On March 17, St. Patrick's Day, Irish or not, you will probably find a way to "go green" in another sense and will be in good company. This once-religious holiday, originally meant to honor St. Patrick (386-461), patron saint of Ireland, has now become a world event. Visit "America Goes Green for St. Patrick's Day," http://usinfo.state.gov/scv/Archive/2006/Mar/08-537998.html, to learn more.

Children already know about a few of the magical symbols of St. Patrick's Day, such as rainbows, leprechauns and four-leaf clovers, and will want to celebrate, too. A visit to the children's department of the Grand Island Public Library is a good place to start.

Find a copy of "St. Patrick's Day," by Gail Gibbons, to find out what this special day is really all about. Keep a copy of Edna Barth's much enjoyed standby, "Shamrocks, Harps and Shillelaghs," nearby for some additional facts and figures and then read the beautifully-illustrated "S is for Shamrock-an Ireland Alphabet," by Eve Bunting, and "St. Patrick's Day Shamrocks," by Mary Berendes, for even more fun facts. You may be surprised to learn, for example, why the tiny green shamrock became the national symbol of Ireland.

Boys and girls with a flair for language will have fun reading James Haskin's "Count Your Way Through Ireland." Each page is numbered in Gaelic and encourages children to pronounce each new word as they count to 10. They will also learn something more about Ireland on each page.

Children who have heard that St. Patrick led the snakes out of Ireland will want to know how he did it and will enjoy reading a tongue-in-cheek version, "The Last Snake in Ireland a Story About St. Patrick," by Sheila McGill-Callahan. According to McGill-Callahan, the clever Patrick, not yet a saint at this time, could no longer put up with the naughty behavior of the Irish snakes and tricked them into the sea except for the biggest, sneakiest one who, it seems, continued to sip his buttermilk, hide under his quilt to scare him and even worse, tease his dog, Finbar. You will want to know how this bothersome snake ends up in Loch Ness and you might already suspect what happens next.

Tomie de Paola, favorite children's author, will get girls and boys on track for some Irish history with his "Jamie O'Rourke and the Enormous Potato." Jamie is apparently "the laziest man in all of Ireland" but he also likes to eat and is left to see that the potato crop comes through. A leprechaun with a magic seed helps Jamie grow a potato large enough to feed the entire village but that, naturally, becomes a problem, too. Enjoy the funny ending and then read more about Jamie in "Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka." You will definitely want to find out what a "pooka" is.

While you are on the subject of potatoes, it is a good time to discuss why many of our Irish ancestors left their beautiful land and sailed to America. Set the stage with the entertaining, "The Amazing Potato a Story in Which the Incas, Conquistadors, Marie Antoinette, Thomas Jefferson, Wars, Famines, Immigrants and French Fries All Play a Part," by Milton Melzer. Now you are ready for "Black Potatoes," by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, followed by "How I Survived the Irish Famine, 1845-1850," a wonderfully illustrated children's book written in diary format, by Mary Wilson. Add to the history you have just read by reading two outstanding Irish tales, "Nory Ryan's Song," by Patricia Reilly Giff, an American Library Association Notable Book, and "Katie's Wish," by Barbara Shook Hazen.

So however you choose to "go green" this year, do have a very "Beannachtam na Femle Padraig!" (that's Gaelic for Happy Saint Patrick's Day!)