I adore these childhood classics by M. Sasek. His books are a wonderful way to expose children to the history and culture of other countries. Not to mention that from a design standpoint, I have always been obsessed with the mid-century illustrations. The first in his "This Is..." series was This is Paris, but I thought This is Ireland would be a more appropriate book for today, since St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow. The full series is available for purchase at rizzoliusa.com—click through all of the titles below.
Kevin Sharkey 
From: Rowaida Flayhan | 3/16/12 at 3:35 am
Wow looks really interesting would love to see the contents of these books, illustration interest me. I Will fwd to my daughter who is studying Graphic communication design. Thank you for sharing. Have a wonderful weekend Kevin.
Best wishes
From: Nicole | 3/16/12 at 11:00 am
I love these books, just pick up This is Texas for a friend that is expecting!
From: Gina Vide | 3/17/12 at 2:11 pm
This was a smart post for this month! I love his illustrations and give them as gifts, to our children, when ever we visit one of his cities. Smart! Wishing you the luck of the Irish, today