Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Shannon and the World's Tallest Leprechaun
Illustrator: Kathleen Kernly
Picture Book
For ages 6 to 8
Albert Whitman & Company, 2008 ISBN: 978-0807573266
St Patrick's Day is only a few days away and Shannon is worried about the stepdance competition that she is going to be competing in on that day. Unlike the other girls, Shannon does not have a wig or a special dress from Ireland to wear. Instead, she curls her own hair and wears a dress that her mother made for her. In addition, her dance shoes are old and scuffed. When the heel of one of her shoes breaks off Shannon is ready to give up.
Then Shannon decides to try something a little unorthodox. Carefully she counts backwards in Gaelic and when she opens her eyes, a very tall person is standing next to her. The counting trick is supposed to summon a leprechaun to her but surely this enormous fellow isn't a leprechaun?
Shannon soon finds out that he really is a leprechaun, and now that he is here, she is entitled to three wishes, one wish for three days. And so Shannon asks the leprechaun for a new dress, a wig, and new shoes. Instead, the leprechaun shows her how to repair the shoes she already has. This is not what Shannon expects and she wonders if she has perhaps made a mistake. Surely, this is not how magic is supposed to work?
In this entertaining holiday book, the author shows her audience how a person can make their own magic. She helps children to see that resourcefulness, hard work, courage, and confidence are the only things that a person really needs to get where they want to be.
