To the extent that most people think about St. Patrick’s Day and its imagery, it’s about leprechauns, the color green, maybe a party or two, and perhaps a brief mention of the Irish saint the holiday is named for.

But the story of Saint Patrick is one of deep faith, unimaginable forgiveness, and a profound conviction in the work and mission of God. One that my friend and IFWE alum, Elise Daniel, shares in her children’s book The Richest Leprechaun in Ireland, a tale about a greedy leprechaun who encounters one of Ireland’s greatest missionaries and is transformed.

I interviewed Elise about the book, her shift from writing on politics, faith, and economics into writing children’s books, and what an Irish missionary who lived hundreds of years ago can teach our children—and us, too.

Was there a particular moment or idea that inspired you to write The Richest Leprechaun in Ireland?

Daniel: I love to celebrate holidays with my kids by reading picture books related to that holiday with them. I’ve accumulated some St. Patrick’s Day-themed picture books over the years and have one stack about leprechauns and one stack about Saint Patrick, but I didn’t like how it felt like a “sacred-secular divide.”

So, it got me thinking about how I could bring leprechauns and Saint Patrick together in one story that did not let myth overshadow the truth. I felt as though it was worth redeeming the secular imagery of the leprechaun rather than rejecting it.

This idea of blending the sacred and secular holiday traditions was inspired by another children’s book that we like to read in our family called Easter Bunny’s Amazing Day. It’s about a bunny who is present at the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ.

I thought it was clever how the author integrated the secular image of the Easter bunny with the true story of Easter to teach children about Jesus in a creative way. Maybe when kids think of the Easter bunny, they will think of the bunny who was with Jesus on the first Easter. Similarly, I hope that when they see images of leprechauns everywhere in March, they’ll think about the leprechaun in my story who had a change of heart after meeting one of Ireland’s greatest missionaries.

Writing a children’s book is a unique challenge! What was the most rewarding—and the most difficult—part of the writing process?

Daniel: The process of writing the story was fun for me because I love the creative stage. Another rewarding aspect was bringing people I love into the writing process. My kids were my favorite “beta” readers. It was so much fun to show them early illustrations, include them in the Kickstarter video, and bring them to the book launch party. I even asked my husband to voice act for the audio version of the book because, in my opinion, he does a great leprechaun voice and Irish accent. So, I’d say sharing the experience with my family and friends was the most rewarding aspect of the project.

The most difficult part was all the steps of the self-publishing process that came after writing the story. There was a lot of information to sift through and decisions to make about printers and book dimensions and formatting that I didn’t care for but were so necessary to get right to make sure the book turned out excellent. That behind-the-scenes work took up a lot more time than I was expecting. I see why authors happily give up royalties to pass all that work and financial investment over to a publisher!

How did your faith shape the way you approached writing this book?

Daniel: I grew up going to an Evangelical church and in my adult life joined the Catholic church for theological reasons, but I’ve always been very passionate about unity between Protestants and Catholics. There’s so much more that unites us than divides us. So, I wanted to write a book that would work well for both Protestant and Catholic families.

I didn’t grow up knowing much about who Saint Patrick was, so I wanted this story to encourage young children to know about Saint Patrick’s life of great faith, courage, and forgiveness. He was captured by pirates as a teenager and taken into slavery on a sheep farm, where he prayed over one hundred times day and night. He eventually escaped back home, only to later come back to the land of his captors to share the gospel with them. That’s a story kids should know about!

And I’m happy to say I’ve received very positive feedback on the book from both Catholic and Protestant friends.

At IFWE, we talk a lot about the idea of calling in work. Did you always see yourself writing children’s books, or did this calling surprise you?

Daniel: I never imagined writing children’s books until I had kids of my own and started reading more children’s books than adult books. Previously, I was writing mostly op-eds about topics spanning theology, economics, and politics—a far cry from children’s fiction.

I’ve reflected on how God has morphed my calling as a writer to fit well into each season of my life. When my kids were younger and I had fewer of them, I would work on op-eds in the hours after they went to sleep, the early hours in the morning before they woke up, and during their naptime. It worked for a while, but eventually it started to feel like too much of a tug-of-war between my job and responsibilities as a mother. I knew I had to pivot. Luckily, pivoting did not mean I had to kiss writing goodbye.

My kids inspired this new phase of my calling as a children’s picture book writer. They’ve opened up a world of creativity to me that didn’t exist before I was a mom, and I am so grateful for it.

What do you hope children—and their parents—take away from this story?

Daniel: I’d love for all kids and parents to know the true story of one of Ireland’s greatest missionaries—his story of captivity, forgiveness, and courageous faith. To learn more, parents can also read Saint Patrick’s Confession, which is free online and not very long.

The other message I’d like everyone to take away from The Richest Leprechaun in Ireland is when Saint Patrick tells Finnius that there is one God who loves him, and to him, he is more precious than gold. How easy it is for even us adults to forget how precious we are to God. I need regular reminders myself.

Do you see yourself writing more children’s books in the future? Are there any new projects in the works?

Daniel: Yes! I have a story in the works about a monk and an animal friend who go on a pilgrimage together during Lent. I wish I could share more!

Lastly, just for fun—if you met a real leprechaun, what would you ask him?

Daniel: I would definitely ask him for my three wishes: that everyone reading this would buy my book here, that they would sign up for my newsletter here, and for my house to always be clean!

Editor’s Note: Photo is by illustrator Tara Wright.