In preparation for St. Patrick's Day

We usually celebrate March 17th in grand style at our house, but not because of St. Patrick. We celebrate because March 17 is also the Feast of St. Alexis the Man of God, the patron of my oldest son. However, in the last year or so, we've really enjoyed reading and learning more about the life of St. Patrick, so this year we're looking forward to really celebrating both feasts tomorrow! In preparation for the feast, I thought I'd mention some of our favorite books about St. Patrick. Some we own, some we've checked out from the library this month.

The first is The Life of St. Patrick by Zachary Lynch, published by Conciliar Press. I really like this version of the life of St. Patrick, told in nice prose by Zachary Lynch. It's really for older kids (I'd say at least 6 or 7 and up), because the prose is a bit long and has older vocabulary.  The illustrations are interesting and unique. I love the use of traditional Celtic designs, but the faces of the people sometimes seem a bit odd.  They are intended to be primitive and they are indeed interesting, just surprisingly unusual.

A nice alternative for younger kids is St. Patrick's Day by Gail Gibbons.  We recently read this one and my 3-year-0ld and 7-year-old liked it.  It has a simple retelling of the life of St. Patrick and then discusses various traditions associated with the feast.  It also has a list of miracles and other stories associated with the life of St. Patrick in the back.  A plus for younger children is that there are only a couple sentences on each page, so it moves quickly with new bright illustrations with each turn of the page.

This morning we read St. Patrick's Day in the Morning by Eve Bunting with illustrations with Jan Brett.  This is such a delightful little tale about a little boy who is too little to walk in the St. Patrick's Day parade in his Irish village, but manages to climb the hill alone in the wee hours of the morning on the feast.  My boys really enjoyed this one I and liked the illustrations in only black, white and green.  (Have I ever mentioned that I love Jan Brett?)

I haven't read this next one, but I'd like to find it and try it out.  It's St. Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie de Paola.  I love de Paola's books and illustrations and I've heard others say that they really like this book.  Maybe next year, we'll find this one and try it out.

And finally, I'll mention one more book that deserves a whole post of it's own.   That post is coming soon, but for now, let me say that we really loved the Life of St. Patrick included in this wonderful book: Our Island Saints by Amy Steedman, published by Yesterday's Classics.

Grab a shamrock, talk about the Trinity as Three-in-One just like the leaves of the shamrock, read about St. Patrick, eat a potato, and get ready to celebrate the feast!  And, in the meantime, don't forget to celebrate the wonderful life of St. Alexis the Man of God!!!