Awards

• Nominated for Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration 2026 (UK)

Overview

The stunning debut picture book from Jackie Kay, one of the UK's foremost poets, rooted in familiar folk songs, and injected with gloriously lyrical old Scots. When Shona was a wee bit bairn Her daddy would sing Coorie Doon, Till she cooried doon and fell asleep Under the huge eye o’ the moon. Every night, Shona is tucked into bed by her loving parents, who sing her old and familiar folk songs: Tiree Love Song; Goodnight, Irene and Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go? And as Shona sleeps, we follow the people and places that drift into her dream world: her best ""fiere"", Ali, her dog, Marley, her cat, Flo... Then, years later, we meet Shona when she is sixty – actually sixty years old! – as she tucks her daddy, now an old man, into bed. And it is her turn to sing to him: ""Coorie Doon, Coorie Doon, wee Daddy"". Magnificently illustrated by Jill Calder, this is a truly original picture book that celebrates the small, perfect rituals of childhood and how they become a vital part of who we are. The book also includes a QR code to scan that will link through to a video from Jackie Kay and free audio recordings of songs from the book from legendary folk singers Peggy Seeger, Claire Brown and Suzanne Bonnar.

Full Product Details

9781529532210

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Jackie Kay was born in Edinburgh. A poet, novelist and writer of short stories, she has enjoyed great acclaim for her work for both adults and children and her novel, Trumpet, won the Guardian Fiction Prize. From 2016-21 she was the third modern Makar, the National Poet for Scotland. She has written children's novel, Straw Girl, and poetry collections including The Adoption Papers, Other Lovers and Off Colour, as well as short story collections including Why Don't You Stop Talking. She is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Salford. Jill Calder is an award-winning illustrator of many children's books including Robert the Bruce, King of Scots by James Robertson, What Is Poetry? by Michael Rosen and The Sea by Miranda Krestovnikoff. Since graduating from Edinburgh College of Art in 1991, Jill’s work has taken her around the world, most recently to Pakistan and Sri Lanka with the British Council’s Drawing Words exhibition of British picture book illustrators, curated by the then Children’s Laureate, Lauren Child. In 2022, Jill’s first retrospective exhibition, ""A Blink of Ink … the Creative World of Jill Calder"" was held at Callendar House in Scotland. Her work has been displayed at the V&A Museum, the National Museum of Scotland, the Royal Brompton Hospital and the Royal Scottish Academy.

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