Children's Literature
- Jeanne K. Pettenati
Saint Patrick, born a well-to-do Brit in the Fourth Century, was kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold into slavery. He escaped from his Irish master and found his way home to his family in England. After a dream in which the Irish people called him back, Patrick decided that God had chosen him to convert the Irish people to Christianity. Although he was often homesick, Patrick remained in his adopted country for over 30 years, baptizing and preaching. He persevered despite being imprisoned and enslaved. And his legacy was the faith he left behind, carried on to this day by those inspired by his words. This visually appealing book contains text that is part narrative and part dialogue, based on Patrick's letters. Children likely will be awed by Patrick's remarkable story.
Children's Literature
- Mary Sue Preissner
Tompert has used "Confession", one of two surviving documents written by St. Patrick, to create a biography for the elementary age child. At times Tompert quotes directly from "Confession", using first person to convey Patrick's thoughts. We learn that as a child, this eventual saint did not like to study or keep God's commandments, qualities that make this man of legend seem more human. From a family of substance, Patrick was enslaved by Irish pirates at the age of 16, carried across the sea, where he spent the next six years tending sheep and becoming closer to God through prayer. There are other examples in this tale where prayer served the young man, who eventually became a priest and returned to the land of his captors to teach them about Christianity. The text is printed on a parchment-looking background, with Celtic designs around the border; the print is large and the text easy to understand. Garland's use of vibrant tones adds richness to the mixed media illustrations of the Irish landscape. The colors are blended in a wavy pattern which heightens their intensity.
School Library Journal
K-Gr 3This biography marshals what little material is available about the man who Christianized the Irish into a simply written, straightforward narrative unembellished by the various legends that have been associated with the saint. It is mounted in an exceptionally handsome format, with a formal presentation of the text on yellow backgrounds richly framed by borders of brown and gold, facing full-page, mixed-media illustrations of power and distinction, gleaming with brilliant color. The artistic style is decorative yet forceful, with an interesting variety of landscapes and flat, simple, but very expressive human figures. An author's note is included. Eileen Dunlop's Tales of St. Patrick (Holiday, 1996) and Margaret Hodges's St. Patrick and the Peddler (Orchard, 1993) are attractive titles that deal with the legends. Tomie dePaola's Patrick (Holiday, 1992), also an excellent, easy-to-read biography, has stiller, less dramatic artwork with a more sober and eternal air.Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA
Kirkus Reviews
The lineaments of Saint Patrick's life comprise the barest of bones in this work from Tompert (How Rabbit Lost His Tail, 1997, etc.), which is less biography than leap in the dark. The story opens with Patrick's birth in southwest Britain during the fourth century. He was a son of the manse, a lousy student, and lax as could be regarding his religion. When Irish pirates sold him into slavery, Patrick saw the light (or, rather, heard a voice that urged him to escape and return home). Miracles start raining, prayers are routinely answered, as Patrick makes his way back to Britain. Once there he has a dream that counsels he return to Ireland to spread the faith. As an author's note makes clear, Tompert attempts to stick to the few known facts of Patrick's life, but the insertion of his words into the narrative turns the story, including the more sensational aspects, into an eyewitness account instead of something mythical or hallowed. As the story pales, Garland's curious, mixed-media illustrations, with a variety of digitalized patterns, become that much more compelling. (Picture book. 4-8)
