17 St. Patrick’s Day Stories for Preschoolers

We love to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in our house. We all get dressed in green and my son makes a leprechaun trap and lots of great crafts! We haven’t caught a leprechaun yet, but they have left some gold chocolate coins and a mess around our house! For years I struggled to find St. Patrick’s Day stories for preschoolers and I am so happy that there are so many options now! Here is a list of books that will engage and delight preschoolers (and their older siblings too). There’s 17 book recommendations so you can read one everyday in March through St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th.

St. Patrick’s Day Stories

1. How to Catch a Leprechaun by Adam Wallace–

My son really likes this book! It inspired him to make a leprechaun trap of his own. In this book, a leprechaun visits several kid’s houses. The kids have their traps ready. Will one of them catch the leprechaun this year? Get ready for some shenanigans as the leprechaun defeats the traps and escapes. Chaos ensues as some of the traps go haywire. A silly, rhyming book that is sure to capture your child’s imagination.

2. Hooray for St. Patrick’s Day by Joan Holub–

This is a fun rhyming story with flaps for preschoolers to lift. The book is not very long, but gives preschoolers a good overall picture of the holiday. It talks briefly about shamrocks, St. Patrick, how Americans celebrate the holiday by wearing green and eating green foods, and looking for a pot of gold. It’s a cute book and my son loves pointing out that both the dog and the goldfish are wearing green 🙂 Carefully look on each page for a hidden leprechaun!

3. The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day by Natasha Wing —

Told in a rhyming style similar to the famous The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore, this book tells the readers about the night before St. Patrick’s Day. The two kids, Tim and Maureen, are excited for St. Patrick’s Day to arrive because they want to catch a leprechaun. They set an elaborate trap and while they are waiting, they eat green foods and indulge in some holiday fun. They hear a commotion and find that they actually caught a leprechaun! Will he tell them where he buried his gold? Read this one and find out!

4. Green Shamrocks by Eve Bunting–

St. Patrick’s Day is approaching and Rabbit wants to wear shamrocks to the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Rabbit carefully grows shamrocks, making sure that the little plants everything they need. A strong wind blows the pot of shamrocks to Goat’s house. Oh no. Is Goat going to eat them? Nope, Goat is busy eating a rubber ball and an old tin can! Phew, the shamrocks are safe. Rabbit makes a shamrock chain and Goat wears the pot on his head and they head to enjoy the parade with their animal friends. Make this shamrock friend craft to go along with this story 🙂

5. Lucky Tucker by Leslie McGuirk–

It’s March 17th and Tucker, a cute dog, is having a bad day. In an effort to turn his luck around, Tucker rolls in a bed of four leaf clovers. A leprechaun spies him rolling around and tells Tucker that those are the leprechaun’s special lucky clovers. Now Tucker has the luck of the Irish and everything starts going his way! Tucker’s St. Patrick’s Day ends with a box full of new toys—what a lucky dog.

6. Gingerbread Man and the Leprechaun Loose at School by Diane Murray–

It’s St. Patrick’s Day and a leprechaun is causing trouble all over the school! It’s up to the Gingerbread Man to stop the leprechaun’s shenanigans. The Gingerbread Man builds a leprechaun trap in the classroom and catches him! Now that the leprechaun is caught, he promises to clean up his mess and not cause any more trouble, at least not until next St. Patrick’s Day. This book is a silly, rhyming good time! You and your kiddo will be cracking up through this story 🙂

7. Disney Junior (Mickey Mouse Club House) Top O’ The Clubhouse —

Get ready to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Mickey Mouse and friends at the Clubhouse. They’ve got it all decorated in green and ready for a party. Oh no, Pete is causing some trouble! Will the party be ruined? Join Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto in this holiday adventure to find out!

8. That’s What Leprechauns Do by Eve Bunting–

I love this book! It was one of my favorites! Three little leprechauns have to bury the gold treasure at the end of the rainbow. They set out to find the end of the rainbow and along the way get into all sorts of mischief because that’s what leprechauns do! This book is lots of fun and will leave you giggling at the leprechauns’ shenanigans. Make an edible cereal rainbow to go along with this book!

9. Pete the Cat: The Great Leprechaun Chase by James Dean–

Pete the Cat starts his own leprechaun-catching business and his friends hire him to capture some luck for them. Clover, the leprechaun, is pretty fast and Pete isn’t having any luck catching him. Pete’s friends are depending on him for help! Finally, Pete catches Clover, only to learn that you don’t need to find luck, you can create your own.

10. Ten Lucky Leprechauns by Kathryn Heling–

This is a cute counting story featuring 10 adorable leprechauns! Preschoolers can count and giggle along with this rhyming story. We loved “revvin’ seven” on a motorbike! Kids will like the cute, bright illustrations and the happy smiles on the leprechauns. Make a leprechaun paper bag puppet to go along with this book.

11. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover by Lucille Colandro–

The old lady is back in another holiday book! This time she is swallowing symbols of St. Patrick’s Day such as a clover, gold coins, and a giant pot. What is she up to? At the end of the story, out of her mouth pops a rainbow and all of the St. Patrick’s Day decorations and symbols. Preschoolers will giggle at this silly lady and yell “You can’t eat that!”

12. The Littlest Leprechaun by Brandi Dougherty–

Brandi Dougherty writes a cute “Littlest” series all about how even the youngest of us can help in a big way. In this St. Patrick’s Day book, Liam the leprechaun wants to help his family with their leprechaun duties. He tries helping the adults around him, but he is too little for those jobs. But when a baby unicorn is stuck, Liam is the perfect one to help free it! Filled with adorable pictures and a sweet message, you and your preschooler will enjoy reading this book together.

13. It’s St. Patrick’s Day! by Rebecca Gomez–

In this short story, preschoolers are introduced to St. Patrick’s Day through rhyming text and cute illustrations. The kids in the story wear green, decorate, eat Irish stew, listen to bagpipes, and participate in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. This book give a nice overview of the holiday celebrations at an easy-to-understand level for preschoolers. Pair this with Sesame Street’s Murray visits an Irish Dancing School short video.

14. Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Curious George by Cynthia Platt —

Margaret and H.A. Rey’s monkey stars in this fun board book all about St. Patrick’s Day. George provides a nice overview of the holiday celebrations by dressing in green, learning some Irish dances, eating yummy traditional foods, and searching for leprechauns. We know George is a good little monkey, but he always finds trouble. With the parade coming, will George be able to stay out of trouble? Check this one out from your library to find out 🙂

15. Pout Pout Fish: Lucky Leprechaun by Wes Adams–

St. Patrick’s Day is so much fun to celebrate that even the ocean creatures get in on the fun! In this story, Mr. Fish dons a green hat and beard to deliver holiday cheer to his friends, but he needs a pot of gold. After lots of searching, Mr. Fish finds a school of small gold-colored fish to pretend to be the gold for his pot and his costume is complete!

16. You’re My Lucky Charm by Natalie Marshall —

This book is a lovely message from a parent to child about how lucky the parent is to have the child in their life. This board book has cut-outs and chunky pieces to feel throughout the pages. It is filled with St. Patrick’s Day images like leprechauns, pots of gold, and rainbows. This sweet rhyming, short story is great for bedtime cuddles.

17. The Luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever by Teddy Slater–

This is a rhyming, whimsical story of a leprechaun family celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Filled with St. Patrick’s Day symbols and lots of green, the leprechauns enjoy a fun parade before heading home for a delicious dinner. The extended family and friends keep arriving and the house is crammed full of leprechauns and they just can’t fit one more. Instead of complaining that the it’s cramped inside, the leprechauns realize that this is the luckiest St. Patrick’s Day ever because they are all together!

We hope you enjoy these St. Patrick’s Day stories as much as we do! Please check your library for these and other great books. I’ve included links to purchase these titles on Amazon. To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program. If you buy a book through one of my links, then I get a small percentage of the sale (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support! Happy Reading 🙂

More St. Patrick’s Day Fun!

Leprechaun Hat Maze: https://imaginationsrunningwild.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/St.-Patricks-Day-Hat-Maze.pdf

St. Patrick’s Day I Spy: https://imaginationsrunningwild.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/St.-Patricks-Day-I-Spy.pdf

Leprechaun Follow the Lines: https://imaginationsrunningwild.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Leprachaun-Line-Following.pdf

Happy St. Patrick’s Day Letter Tracing: https://imaginationsrunningwild.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/St.-Particks-Day-Letter-Tracing.pdf