Children’s Books for St. Patrick’s Day

March is heading our way so I wanted to share a book list for St. Patrick’s Day with you. Children’s books are great for St. Patrick’s Day because most of our students don’t know much about the holiday, except that we wear green! As usual, I hit up the library early and requested a bunch of picture books! I love to request them a full month before, so I don’t get stuck on the waiting list! Amazon affiliate links are included below for your convenience!

“Lucky Tucker” by Leslie McGuirkP

Summary: Tucker is the luckiest dog around but his day didn’t start like that. He woke up on St. Patrick’s Day and everything seemed to be going wrong until he met up with a leprechaun who made him the luckiest dog around!

• Speech Targets: L and L Blends (luck, little, clovers, leprechaun)
• Language Targets: Good/Bad Luck,
• Book Type: Picture Book
• Themes: St. Patrick’s Day
• Ages: Preschool + Early Elementary

Hooray for St. Patrick’s Day by Joan Holub

Summary: Each page gives information about St. Patrick’s Day and shares different activities that children do to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

• Speech Targets: R Blends
• Book Type: Picture Book, Lift the Flap Book
• Themes: St. Patrick’s Day
• Ages: Preschool

The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day by Natasha Wing

Summary: A good overall story about St. Patrick’s Day to read to preschool and elementary students. The children in the story decorate for St. Patrick’s Day, create leprechaun traps, hear bagpipes, meet a leprechaun, and discover they’ve been fooled.

• Language: Lots of different holiday vocab included, retell, sequencing, cause/effect
• Speech Targets: L, L Blends,
• Ages: Preschool + Elementary
• Themes: St. Patrick’s Day

King Puck by Michael Garland

Summary: Get out your Irish accent out to read this story of Seamus, a lonely Irishman with no one to talk to except his goat. One night, the fairies cast a spell so that Finny the goat can speak! Seamus and Finny head to the King Puck Festival where Finny gets to select a special prize!

• Language: Fiction/Non-Fiction
• Speech Targets: K, F
• Ages: Preschool and Elementary
• Themes: St. Patrick’s Day

Fiona’s Lace by Patricia Polacco

Summary: The story of a girl who moves to America. The story of lace helping one another find each other in this story weaves through the family history. This book is much longer and less of a favorite. Would be best for upper elementary.

• Speech Targets: F, L
• Language Targets: Story Grammar
• Book Type: Picture Book
• Themes: Family, Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day

Jack and the Leprechaun by Ivan Robertson

Summary: Jack the mouse has been invited to a St. Patrick’s Day party. He stumbles across a leprechaun while searching for shamrocks. The leprechaun doesn’t turn out to be who Jack thought he was and the pot at the end of the story isn’t filled with gold.

• Speech Targets: L, L Blends, F
• Language Targets: Story Grammar, Inferencing, Sequencing

Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie DePaola

Summary: Jamie O’Rourke was the laziest man in all of Ireland. He meets a leprechaun and to be honest, we’re not sure who outsmarts whom. After growing the largest potato in all the land, Jamie O’Rourke find a way to stay lazy after all.

• Speech Targets: J, R, Multisyllable Words
• Language Targets: Expected/Unexpected, cause/effect
• Book Type: Picture Book
• Themes: Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day  by Anne Rockwell

Summary: A boy celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with his class and family. His class acts out the story of St. Patrick and his mom bakes traditional soda bread. A sweet story that is information with clear pictures.

• Speech Targets: K, L, R blends, L Blends
• Language Targets: Vocab, Inferencing
• Book Type: Picture Book
• Themes: St. Patrick’s Day
• Ages: Preschool and Elementary

How to Build a Leprechaun Trap by Larissa Juliano

Summary: This book includes directions to build 15 different leprechaun traps. A great hands on speech and language activity guide book.

• Speech Targets: L, L blends, R blends
• Language Targets: Inferencing, Sequencing, Vocab, Social problem solving
• Book Type: Instructional Guide
• Themes: St. Patrick’s Day
• Ages: Elementary – Middle School

Follow me Around Ireland by Wiley Blevins

Summary: A Kid friendly non-fiction text about Ireland told through the guide Seamus. It is full of pictures and fun facts about Ireland, covering everything from food to school to history and Irish celebrations.

• Speech Targets: R, L, SH
• Language Targets: Comprehension, Vocab, Compare/Contrast
• Book Type: Non-Fiction
• Themes: Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day
• Ages Elementary and Middle School

There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover by Lucille Colandro

Summary: The old lady is at it again! She swallows a lot of colorful items before out comes a rainbow!

• Speech Targets: L Blends, S Blends
• Language Targets: Retelling, Sequencing
• Book Type: Picture Book, Repetitive Text
• Themes: St. Patrick’s Day
• Ages: Preschool, Elementary

Pete the Cat, The Great Leprechaun Chase by James Dean

Summary: Pete decides to open a leprechaun catching business. A song, a trap, and still no leprechaun. In the end, friendship brings luck, not the lucky leprechaun!

• Speech Targets: L, L blends, K
• Language Targets: Retell, Friendship
• Book Type: In the St. Patrick’s Day
• Themes: Friendship, St. Patrick’s Day
• Ages: Preschool

St. Patrick’s Day Joke Book

Summary:  Easy jokes for fun on St. Patrick’s Day! Great for articulation and fluency students for reading, great for comprehension with language students.

How to Catch a Leprechaun by Adam Wallace

Summary: Great rhyming book about catching a leprechaun!

That’s my list for now! What books am I missing? Leave a comment with your additions below and follow me on my children’s literacy instagram page for more book ideas for speech therapy @SpeechRoomLibrary