"Ce'ad mi'le fa'ilte." One hundred thousand welcomes from Ireland, a place where Riverdancers dance and uilleann pipes play across the famed forty shades of green. Culture on the Emerald Isle is rich in history, legends, and symbolic reminders of the country's early Celtic roots. Now young readers can explore this magical realm from A to Z.
Beginning in ancient times, symbols of luck (four-leaf clover) and faith (Celtic Cross) established themselves in the Irish culture and have survived for centuries. The country's rich history extends from the Rock of Dunamase and Kilkenny Castle to the legends of St. Patrick and Finn MacCool.
Rickey E. Pittman, 1998 grand prize winner of the prestigious Ernest Hemingway Short Story Competition, is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. He is also a Civil War reenactor, a public speaker on issues and topics related to the War Between the States, and a musician who travels and performs original and Civil War-period music. The inspiration to write Jim Limber Davis: A Black Orphan in the Confederate White House came from a chance discovery of Jim Limber Davis's existence. Pittman proceeded with the encouragement of friends and the desire to provide reading audiences with an accurate book written from a Southern perspective among the politically driven, and often historically inaccurate materials currently available on the Civil War. Born in Dallas, Texas, Pittman earned a bachelor's degree in New Testament Greek and a master's degree in English from Abilene Christian University. His prolific writing career took off after graduation; he produced numerous plays, works of nonfiction, collections of poetry, and short stories. After moving to Monroe, Louisiana, Pittman was added to the Louisiana Roster of Artists in 1998. Working closely with regional art councils, he was commissioned to write historical plays for Franklin and Madison Parishes. Pittman lives with his wife in Monroe, Louisiana, where he taught English at Bastrop High School and freshman composition at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He works as a freelance writer and editor and is an adjunct English instructor at the University. An enthusiast of many types of music, he is also a singer, guitarist, and songwriter for Angus Dubhghall, a local Scots-Irish band that performs at various Celtic festivals across the South.
Connie McLennan is a member of the San Francisco Society of Illustrators and the Picture Book Artists Association. She graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in art. She lives with her husband in Rocklin, where she works as a freelance artist.
