Favourite Scottish Kids Books
I’m off on my annual long weekend away without the family, catching up with much missed friends back in Scotland, and leaving my three men to fend for themselves in Berlin. So, with Scotland on my mind (ha, who am I kidding, it’s *always* on my mind, lol) I thought I’d share some of our favourite Scottish kids books with you in this week’s Friday Five! Clockwise, starting from the top:
- Katie Morag and the Tiresome Ted, by Mairi Hedderwick – I already introduced you to Katie Morag in my recent post on books about delivering and receiving mail, and this series about a young girl who lives on the fictional island of Struay should not be missing from any collection of Scottish children’s books. This happens to be one I still had from my own childhood, but there are lots more titles to choose from. Enjoyable for girls and boys alike. I’ll definitely be getting some more for my own boys.
- The Selkie Girl, by Janis Mackay with illustrations by Ruchi Mhasane – This beautifully illustrated book is a retelling for young audiences, of the traditional folktale of the Selkie – a seal who sheds its skin and turns in to a beautiful woman. It’s a lovely introduction for children in to the world of Scottish folklore.
- There Was a Wee Lassie who swallowed a Midgie, by Rebecca Colby & Kate McLelland – This Scottish version of ‘There was an Old Woman who swallowed a Fly’ has been a firm favourite since we picked it up when I took the boys over to Scotland last summer. My eldest knows it off by heart by now! If you’re feeling brave, you can sing it instead of reading it aloud.
- No Such Thing as Nessie! by Chani McBain & Kirsten Harris-Jones – You can’t have a collection of Scottish children’s books, without Nessie, everyone’s best loved mythical creature, popping up somewhere. This fun story follows Finlay on his determined Nessie hunt, as he wants nothing more than to meet Nessie for himself, just like his Gran did when she was a little girl. His sister seems to think it’s all nonsense. Or is it?
- Horace and the Haggis Hunter, by Sally Magnusson with illustrations by Norman Stone – Speaking of mythical creatures, this story about Horace the Haggis and his friends is totally bonkers, but kids love it! We have a signed copy, as I was privileged enough to attend the book launch at the Carnegie Birthplace Museum in Dunfermline a couple of years ago. I even got to meet Horace!
With our Scottish connections and our vast home library of children’s books, there will no doubt be another Scottish Friday Five books post somewhere down the line. In the mean time, I hope you’ve enjoyed this selection! Do you have any favourite Scottish kids books?
Please note that all the book links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. That means if you buy any books via these links, I receive a small percentage – at no extra cost to you! – which helps to keep this blog running.
