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Top 5 Scottish books for bairns, chosen by author and translator Ashley Douglas 

Our pick of the kids' books out there for proud Scots – and everybody else

From The Lass and the Quine by Ashley Douglas. Illustration: Kate Osmond

From traditional tales to modern stories, these Scottish stories – chosen by multilingual historian, translator and author Ashley Douglas – will inspire children… and entertain adults too.

Maisie Comes to Morningside by Aileen Paterson 

The adventures of Maisie, the gallus kilted kitten, have brought joy to many. This was the book where Maisie’s adventures began, published in 1984.

The Itchy Coo Book o Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales in Scots by Elaine C Smith, Val McDermid and others

A host of weel-kent Scottish writers tell nine of the Danish author’s best-loved fairy tales in Scots, from The High Heid Yin’s New Claes to The Wee Sea Quine

Read more:

The Tale o the Wee Mowdie that wantit tae ken wha keeched on his heid by Matthew Mackie

The whimsical tale of a crabbit wee mole on a quest to find out who has ruined his day is translated directly and deftly from the original German into a rich, modern Scots. 

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Dame Lynley Stuart  Dodd

An honorary entry on this list, because the star of this charming rhyming tale about a bunch of canine pals by New Zealand’s Dame Lynley Stuart is, of course, the titular Scottish terrier, Hairy Maclary (best said in a Scottish accent!).

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Diary o a Wimpy Wean by Thomas Clark

For slightly older bairns, this is a hilarious and heartwarming transformation of Jeff Kinney’s Wimpy Kid into pitch-perfect everyday modern Scots. 

The Lass and The Quine by Ashley Douglas, illustrated by Kate Osmond, is out now (Tippermuir Books, £8.99). Some of these titles are available to buy or preorder from the Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support the Big Issue and independent bookshops.

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