Customer Reviews

Tim O'Toole and the Wee Folk (Picture Puffins)

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4 star:		(1)
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"In a little cottage, on a little hill, at the end of a little lane in Donegal, lived Tim O'Toole and his wife, Kathleen. Tim and Kate were so poor they had not a penny or a potato between them. Their children ate porridge for supper. Even the mice were thin from want of food and the cat wouldn't bother with chasing the creatures." So begins Gerald McDermott's Irish folktale, Tim O'Toole And The Wee Folk. Finally Kathleen had had enough, and without even a crumb left to eat, sent her husband out to look for work. Tim O'Toole walked the entire county, but had no luck. But as soon as he sat down to rest, "he heard the faint sound of merry piping and lilting voices raised in song and laughter." Leprechauns! Now Tim knew his luck had changed, for "whoever spies the wee folk in the light of day can demand their treasure". And they rewarded him richly with a goose that lays golden eggs. Unfortunately, on the way home, Tim stopped for the night at McGoon's farm. Unable to control himself, he bragged a bit about his good fortune, and while he was asleep, those nasty McGoons replaced his golden goose with one of their own..... Mr McDermott's wonderfully engaging text is full of magic and humor and begs to be read aloud with a lilting brogue. His amusing, colorful, and expressive illustrations complement the tale and add to all the fun. And as the wee folk come to Tim's rescue and save the day, kids and adults alike will be cheering and laughing out loud. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, Tim O'Toole And The Wee Folk is a joyous, good-time, entertaining read that will bring out a little bit of Irish in each of us.

Tim O' Toole is a fantasy tale about a poor man who goes to find work in the town. When Tim takes a rest he discovers a festive group of wee folk. Tim being a wise fellow indeed he threatens the weefolk
to hand over thier treasure and they'll be safe . The weefolk disagree and they give Tim a goose that lays golden eggs. The weefolk warn Tim not to tell a soul. When Tim goes and tells his neighbors , the Magoons.Knowing the great tresures of cherish they steal the goose. When Tim comes crying to the lepracauns they give him a magical tablecloth.Once again the samething happens. Will Tim get his cherished itams back, buy the book to see. The main cahracters are Tim, his wife Kate,the Magoons, and the weefolk. The lesson is becareful who you trust.

With so many long-time traditional holidays being pushed to the wayside to be replaced by those more currently popular and politically correct, we are always looking for ways to celebrate and anchor traditions with our grandchildren. To help our pre-school grandbabies get a little more anchored with their Irish heritage, we thought they were old enough this year to be introduced to the connections of this special cultural holiday. "Tim O'Toole and the Wee Folk" was just the answer. Woven within the adventure of this tale of the very Irish Tim O'Toole are subtle but effective lessons about the benefits the moral values we hold dear, the outcome of choices made, and no small amount of fun, courtesy of the fanciful Wee Folk. To include in the package with this book and a strip of four-leaf clover stickers and green T-shirts, we also purchased from Amazon the "RiverDance" CD. We hear our grandkids were delighted with the whimsy of our gift and asked for the story of Tim O'Toole to be read twice before bed on March 17. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tim O'Toole is not exactly an admirable man. He's a lazy man. He's a man who sits around "bemoaning" his fate as he watches his children and wife grow thin from the hunger on them. Even the mice in the house are starving and the cat hasn't energy enough to chase them. It isn't until his wife, Kate, demands that he go off and earn some money that he rouses himself to knock on doors looking for work. So, it's not though any effort of his that his fortune is made, but rather through a chance meeting with a group of "wee folk," or fairies, while he is busily engaged in resting.
From them he demands treasure, and they give it in the form of a goose that lays golden eggs, but so feckless a man is Tim O'Toole that he allows a neighbor couple to cheat him out of it. The little people then give him a tablecloth that is always filled with food, but fool that he is, he is cheated out of that as well. The little people even help him get back at the folks who cheated him.
Was ever a man less deserving of reward than Tim O'Toole? Not likely. Yet, lazy and useless as he is, he ends up a well-to-do man of means and is the envy of all his neighbors, all on account of his luck.
It is a charming story and wittily told, and, because of the unlikely hero of the tale, about as Irish a storyline as one can get.
A large part of the charm of the story is the wonderful pencil drawings, rich in texture and color, and evocative in their composition. Each character is distinct and fully realized. It is in the drawings that one gets the sense that, although a worthless fellow, Tim O'Toole is warm and lovable for all that.
Highly recommended for ages 3-8.

This was a gift to a young child who has enjoyed having it read to him and will undoubtedly read it himself when he learns to read!

This is a fantastic little book that is a joy to read and to share with the young and young at heart. The familiar story is well-told, but what really brings the tale to life is the exquisite illustration. Nearly every page offers a warm, colorful, and appropriate visual for the action, and the visuals are definitely very Irish in feel. The pictured food looks good enough to eat! LOL :) You can almost hear the wee people singing and dancing.

Young children will enjoy the story because the characters are well-defined, and they appear approachable--not scary, unpleasant, or weird. They are cheerful with their gentle, rosy, expressive faces. Even the naughty McGoons as they gleefully appropriate Tim O'Toole's magical prizes!

This is a beautiful book well worth the purchase.

Many, many (many) stories for kids, especially fairy tales, have had their violence removed or softened. While this is an old, old habit among some, and it makes sense, the fact is that children are bloodthirsty critters and never mind seeing a little fictional blood shed so long as it's shed by the deserving.

Which is what happens here. Tim O'Toole has no luck, and apparently less sense, because the first bit of luck he ever had in his life was seeing the leprechauns and getting the goose that lays the golden eggs from them - and then the fool bragged about it on the way home, and was tricked into going home with a regular goose instead. (Now, really, a regular goose will keep you fed and protect your farm, so that's not such a great loss, but all the same it must be considered a bit of a disappointment.) And when he demands repayment from the leprechauns and gets a magic tablecloth to keep him fed, he makes the same stupid mistake all over again!

Luckily, they're cleverer than he is, and his next gift is a hat. Just a hat. And when poor Tim's greedy neighbors go to steal it... well... let's just say that lots of little men pouring out of a hat and beating you black and blue will teach you a lesson you won't forget in a hurry!

Great story, but if you're put off by a small amount of casual violence please - read before you buy.