Historical Fiction Post #1

Title: That's What Leprechauns Do
Author/Illustrator: Eve Bunting/ Emily Arnold McCully
Lauren's Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

That's What Leprechauns Do is a story about three mischievous leprechauns that are on a mission to put a pot of gold under a rainbow. Along their journey, they find different ways to create trouble, such as painting a cow's hooves red and putting a tennis ball underneath a hen, as an egg! When the rain subsides and they reach the rainbow, they put a pot of gold underneath it. They sit around and wait for a person to come and find it; which no one ever does.

This was a great story. The legend that there is a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow was something I was always told as a child. This creative story was humorous and interesting. The illustrations were extraordinary with the use of watercolors. The landscape, which took place in Ireland, looked as real as the Irish country looks now. Even the way the leprechauns talked was accurate for an Irishman. Another accurate depiction in the book was the weather. It rains a lot in Ireland and when the rain subsides, a rainbow always appears. This story was brilliantly told and is very creative. The last page of the book included a brief, "about leprechauns" section that I thought was very appropriate. The story included more complicated text and the story was meant for an older audience of children. However, I would recommend this book to every child and to their parents to read to them if they cannot. This is a great book for Irish children to learn about a part of their culture and for other children to learn more about the mischievous Irish.

Publisher: Clarion Books
Publication date: 2005
ISBN: 0-618-35410-7