Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka

by Tomie dePaola

Book Overview

When Jamie O'Rourke's wife leaves him alone for a week, it's up to Jamie to do the housework. But Jamie isn't just the laziest man in Ireland, he's also the messiest When a magical pooka arrives... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399234675
• ISBN13: 9780399234675
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.3" x 10.3"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

I love the Jamie O'Rourke stories

Irish Folktale I read during St. Patrick's Day for my preschoolers.

Great story with wonderful illustrations!

My boys love me to read this book to them. The traditional Irish character of the Pooka is especially loved by them for his helpfulness and his clever way of getting the laziest man in Ireland, Jamie O'Rourke, to reward him for all his hard work. This reward ultimately frees the Pooka from having to do any more work. (The Pooka had been a lazy man in life, so upon entering the other world -- death -- he was condemned to wander the world toiling for others until someone recognizes and rewards him for his hard work. It is this reward that frees the Pooka from his life of toil.) Despite their young ages my sons quickly recognized that Jamie O'Rourke was setting himself up to one day be a Pooka because of his own lazy ways. They also figured out how ungrateful Jamie himself was when he accused the Pooka of being ungrateful for not cleaning up the house after he was given the coat. There are several worthwhile lessons to be learned from this story. The only thing I don't care for in this story is that Jamie's poor wife, Eileen, is clearly the only one in the home that does any work, including cooking and cleaning up after the lazy Jamie. This role is a little too traditional for my tastes since Eileen appears not to complain about being put upon, but I've treated this aspect of the book as a launching point to talk about gender roles and the question of fairness in household chores.

A wonderfully amusing book

My six year old son and I loved reading this book together. He's now eight and we still enjoy it. I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to be amused.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.....

Jamie O'Rourke is the laziest man in all of Ireland. When his wife, Eileen, visits her sister to help with the new baby, Jamie figures the easiest way to keep the house nice and clean is to stay in bed and rest all week. But when his friends come over with a jug of cider to keep him company, and help him eat all the good food Eileen prepared before she left, they leave quite a mess for Jamie to clean up. "...But the mere sight of the messy cottage made him the most tired man in all of Ireland, as well as the laziest. So he went to bed..." In the middle of the night, Jamie was awakened by a noise. There in the cottage was a donkey-like creature, a pooka, standing on two legs, cleaning and washing and sweeping. Jamie couldn't believe his good fortune. Night after night, all week long, his friends came to have a fine old time eating and laughing and making a terrible mess. And every night after Jamie had gone to sleep, the pooka came and cleaned everything up for him. But never fear, this hard working pooka is just too good to last, and Jamie O'Rourke is about to find out the hard way on the night before Eileen comes home..... Tomie dePaola is back with another delightful and entertaining Jamie O'Rourke misadventure. His easy to read, charming text, based on an old Irish folk tale is only outdone by his very engaging and familiar artwork, and youngsters will enjoy all the wonderful facial expressions and humorous detail in each picture. With an author's note at the end explaining the pooka in Irish folklore, Jamie O'Rourke And The Pooka is an endearing, good time read that's perfect for St Patrick's Day, or any other day of the year. Tomie dePaola is an American treasure. You can never go wrong with one of his books.

A fun story.

Jamie's wife leaves him for a week and all he has to do is keep the house clean: not a small challenge for the messiest man in Ireland - and the laziest. A magical pooka may be able to help - or perhaps not, in this fun story.

An Irish version of the shoemaker and the elves

Lazy Jamie O'Rourke wins again as a Pooka cleans up for him when Eileen goes out of town. After days of partying, Jamie spies on and discovers his benefactor. When Jamie rewards him, the Pooka leaves and Jamie must face the wrath of Eileen for the mess in his house.