For years now us Irish, and lovers of all things Celtic alike, have had a fascination with leprechauns. These funny little fellas with mischievous grins and a penchant for divilment have filled us with wonder for centuries, heck there’s even a leprechaun museum. I watched Darby O’Gill And The Little People as a child, and have felt slightly uneasy about these cheeky little chap pies sever since.

Larry the Leprechaun by Philip Barrett (O’Brien Press) is a great book for kids and adults. In the vein of ‘Where’s Wally’, Larry is a lost leprechaun who must be located among a sea of amusing characters – mostly hilarious Irish stereotypes including hurlers and historical figures. There are lots of random characters in the crowd; mime artists, aliens…the list is infinite. Each page sees Larry in a different scene such as the St Patricks Day Parade, and Irish heritage sites such as Newgrange. The illustrations are incredibly vibrant and detailed so huge kudos to the artist.

Rather than have an oul’ wan like myself to solely review the book (or my 2-year-old with the attention span of a goldfish), I gave it to two of my wonderful students from Kidcast Theatre School, Sophie Fagan Barry (9) and Tori Dillon (10). Here are their thoughts on the book:

Our excellent reviewers, Sophie & Tori!

Describe the Book;

Well it’s a bit like Where’s Wally but it’s better because it’s more entertaining and there are more characters to find.

What are your favourite parts of the book?

We like the book because if you like finding things, it’ll be good. It’ll keep you entertained for a long time. If you have some free time to fill, this book will keep you amused for ages and well… Because it’s just really good.

Who do you think this book would appeal to?

We think this book would appeal to all ages as there’s something for everybody. If you’re bored just pick up the book and it’ll keep you busy for ages.

What are your favourite characters?

We loved the clown, the witches…who was the fella with the hurling stick…oh yeah, Cuchulainn and of course we loved Larry.

Rate this book out of 10

We rate this book a nine out of ten because it’s just very fun.

———————————————————————————

 Well you can’t get more honest than that!

I think that this book would be a great gift to send away to all of those Irish nieces, nephews and loved ones living abroad. It is a warm and humorous homage to all things Irish and all in all, a great book.

**You can order this, and other children’s titles from O’Brien Press at: The O’Brien Press Website