the Beat show features Robert
Markowitz, teacher, singer and songwriter, in an entertaining,
interactive musical performance that will have kids dancing and
clapping to the beat! Registration is required and begins on March
24.
Two well-known and loved children’s award-winning authors will be
visiting the Bethel Public Library in April and May. Tony Abbott
will visit on Saturday, April 26 from 6-7:30 p.m. Abbott is the
author of the popular Secrets of Droon series and many other fantasy
and adventure books for kids in grades 3-7. Jean Marzollo will visit
on Tuesday, May 20 from 6-7:30 p.m. Marzollo is the author of the I
Spy books and many other picture books and Easy Readers for children
from pre-school to grade 3. Following each author’s presentation,
they will autograph copies of their books, which will be sold at
each program. Registration is required to attend both visits and
will begin one month prior to the programs.
The Bethel Public Library is located at 189 Greenwood Avenue in
Bethel. For more information call 203-794-8756, ext. 5 or visit
www.bethellibrary.org.
Joanne Grumman is Head of Children’s Services at the Bethel
Public Library.
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