Book talks for 8th graders for Saint Patrick's Day

1. Book Talks: Mrs. Frere 3/10 Ireland NOTE: Click on media files to play.

3. Little (Grrl) LOST by Charles De Lint Note: This doesn’t take place in Ireland, but as it concerns the “little people”, I thought it was appropriate. Book Talk

4. Airman By Eoin Colfer Airman takes place in the early 1800’s on Little Saltee Island off the coast of Ireland.

5. Airman Book Trailer

6. True Irish Ghost Stories by St. John D. Seymour and Harry L. Neligan

7. Ireland is known for its ghosts. Probably the most haunted place in Ireland is Leap Castle. While accounts from the castle are not included in “True Irish Ghost Stories”, learning about them should warm you up for the scary tales that are included. Located in Northern Ireland this castle has been the site of many strange happenings. Built in about 1250, the castle’s purpose was to guard the pass from Slieve Bloom to Munster. Its history is riddled with tales of battles, torture and horror.

8. One of the most disturbing things about this castle was the discovery of an oubliette. A pit with a large spike at the bottom. Prisoners who were cast into the pit were either impaled on the spike or left to starve at the bottom. When workmen began clearing the pit is took three carts to remove all the human bones within the chamber. One of the spirits or entities that is rumored to roam these halls has terrified owners for centuries. It is said to be a small creature with strange eyes and a rotting smell. Locals have seen strange lights coming from the empty castle for years. Now under restoration the new family claims to have experienced a number of strange happenings as well.

9. Video from Leap Castle with Ghosthunters. The bearded gentleman is the current owner of the castle. Read more about Irish spirits in True Irish Ghost Stories!

10. The New Policeman By Kate Thompson

11. The title of this book is taken from an Irish reel with the same name. You can listen to the reel performed by a musician with an Irish flute below.

14. The New Policeman Book Talk

15. If you like The New Policeman , try the sequel: The Last of the High Kings , by Kate Thompson.

16. Bog Child By Siobhan Dowd

17. Bog Child Book Trailer

18. The Humming of Numbers By Joni Sensel

20. Remains of Early Irish Monastery

23. Benny and Babe by Eoin Colfer

24. Benny and Babe takes place in the fictional town of Duncade, which is modeled after the real town of Slade on the south eastern coast of Ireland. Benny has come to Slade to stay with his Grandfather for the summer. His grandfather is the caretaker of, and lives in, the local lighthouse. Book Talk

25. Benny is a serious hurler from the city, who initially looks down on local rural kids, calling them “culchies”. Hurling is best compared to lacrosse. Hurling is an outdoor ball-and-stick game played with fifteen players on a field larger than a soccer pitch. Whereas lacrosse is played with netted sticks, hurling is a played with a flat wooden club, and the ball is struck by swinging the stick vice flinging it as in lacrosse. Hurling players can catch and carry the ball in the hand, but can only pass it by hitting it with the stick, kicking it, or slapping it by the hand. Hurling is a tough game and Benny is surprised when he is taken down in a local game by none other

26. than a dog! (Yes, these culchies actually let a dog play in their game!) What’s worse is that the dog belongs to a tomboyish girl named “Babe” who makes fun of him! Benny and Babe become unlikely partners in a business enterprise that initially goes well. And their relationship is seeming to slowly change from consisting largely of insulting each other back and forth to something more friendly. Then one day, Benny tells the story of “The Black Chicken”. “ You see that big cave down there [known as the Black Chan]? That was like the party cave, ages ago when me Granda was only a sprog. Whenever some big boat ran aground, all the illegal booze would be brought in there for a big party. There were steps cut out of the rock and everything. So one night most of the village was down there all drunk as lords. Me Granda says even he was plastered, and he was only eight at the time. Only been smoking a few years then, too. Anyway, there they were, Irish dancing away. Real Irish dancing too. None of your waving yer arms about or anything. When this black chicken arrives into the cave and starts crowing away. Now, as everybody knows, a black chicken is very bad luck. Granda’s ma, my great grandma, grabbed her family and skedaddled up the steps. She was real superstitious. Had a thing about black chickens. But the rest of them ignored the chicken’s warning and broke open another bottle of wine. Five minutes later, a freak wave swept in and flooded the

27. cave. Twenty-seven people drowned. Whoever escaped the wave was pulled down by the whirlpool.” That sounds like a pretty silly story (and Benny’s Granda is known for telling some whoppers), but it actually foreshadows the extreme danger that Benny and Babe will face in the Black Chan later in the book due to a whacky business plan gone way wrong. What happens to Benny and Babe? To find out, you have to read the book!