The Last Snake in Ireland: A Story about St. Patrick

Those pesky Irish snakes! Patrick (pre-sainthood) could ignore their naughty behavior for a while, but when they start teasing his poor old dog Finbar, well, that is just the last straw. It is clearly time to haul out his magic bell and rid the land of this pestilence! But before Patrick can rest too heavily on his laurels, he discovers that the biggest, oldest, sneakiest snake in all of Ireland has resisted his magic and is now bound and determined to make his life miserable. Whenever Patrick's back is turned, the sly serpent steals swigs from his mug of buttermilk, peeks in the window while he is entertaining friends, or hides under his quilt at night. Patrick's attempts to outsmart and outrun his sinuous enemy through all of Ireland and Scotland culminate in a surprising, indeed extraordinary, turn of events.

Sheila MacGill-Callahan's lively, lilting version of the well-known story of Saint Patrick (combined cleverly with another familiar tale) is a fantastic introduction to Irish and Scottish legend. Will Hillenbrand's gorgeous mixed-media paintings invite the reader to slither gleefully along on this battle of wills. (Ages 5 and older) --Emilie Coulter