Review - A Wee Book o Fairy Tales in Scots

A Wee Book o Fairy Tales in Scots
by Matthew Fitt & James Robertson
illustrated by Deborah Campbell
Date: 2016
Publisher: Itchy Coo
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 96
Format: e-book
Source: Amazon.ca

"Wee pig, wee pig," said the wolf. "Can I come ben?"
"Whit? And let in a wolf that I dinna ken?
I'm in my hoose and I'm no feared.
By the hair on my broostlie beard
Away ye go, ye big hairy cloon."
"Then I will hech and I'll pech and I will blaw your hoose doon."

Her are six of the world's best-loved folk and fairy tales, retold in lively modern Scots by Matthew Fitt and James Robertson. Familiar stories like Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin are given a fresh look and sound in these new versions, which are ideal for bedtime, nursery and classroom reading. Great entertainment for children and grown-ups alike.

Includes: Cinderella, Wee Reid Ridin Hood, The Three Wee Pigs, Snaw White, The Billy Goats Gruff and Rumpelstiltskin.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I heard about this book from my mom, who came across it online. I thought it looked like fun, and since Amazon had the Kindle edition for a good price, I thought I'd give it a try.

The book is written in modern Scots. I'd heard a few words over the years, being of Scottish background myself, but I'd never read a book in the language. Much of it is like English, but with many unique words. Familiar fairy tales are a great choice for a book like this, since most readers will be able to follow along and figure out what many of the unfamiliar words mean from the context.

The stories themselves are charming and funny, and a few offer some different little twists. In "The Three Wee Pigs", the pig who built his house out of stone goes off to the amusement park and rides the bumper cars before heading home to deal with the wolf. I don't remember that! The pictures were pretty cute, though I wish there had been a few more of them; even though this is a picture book, it's a little more text-heavy than I would've liked.

My only real complaint with this book is that it could really use a glossary. I read the e-book with the Kindle Cloud Reader so I could have another tab open in which to look words up. (Simply rearranging the stories also could've helped, since "Wee Reid Ridin Hood" offered clear meanings for a lot of words if you know the story... but it was at the end of the book, so that opportunity was lost.)

All in all, this was a fun introduction to the Scots language. If you've got a good grasp on English, you'll probably have little trouble reading this one.

Quotable moment:

"Never say never and dinnae sae cannae.
I'm here tae help ye. I'm your Fairy Grannie.
There's nothin can stap us, nothin at aa.
Cinderella, my dear, you will gang tae the Ba!"

Recommended to: parents who want to read stories aloud to their kids; anyone who enjoys fresh takes on fairy tales

Premise: 4/5
Meter: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.83 out of 5