Customer Reviews

St. Patrick's Day In The Morning (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Young Jamie wakes early on St. Patrick's Day, much earlier than his sleeping family. He remembers that there will be a parade to the top of Acorn Hill today, and then he remembers that his brothers say he's too little to march in the parade.

Well, fine then! He'll just have a parade of his own!! Jamie sets off in his green sweater, hat and coat with Nell the dog and march up the center of town to Acorn Hill by themselves. Along the way, the meet some of the other villagers, one of whom gives Jamie an Irish flag that he proudly waves in his own parade. Does he make it to the top?? You'll have to read to find out!!

"St. Patrick's Day in the Morning" is a beautiful story for any child who has ever been told that they're too small, too weak, too short, too this, too that, to do something. You can see Jamie's' happiness at proving everyone wrong. The pen and ink illustrations are lush and detailed: you could count the shingles in the roofs or the bricks in the walls. Green and a little yellow are the only colors in the book, emphasizing the spirit and colors of St. Pats in Jamie's sweater, the flag of Ireland and, of course, the lush green grasses of the Emerald Isle.

Because it's not a book about the history or legend of St. Patrick, there is no reason to limit it's reading only to March 17th. Teachers would find it a useful book in teaching both about Ireland and, of course, proving that smaller doesn't mean incapable. A fine book by Bunting and Brett, and highly recommended.

I loved this story. My mom would read it to my brother and I every March, and we would get so excited as the 17th approached. I, like Jamie, loved marching in our parade. Now I have a son of my own, and hope he enjoys it as much as I did.

The clever illustrations by Jan Brett are rich in detail but minimal in color--highlighting the greens and golds of Ireland and the orange of the flag. The charming story is of a young boy who is considered by the rest of his family to be too young to march in the St. Patrick's Day parade. With his faithful dog at his side he sets out very early in the morning to show them they are wrong, and even faces the doubts of local merchants as he proceeds on his solitary way. Undaunted, he finally reaches his destination, celebrates with the bottle of ginger ale a shop owner had given him, and the little flag of Ireland he carried with it is placed in the empty bottle--as a sort of conquerer's claim to the territory. He returns home and, exhausted, curls up in a chair with his dog. His unsuspecting family wakes to find him all decked out, as if for the parade, and they chuckle over the fact that he is too little for such a venture. But he has the last laugh, for "what do they know?" A fun read!

We get our daughter a book about all the holidays that make up her cultural heritage and community. This is a beautiful book about St. Pat's day, but also about overcoming low expectations and self-empowerment -- but it's never preachy. My 3 yo daughter loves this book well after St. Pat's day, and we love to read it to her. Jann Brett has another winner! Although these illustrations lack the colorful details she's known for, the complexity of the mostly black/white drawings keep it engaging.

This book was falling apart in my hands when it arrived, which I was not aware of but the price was very low so I didn't bother returning it but just recycled instead.