Fiona's Luck

Fiona is a young woman in an Ireland with no luck; the king of the leprechauns has taken it all and locked it away. Using her cleverness alone, Fiona tricks the king into a battle of wits and wins back luck for everyone. A classic tale of a human forcing fairness from the fairy kingdom not through strength or wealth, but by being sharp and cunning.

An original fairy-tale set in Ireland, Fiona's Luck follows the story of a clever woman who decides to "liberate" good fortune from the leprechaun king, who has been hoarding it. Reminiscent of many traditional tales in which the clever heroine wins the day, this story incorporates some well-known folkloric elements, from leprechauns to the hero's quest.

While I am not receptive, generally speaking, to the current surge of cutesy picture books that approximate folktales, while in reality divorced from any real tradition, this picture-book did not irritate me as some, and would make for an engaging story-hour selection, I believe. The artwork is quite appealing, and captures the magic of the tale.

Let me first start with the artwork in this book. Chills, that's what it does. Gives me a good case of the shivers, it's just that moving. (Gotta love the use of color, too - compare brown, dark, drab luckless Ireland with green, growing, lucky Ireland!)

The story is compelling, and has a few good vocabulary words in it, but not so much that you think the author was throwing them in for the heck of it.

And the moral of the story, that we have to make our own luck, is well-presented.

I will note that I gnash my teeth every time Fiona loses the chess game with the leprechaun king, as that's a game with no element of chance whatsoever. It's a small thing to get upset about, but it does annoy me to see! Silly, I know :)

I'll also note that this show more book is a little wordy. Preschoolers with short attention spans might prefer you to hold off a year before you read this to them. show less

Fiona is living through a very unlucky time in long ago Ireland. Why is it such an unlucky time? Because the king of the leprechauns has gathered up and hoarded all the luck in the land in a chest! Fiona may not have luck, but she has the brains to pretend to have enough luck to trick the king into releasing the luck he’s hidden away. When the greedy leprechaun king demands that Fiona give her luck to him, Fiona insists that she has no luck. The king creates a series of tests for her to prove it. If she’s lying about not having luck, he gets her luck. If Fiona is telling the truth, she gets a wish worth exactly the amount of luck she actually has: nothing. A wish worth nothing isn’t anything a person can use to save the land! Or show more is it? show less

This book takes place in a town where everything is focused on luck and the leprechauns who hold it. The Leprechaun King thought the humans were taking advantage of the luck, so he decided to take all of the luck and hid it in a chest. Along comes Fiona, who decides to take it upon herself and get back the luck and save the town. Fiona is strong, witty, and brave. As she outwits the King, she is granted one wish that restores the luck to the entire town.

I've really enjoyed reading two different Irish cultured fairytales. I love how strong Fiona was and how she isn't your typical female protagonist. I saw a lot of myself in Fiona and if I was introduced to her at a younger age I think I would have actually liked fairytales. I also liked show more how unpredictable the book was. Whenever I read fairytales I can always predict what will happen next, but with this one I became more and more intrigued each page. This book would be a great way to discuss problem solving and also how you don't have to rely on other to make yourself happy. show less

Ah yes I got to read a book set in Ireland for March! This was an interesting tale. The leprechauns grabbed all the luck from the humans and Fiona was ready to get the luck back from them... the only way she knew how... to trick them! Loved the illustrations.

4.5 stars. I really love how Fiona is even more clever than I could have been, and how she, as the saying goes, 'makes her own luck' by being so clever. Gracefully written, long enough to feel substantial enough for older readers but not too long for pre-K, charmingly and appropriately illustrated. I will look for more by both author and illustrator.