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

Determined to drive all of the snakes out of Ireland, Patrick rings a special snake call on his magic bell, and every serpentine resident of the Emerald Isle heads out to sea. Every one, that is, save Ireland's oldest and largest snake, who is determined not to leave his home. Thus commences a struggle between the two, as Patrick attempts to trick and entrap the snake. Eventually, they chase across Ireland, over the Giant's Causeway into Scotland, and towards Loch Ness...

As she makes plain in her afterword, author Sheila MacGill-Callahan combines traditional folklore concerning Saint Patrick and his role in ridding Ireland of all serpentine life with more recent stories of the Loch Ness Monster in The Last Snake in Ireland: A Story show more about St. Patrick. It's cleverly done, with the snake having as much to say about matters as Patrick. A part of me felt rather bad for the snake in this story - after all, despite being demonized by humanity, snakes are no more destructive than many other kinds of animal - so I was interested to see that the author emphasizes that this was all done in the time before Patrick became Saint Patrick. Is she implying that his actions were somewhat less than holy - perhaps because they were lacking in compassion? Whatever the case may be, the story here was engaging, and the accompanying artwork from Will Hillenbrand, painted on both sides of vellum in oil pastel, egg tempera, watercolor, water-soluble crayon and colored pencil, is quite appealing. I really liked the color palette used - the deep red snake, the green and purple-clad Patrick - and found many of the scenes quite expressive. All in all, this would make for a fun St. Patrick's Day read, and it is in that capacity that I would recommend it. show less

Soon-to-be saint Patrick had a problem on his hands. The snakes of Ireland were out of control and bothering everyone. So Patrick used his magic bell to summon all the snakes, and he sent them away to far off lands. Unfortunately, the oldest, most clever snake refused to go. The snake was everywhere Patrick went. Soon it was very clear, the snake must go. But how? Patrick comes up with a surprise plan to best the sneaky serpent. However, don't count the snake out too quickly. It seems the snake has a surprise for Patrick as well.

The Bottom Line: Author Sheila MacGill-Callahan cleverly weaves together two legends (see the Author's Note at the end of the book) to tell an old tale with surprise ending. Will Hillenbrand's colorful, mixed show more media illustrations in pastels, watercolors, and egg tempura will delight both children and adults alike. Recommended for story time for kids in grade school.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog. show less

This story is about Saint Patrick and how he got the last snake out of Ireland. I really enjoyed this story. It is based on the myth of the Loch Ness monster. Before reading the story, I already heard about Saint Patrick removing all the snakes out of Ireland and about the Lockness monster. However, I did not know they had a connection. This book was very interesting to read. I think children will really enjoy it.

The Last Snake of Ireland tells the story of how St. Patrick (before he became a Saint) rings a snake call on his magic bell and sends all of the snakes to faraway places. All but the biggest snake were charmed by his bell. This snake requires even more cunning activity and Patrick attempts to capture it in a box, but of course the snake is too smart for that. It escapes and goes on a journey through Ireland to Loch Ness where an eagle attempts to make it his dinner. Patrick rescues the snake from the eagle and finally gets it into the box. The box is dropped to the bottom of Loch Ness, the snake begins to grow and escapes the box. It remains in Loch Ness and therefore receives its' name of the Loch Ness Monster.

Under review.