Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The hilltop "where the clover is green,/ and rainbows are brighter/ than you've ever seen" isn't big enough for the St. Patrick's Day leprechaun, portrayed with light skin, and the Easter Bunny in this holiday mash-up. The two mascots quickly escalate their tussle over the turf where the leprechaun wants to bury treasure and the bunny has planted tulips. Their prank war leaves them tired and sore, but when pink-skinned Cupid arrives on the scene trying to use the hill as a staging area for next Valentine's Day, the indignant leprechaun and bunny join forces, brought together by Cupid as common enemy. Tarpley's rigorously rhyming text sustains high levels of animation-style one-upmanship throughout, and Laberis's digital artwork gets all the seasonal imagery right, with eggs, baskets, gold coins, tulips, and hearts strewn across the green grass, and four-leaf clovers under a rainbow's glow. Ages 4--8. (Feb.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--Since Easter and St. Patrick's Day are so close together, it was only time before the Easter Bunny and the Leprechaun started some beef with each other. The book opens with the leprechaun preparing for his holiday by hiding his gold when the Easter Bunny starts to scold him for digging up the tulips where he was going to hide his eggs. What follows is a hilarious brinkmanship that will have audiences rolling. But, oh no, why is Cupid here? Maybe our foes will have to team up after all. The rhyming text makes this book great for read-alouds, and each page flows nicely into the next. Lebaris's colorful and expressive illustrations make this book even funnier; the facial expressions and the high jinks that ensue are masterfully rendered. Tarpley has other funny books that are hits with child ren and this is another great one. VERDICT This laugh-out-loud picture book should be a staple for all children's libraries holiday sections.--Kristin Joy Anderson
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Sometimes the holidays get messy. When a light-skinned leprechaun--complete with red beard and clover-adorned hat--appears at the end of a rainbow on a hill dotted with tulips, he's all set to bury his gold…until the Easter Bunny hops over in a huff. The leprechaun is digging up all the tulips where the bunny was planning to hide his eggs. Their argument escalates, and readers will be reminded of Looney Tunes battles between Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck as each employs more and more outrageous traps and tricks to humiliate the other. The duo keep the fight up until a new visitor arrives; although St. Valentine's Day has passed, a plump, light-skinned Cupid is ready to start planning for next year--allowing the two to join forces against a common enemy. The text is told in rhyming stanzas: " 'Gold!' cried the bunny, / but when he bent over, / the leprechaun pushed him / facedown in the clover!" It's not Shakespeare, but it moves the plot along. The digital illustrations are riotously funny, and the final image of the three spring holiday mascots scowling at one another, having reached an uneasy friendship, will have readers giggling all year long. Skilled storytellers will enjoy hamming up the action as the characters attempt to assert their dominance over their hillside home. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Slapstick fun for any season. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
