St. Patrick’s Day picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.
(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. The Retired School Librarian is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. (These titles can be found on my Amazon Storefront under St. Patrick’s Day Picture Books– https://www.amazon.com/shop/mrs.ferraris/list/2F2OI0W33ZUGF?ref_=aipsflist .)
❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗
Ten Little Leprechauns
by Molly Murphy (Author), Howard McWilliam (Illustrator)
Summary: We start with ten different-sized leprechauns playing in the forest, who then enter a nearby household, wreaking havoc. The countdown continues with more leprechaun shenanigans.
Comments: The story is written in rhyme, making it a fun and engaging read-aloud. The illustrations are vibrant, detailed, and hilarious. I found myself stopping to count all the leprechauns.
For larger groups, I would project the book on a screen or whiteboard so everyone can fully enjoy the artwork. The book’s backward counting from ten adds an extra layer of interactive fun for listeners
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Tiny!
by Cari Meister (Author), Rich Davis (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Sam and Tiny get dressed up as leprechauns for the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. They participate in a scavenger hunt, but kindly stop searching for clues to help a girl who has lost her shoe.
Comments: The Tiny series is so cute, with Sam always helping Tiny learn about new things. The books are written for primary grades as primary readers and have a nice sense of humor, with this being no exception.
Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
This is one of the Tiny series. If you are interested in more from this series, they can be found on their Amazon page.
The St. Patrick’s Day Alphabet
by Liz Saunders (Author), Lindsay Dale-Scott (Illustrator)
Brief summary: In this nonfiction picture book, young readers will discover the origins, customs, and symbols associated with St. Patrick’s Day.
Comments: Leprechauns are hidden throughout the book for readers to find and count.
This book is perfect for teachers to read aloud to explain how and why we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The pages also provide additional information about the topic in text boxes.
The illustrations were created using Procreate on an iPad Pro.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
The Fog Catcher’s Daughter
by Marianne McShane (Author), Alan Marks (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Eily and her father live on the coast of Ireland across from the isle of fairies, Lisnashee. Her father is the Fog Catcher and must row to the island and collect the magical fog on it every Midsummer. Eily helps prepare to keep her family safe from the Good People. Her father rows out to the island. Eily is worried as she has found his protection charm in a tree.
Comments: Young readers will be enchanted by Eily’s adventure to find her father and keep him safe. Beautifully illustrated with dreamy watercolors.
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Rating: 4.5 /5 📗📗📗📗1/2
Leprechaun vs. Easter Bunny
by Todd Tarpley (Author), Stephanie Laberis (Illustrator)
Brief summary: A leprechaun and the Easter Bunny battle over the space in a garden. The leprechaun wants to hide his pot of gold for St. Patrick’s Day, and the Easter bunny wants to grow tulips to hide colored eggs. Cupid comes along and wants to make plans for next year’s Valentine’s Day, moving all of their things out of the way.
Comments: This is the first of the Festive Feuds series. It is written in rhyme. Definitely a hilarious read-aloud.
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2
Saint Patrick the Forgiver: The History and Legends of Ireland’s Bishop
Brief summary: Young readers will learn about Saint Patrick’s life as a child, being kidnapped to become a slave in Ireland, and his escape back home. Saint Patrick continues to explain how he forgave the Irish people and decided to preach Christianity there.
Comments: If you’re looking for a more religious take on Saint Patrick, this book is perfect. Told in rhyme from the saint’s own viewpoint, it begins with Patrick introducing himself: “Hello, my name is Patrick. You may have heard my story. I walked the span of Ireland to tell of God’s great glory.”
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
St. Patrick’s Day
by Gail Gibbons (Author & Illustrator)
Brief summary: This nonfiction picture book describes the customs celebrated on St. Patrick’s Day. Readers will also learn about St. Patrick’s life and some of his legends.
Comments: The illustrations include labels and captions identifying St. Patrick’s Day symbols. A lot of green is used to capture the holiday’s spirit. The author used black ink and watercolor to illustrate this book.
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
Rating 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Gail Gibbons has an impressive collection of nonfiction picture books that she both wrote and illustrated. Her books can be found on her Amazon page.
The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day
by Natasha Wing (Author), Amy Wummer (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Tim and Maureen, siblings, set up leprechaun traps all over the house the day before St. Patrick’s Day while decorating the house in green with shamrocks, streamers, and rainbows. The next day, they wake to find the house in a mess, but they caught a leprechaun. Will they be able to get his gold?
Comments: This would make a great read-aloud and a lead-in for students to make leprechaun traps in art class or the classroom.
Books in this series are for primary readers, offering humorous stories and teaching about various holidays and events.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
This is one of the The Night Before series. If you are interested in more from this series, they can be found on their Amazon page.
The Littlest Leprechaun
by Brandi Dougherty (Author), Michelle Todd (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Liam is the littlest leprechaun in the Enchanted Forest, but he’s eager to help his family. His parents send him to help his siblings, then to help his uncle carry gold–but each time, he’s too small for the task. While wandering in the forest, he discovers a group of leprechauns trying to help a little unicorn. In the end, Liam realizes that being little doesn’t mean he can’t make a difference–his small size can be a strength after all.
Comments: This is a sweet story for toddlers to kindergartners who may be in the same situation as Liam, being the smallest in the family.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
This is from the Little series. For more details about the series or to buy, please see its Amazon page.
The Leprechaun’s Gold
by Pamela Duncan Edwards (Author), Henry Cole (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Old Pat, a harpist, and Young Tom, also a harpist, travel together to attend a harp contest. Young Tom proves to be a cheat and leaves. During the night, they hear cries of help. Old Pat goes in search of a leprechaun in need of assistance. The leprechaun helps Old Pat in return for his help.
Comments: There are many two-page spreads in this book with rich colors, and several pages feature illustrations in black frames with decorated borders.
This will make a fun read-aloud for older elementary students. There are themes of kindness, generosity, and sharing.
Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning
by Eve Bunting (Author), Jan Brett (Author, Illustrator)
Brief summary: Jamie, the youngest of three Irish brothers, is told he is too young to walk in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. He gets up early and takes his dog, Nell, to prove he can walk up Acorn Hill, where he places the Irish flag at the top, proving to himself he can do it.
Comments: This is an oldie but a goody. This picture book is illustrated by Jan Brett in black ink with green and yellow watercolors. This book’s themes are perseverance, independence, and proving your belief in yourself. Great for primary and intermediate grades.
Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗
ieContinue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
That’s What Leprechauns Do
by Eve Bunting (Author), Emily Arnold McCully (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Three mischievous leprechauns–Art, Boo, and Col–spot an approaching storm and must hurry to dig up a buried pot of gold before the rainbow appears. Along the way, they play pranks and get into all sorts of silly antics, showing the playful and rascally side that leprechauns are famous for.
Comments: The illustrations are beautiful watercolors and perfectly complement the story.
Eve Bunting and Emily Arnold McCully have won several book awards. Their collaboration with this story makes a great read-aloud for intermediate students.
Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Amazon page.
The selected children’s books are chosen by a certified, retired elementary school librarian who passionately reads and recommends picture books to teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book enthusiasts.
Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.