I remember once reading that nearly 2/3 of Americans of European descent have Irish ancestry. (According to the all-powerful Wikipedia about 12% of all Americans -- incl. those of non-European descent -- claim Irish ancestry) At the time I believed I was part of the remaining 1/3, but have since discovered that even I have a small drop of Irish ancestry if I head back to the 18th century. Alas, it doesn't make me feel inclined to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. I have always mostly ignored holidays other than Christmas, but that's another story.
Instead of prepping Kiddo for St. Paddy's with lots of artificially colored green food and shamrock crafts I thought I'd take advantage of the timing to introduce him (and me!) to some Irish folktales and legends. I've been trying to bring more fairy and folk tales into our reading so Ireland makes a good first stop.
Pot o' Gold
. A collection of short tales mixed in with miscellany riddles, curses, blessings, facts and Irish poetry.Tales from Old Ireland.
I was so disappointed that one of the CDs was missing from our library copy of this book/CD! I loved listening to the Irish lilt of the narrator as I cleaned and Kiddo followed along with the book. Fairy tale enthusiasts will recognize similarities with continental European tales.Fiona's Luck
. A plucky girl and gorgeous illustrations. And a leprechaun or two.Fin M'Coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill
. It takes a woman to outsmart a giant.Do YOU have Irish ancestry? What have you been reading for St. Patrick's Day? I'd love to know!
I'm linking to What My Child is Reading.
Hello! Stumbled over from WMCIR. My girls love folk tales so I will have to put these on our library list.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting so many great ideas from WMCIR this week! I also have usually pretty much ignored St. Patrick's Day, although I know for some people it's a big deal. I like your idea of taking the opportunity to read up on Irish folk tales. I'll be looking these books up :)
ReplyDeleteI am adding these to our library list. My husband is very Irish with just a touch of Ukrainian mixed in, but I can only claim a touch of Irish in my blood. Anyway, St. Patrick's Day is a big deal in our house. I try to play Irish music and read Irish poetry and not make it all about leprechauns and shamrocks, but my kids insist on some (okay, a LOT) of the latter.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know I have absolutely no Irish blood. We read one book this year for St Patrick's Day = That's What Leprechauns Do. I love this book because it's so playful. Anna didn't like it because of mischief involved. I might try Fiona's Luck based on your recommendations. Thanks for joining WMCIR!
ReplyDeleteMy maternal grandfather was scotch-irish, but I've never really identified myself as irish. (I tend to think of myself as a polack, even if I'm only 50% pole.) Never the less, my son loves St Patty's Day because his favorite color is green. Cracks me up. He doesn't expect gifts or special goodies, just that everything is green.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the book suggestions!
I ordered in a couple Fin M'Coul tales this week too, after seeing a video at National Geographic for Kids, about a geological sight in Ireland associated with his legend - you might want to check it out.
ReplyDeletehttp://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places/find/ireland/
I'm definitely going to check some of these out. We have quite a bit of Irish in us and I like the idea of reading something like this for St. Patrick's Day.
ReplyDelete