Mr. and Mrs. O’Grady are so poor they have just one of everything to share – one potato a day, one chair, one blanket full of holes, and one gold coin for a rainy day. After digging up the last potato in their patch, Mr. O’Grady comes upon a big black object. It’s a pot – no ordinary pot, for what they soon discover is that whatever goes into it comes out doubled! Suddenly the O’Gradys aren’t destitute anymore. But what they really long for is one friend apiece. Can the magic pot give them that?
Ireland
Materials from Ireland
Billy Beg and His Bull
With magical gifts from the bull his mother had given him, the son of an Irish king manages to prove his bravery and win a princess as his wife.
Saint Patrick and the Peddler
When a poor Irish peddler follows the instructions given to him by Saint Patrick in a dream, his life is greatly changed.
Brave Margaret: An Irish Adventure
Margaret has a brave heart. She dreams of adventure and longs to travel to distant lands, so when a tall ship appears in the harbor, headed north to the Kingdoms of the Cold, Margaret won’t be left behind. But adventures are perilous things. Soon Margaret must face a ferocious sea serpent and even worse dangers. And she must discover the truth about an old woman with strange powers and mysterious plans, or she’ll never find a way to bring herself and her true love safely home.
The Starlight Cloak
In the author’s version of the Cinderella story, a princess in Ireland leads a life of misery until her foster mother reveals magical powers that change her life forever.
Too Many Leprechauns: Or How That Pot O’ Gold Got To The End Of The Rainbow
On St. Patrick’s Day, leprechauns are lucky. But on every other day of the year, they make for noisy neighbors–and they’re turning the entire town of Dingle upside down! Fortunately, Finn O’Finnegan always has a clever plan brewing, and this time, with a little luck of the Irish, it’s a scheme that just might fool even the cleverest of creatures.
The Irish Piper
In this version of the traditional tale, the Pied Piper plays upon Irish pipes and travels from County Clare in Ireland to the village of Hamelin to rid it of its rats. An author’s note discusses the Piper’s music and provides examples of what he may have played.
The Children Of Lir
A haunting Irish legend, believed by some to be the basis for King Lear. A king’s jealous wife puts a spell on his children, changing them into swans, until such time as the Man from the North and the Woman from the South–two mountain peaks–are joined together. Watercolor illustrations.
The King of Quizzical Island
When no one can answer his question about what is at the edge of the world, the King of Quizzical Island builds a boat and sets sail to find out for himself, despite the objections of his fearful people.
The Faceless Ones
Valkyrie screamed, sprinting toward Skulduggery. He looked up and reached out to her, but it was too late. If you’ve read the other Skulduggery books by Derek Landy (and you really should have read them by now), you’ve seen it all before: Some bad guy wants to bring about the end of the world, and Skulduggery and Valkyrie fight valiantly to stop it from happening. A few people get hurt, sure, but everything’s all right in the end. Well, not this time.