Tales of St. Patrick - Hardcover

Gr. 6^-9. In an author's note, Dunlop explains that there is little reliable information about St. Patrick for most of the "best-known stories about him are clearly legend." But using Patrick's own Confession and other writings, she has woven the "tales" into a sketchy, fictionalized biography that begins with Patrick's abduction to Ireland from Roman Britain when he was 16. Patrick's life as a slave, his escape, and his religious training in France are covered briefly, but Dunlop's focus is on his return to Ireland as a bishop and his efforts to convert the Irish to Christianity. Since this is not a straightforward biography, it's unfortunate that Dunlop chose not to embroider the tales with more information about Irish history and details of daily life of the time or to include some of the legends about Patrick (perhaps with explanatory notes). Her tales are as spare as the facts. Still, schools that need more stories about saints may want to consider adding this. Chris Sherman

This fictionalized biography of the Irish saint is an odd amalgam of legends, a few available facts, and the author's own suppositions. By this account, Patrick, kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery, is called upon by God to bring Christianity to the Irish; following his escape, he enters the priesthood, eventually returning as Bishop of Ireland. Suffering hardship and fighting magical battles with Druids, he gains converts not only through the power of God but also by the force of his own personality. Written with the narrative flow of a novel, this mostly engrossing tale lacks character development. Dunlop (Finn's Search, 1994, etc.) relates some legends straight, scoffs at others, and seldom attempts to differentiate between fact and fiction. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable read, and one that makes more human a somewhat venerable icon. (Folklore. 9-12) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.