The St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh

The St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh by Janet Nolan, illustrated by Ben F. Stahl (Albert Whitman & Company, 2002). 

This is a lovely book about a family heirloom that gets passed down from generation to generation.  It starts with Fergus, a boy in Ireland during the potato famine who must immigrate to America with his family. He cuts a branch from a blackthorn tree to bring a piece of his country with him and whittles it into a shillelagh, or walking stick. Every St. Patrick's Day he tells his son his story of leaving Ireland. This tradition gets passed down through the generations until we see young Kayleigh being told the story by her grandfather. This is a great book to use for teaching about family history.

For more St. Patrick's Day children's books, you can check out my Pinterest board here. 

Also, if you need some good Celtic music, I recommend AccuRadio.  They have several different stations, such "Songs of the Sea," "Celtic Legends," "First Fiddle," and "St. Paddy's Party." I swear I'm not being paid, I just really love their options! I think Irish music is so beautiful and whenever I hear it, I feel connected to my Irish roots. (Although only 16% according to AncestryDNA.) 

Hope everyone has a great St. Patrick's Day with some good craic!

Seal Song

Seal Song by Andrea Spalding, illustrated by Pascal Milelli (Orca Books, 2011).

I love the illustrations in this book. It's another selkie story (like Selkie Girl by Susan Cooper which I reviewed here) but what makes this one unique is that it's about children.  A boy named Finn meets the strange and mysterious Sheila, and soon the fishermen in town are saying that she's a selkie.  When Finn goes out to sea and gets caught in a storm, Sheila goes into the sea to rescue him, thus having to give up her human form and stay a seal. 

The Selkie Girl

by Susan Cooper, illustrated by Warwick Hutton.  Published by Margaret K. Elderry in 1986.

Ever since I watched The Secret of Roan Inish as a young girl, I've been intrigued by the legend of selkies, or seal people.  Somehow I missed this book as a kid.  I really like the way Susan Cooper tells the story and Hutton's illustrations are light and lovely, too.