Book Of The Week: Leprechaun On The Loose

Leprechaun On The Loose by Marcia Thornton Jones

Summary:  Sydney finds himself in a lot of trouble, caused by a sneaky leprechaun who seems to be sabotaging his class's St. Patrick's Day party!  First the leprechaun licks the icing off of the cupcakes, ruins the decorations, and spills all of the juice.  Then Sydney devises a plan to catch the leprechaun, but will it work?

Vocabulary:

• icing - frosting
• backstroke - a swimming stroke done on the back
• dove - to move from a higher to lower place with the head or front part of the body first
• soggy - very wet
• scurry - to move quickly as if in a hurry
• faint - weak
• tidbit a little bit
• bait - food used to catch an animal or fish

Questions:

Who were the two main characters in the story?  Name one way that they are the same and one way that they are different.

When and where did the story take place?

What did the leprechaun do first that got Sydney in trouble?

What happens to Sydney when he tries to get the leprechaun from the fish tank?  Was this a good idea?  Why or why not?

Why did Sydney open up the hamster's cage?  What happened when he did?

Why did Sydney want to catch the leprechaun?  How did he do it?

What choice did Sydney have to make once he caught the leprechaun?  Would you have made the same choice?  Why or why not?

What happened at the very end of the story?

Extension Activities:

St. Patrick's Day Writing and Describing

What Have I Learned has great ideas from constructing a leprechaun trap, to shamrock craftivities, to math and literacy

Pre-K activities from Over The Big Moon and itsy bitsy fun