Good Luck Bear

Maya's second birthday last week was close enough to St. Patrick's Day that we made it an Irish affair. We had corned beef and cabbage with shepherd's pie on the side. Not bad. On the day, Maya got a green bowler from her Aunt Marty, who loves all things Irish.

For storytime Tuesday night we inserted an appropriate book into our dinosaur theme. Good Luck Bear, by Greg Foley, is about a lucky little bear who is searching for a four-leaf clover. He's having trouble finding one, and the other animals aren't helping at all. Monkey says there's no such thing, Rabbit finds one but eats it, and Groundhog asks, "If you don't find one, does it mean that you're unlucky?"

Poor Bear feels like the most unlucky animal. But he is lucky. Why? Because he has a friend like Mouse, who brings to him not a four, but a five-leaf clover.

In the past, I usually ignored St. Patty's Day, because I couldn't find any books I liked. But now I'll keep this one on my list for years to come.

I mentioned Maya's birthday. Here's a picture of her blowing out her candles with a little help from Cousin Addy, who had experience from a couple months before.