Book Review: The St. Patrick’s Day Shillelagh by Janet Nolan

Title: The St. Patrick’s Day Shillelagh
Author: Janet Nolan (Illustrated by Ben f. Stahl)
Genre: Children’s

Challenges: 101 Books in 1001 Days Challenge, PB & J Challenge, Read and Review Challenge 2010, 2010 Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge, 100 + Reading Challenge, Pages Read 2010,



Rating: 4/5
No. of Pages: 28
Published: 2002


Back Cover: In Ireland, the potatoes are rotting and people are starving, so Fergus and his parents must leave their beloved homeland. On the night before they sail, Fergus cuts a branch from his favorite blackthorn tree. On board the ship to America, he carves the branch into a fine shillelagh.

In America, Fergus works hard and starts his own family. Every year on St. Patrick’s day, he tells the story of the shillelagh. When his son Emmet grows to be a man, Fergus passes the shillelagh --- and the honor of the telling its story – on him.

Generation after generation, through happy times and sad, this Irish-American family passes on the gift of its story. And now, at last, it is Kayleigh’s turn to received the shillelagh.
Mine: This is a wonderful generational story about family traditions. The main object is to make sure that each generation understands – in this story it almost missed and generation and was lost forever. This is a story about what family’s history and how they immigrated to America.
What a wonderful story for St. Patrick’s Day