The great shamrock disaster

Patricia Reilly Giff (April 26, 1935 – June 22, 2021) was an American author and teacher born in Brooklyn, New York, United States. She was educated at Marymount Manhattan College, where she was awarded a B.A. degree, and St. John's University, where she earned an M.A. and Hofstra University, where she was awarded a Professional Diploma in Reading and a Doctorate of Humane Letters. After spending some twenty years as a full-time teacher, she began writing, specializing in children's literature. Giff resided in Trumbull, Connecticut, along with her husband Jim and their three children.