Overview

""A warm hug of a book ... this seems as personal as any of Kay’s poetry. And as full of love."" The Herald 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.

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9781529506662

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Reviews

Coorie Doon, by the poet Jackie Kay, with beautiful illustrations by Jill Calder, is a labour of love from both creators. It is a story, scattered with dialect words, of love between generations: adoptive parents sing Scottish lullabies to their daughter, who tucks in her “wee” father in his old age. This is about being safe and cosy, and about the remembered happiness of family, home, friends, pets and landscape. * The Sunday Times * Little Shona’s parents sing her to sleep with traditional Scottish folk songs in this wild, imaginative picture book, filled with enduring tenderness and softly rambling dreams. * The Guardian * a warm hug of a book about going to bed, sweet dreams, the moon, foxes, corbies “fizzing and jagged in the sky’s big bed,” mums and dads singing their children to sleep and grown-up children doing the same to their ageing parents. And frankly if that doesn’t tug on your heartstrings you haven’t got any. This also seems as personal as any of Kay’s poetry. And as full of love. * The Herald, Book of the Month * Snuggle down, get cosy and drift away with this beautifully poignant bedtime story – the first from Scotland’s much-loved former Makar, Jackie Kay. With fabulous illustrations by Jill Calder, it give us wee Shona, who, to the lullabies of her daddy and mammy, dreams about those she knows and loves, and Shona at 60 when the tables are turned and she sings to her elderly father as he corries doon. Brimming with love. * The Sunday Post * Dreamy and beautifully illustrated, Coorie Doon is a brilliant debut picture book […]A magical book. * The Scotsman *

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 lives in Manchester and is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Salford. Jill Calder is an award-winning illustrator born in Dundee and now based in Fife. She has illustrated such books as Michael Rosen’s What Is Poetry? Her work has been displayed in many institutions including the V&A Museum, The National Museum of Scotland and The Royal Scottish Academy. In addition to her illustrative work, Jill is also a calligrapher, digital artist and lecturer.

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