The leprechaun who lost his rainbow

K-Gr 3-As her grandfather heads out to play his bagpipes in the St. Patrick's Day parade, Colleen worries that the rain will keep people away. While she waits on her front stoop, along comes a leprechaun who has lost his rainbow along with his pot of gold. He needs Colleen's help to make a new one and requests that she part with several different possessions, including a prized green pennywhistle, a gift from her grandfather. Colleen is loath to give it up, but Roy G. Biv promises a sunny day in return. The slight story sometimes gets bogged down in wordy prose, but youngsters might enjoy guessing which item Colleen will be asked to give up next. The whimsical cartoonlike illustrations have action and detail. The book concludes with an explanation of rainbows and the use of "Roy G. Biv" as a mnemonic device. Additional.-Beth Cuddy, Seward Elementary School, Auburn, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Colleen's grandfather is set to play the bagpipes in the St. Patrick's Day parade, but rain threatens to bring an abrupt end to his performance. Enter Roy G. Biv, a leprechaun who has lost his pot of gold. Roy explains to Colleen that if she helps him find it by making a rainbow, the sun will come out and the parade will be saved. Colleen readily gives the leprechaun an item of each color his rainbow requires, hesitating only about the green penny whistle given to her by her grandfather. Finally, she gives this up as well and is rewarded by a rainbow, a happy grandfather and a new flute. While the prose is a little clunky in places, the fantastical story and Cote's bright, cheery illustrations will keep kids interested. With the focus on leprechauns, bagpipes and parades, this one is sure to be popular around St. Paddy's Day, for which there is a relative dearth of stories. An endnote discusses rainbows and the use of Roy G. Biv as a handy tool for remembering a rainbow's individual colors. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.