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Scottish Children's Books

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The following list of Scottish children's books should be supplemented by the list contained in Treasure Islands: A Guide to Scottish Fiction for Young Readers aged 10-14, edited by James Alison and Ronald Renton (Glasgow: Association for Scottish Literary Studies, 2003). For an article on this collection, see Jim Alison, 'A Passage to Treasure Islands', in Scot Lit (Scottish Arts Council/Association for Scottish Literary Studies, 2003), no. 29, pp.6-9. The editors invite 'readers of all ages to e-mail their own suggestions on [Scottish] children's novels to: treasureislands@asls.org.uk' (p.8). Have your say!

(NB some twentieth-century classic Scottish children's books have been reprinted in the Kelpies series by Floris Books.)

R.M. Ballantyne: The Young Fur Traders (1856) and The Coral Island (1858); boys' adventure stories; the latter -- Ballantyne's most well-known novel -- is a Robinsonnade that influenced Treasure Island. One copy of Coral Island in Main Library, one in Jordanhill Library.

George MacDonald: one of the greatest and most influential of the Victorian fantasists, whose novels for children include At the Back of the North Wind (1871), The Princess and the Goblin (1872), and The Princess and the Curdie (1883); MacDonald encouraged Carroll to publish Alice in Wonderland and influenced C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. There's a range of MacDonald's books in both libraries.

Robert Louis Stevenson: Treasure Island (1883); Kidnapped (1886); A Child’s Garden of Verses (1885). Two of the most important novels for children, and one of the most important collections of children's verse, in the nineteenth century. Several copies of Treasure Island, Kidnapped and A Child's Garden of Verses in Main Library and Jordanhill.

J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan/Peter and Wendy (1911). There's a large selection of Barrie's writings in both libraries.

William Soutar, A Bairn's Sang and Other Scots Verse for Children (1999).

Allan Campbell McLean: his novels include Hill of the Red Fox (1955) and Storm over Skye (1956). Jordanhill.

Molly Hunter: The Kelpie’s Pearls (1964); A Pistol in Greenyards (1965); The Lothian Run (1970); The Thirteenth Member (1971; Kelpies, 1986); The Haunted Mountain (1972); The Stronghold (1974) (Carnegie Medal winner, set on an Orkney island in the Bronze Age); A Stranger Came Ashore (1975). In Talent is Not Enough (1976), a collection of essays, Hunter 'considers her role and responsibility as a children's writer' (Children's Books, p.352). Jordanhill.

Kathleen Fidler: a number of novels, including The Desperate Journey (1964), reprinted in the Kelpies series. Jordanhill.

Iona McGregor: historical fiction, mostly set in Scotland, including An Edinburgh Reel (1968), The Popinjay (1969), The Tree of Liberty (1972) (set in Edinburgh during the 1790s), and The Snake and the Olive (1974). Jordanhill.

A.S. Neill: The Last Man Alive (1970) - a novel that originated in a story Neill told the children at Summerhill (a pioneering free school that he founded in 1921). Jordanhill.

Joan Lingard: a Scottish-born writer whose fiction deals with the troubles in Northern Ireland as well as Scottish history: Across the Barricades (1972), The Clearance (1974), The Resettling (1975), The Pilgrimage (1976). Jordanhill. Joan Lingard's Website

Lavinia Derwent: the 'Sula' series is a set of four books about life on an imaginary Scottish island - Sula (1969), Return to Sula (1971), The Boy From Sula (1973), Song of Sula (1976). Jordanhill.

Iain Crichton Smith: On the Island (1979) - based on the childhood of one of Scotland's best 20th-century poets. Main Library and Jordanhill Library.

George Mackay Brown, Six Lives of Fankle the Cat (1980; reprinted in the Kelpies series, 1984); a story about a cat in Orkney by one of Scotland's best 20th-century writers. Main Library and Jordanhill.

Moira Miller: her books for young readers and teenagers include the 'Abigale' series for Methuen's 'read aloud' books: Oh Abigale! (1981), Just Like Abigale, and It's Abigale Again (1988). Jordanhill.

Rennie McOwan: Light on Dumyat (1982); The White Stag Adventure (1986); The Day the Mountain Moved (1994); Jewels on the Move (1999) - a series of outdoor adventure stories set in Scotland. Jordanhill.

Eileen Dunlop: her novels include The House on the Hill (1987) (commended for the Carnegie Medal) and Finn's Island (1991) (commended for the McVitie's Prize). Jordanhill.

Frances Mary Hendry: her books include various 'Quest' novels, such as Quest for a Kelpie (1986) and Quest for a Maid (1988), together with texts such as Chandra (1995) and Atlantis (1997). Jordanhill. Frances Mary Hendry's Website

Karen McCombie: author of novels for and about teenagers, including the Ally's World series, and In Sarah's Shadow (2003) - a haunting novel about the difficult relationship between two teenage sisters in which the 'same' story is told by each sister in turn. In Sarah's Shadow is on order for the Main Library. Homepage

Theresa Breslin: has written a number of books for younger and older children, including Kezzie (1993), Whispers in the Graveyard (1994), winner of the Carnegie Medal, A Homecoming for Kezzie (1995), and Remembrance (2002), set during the First World War. Jordanhill Breslin's home page. .

Catherine MacPhail: a number of award-winning children's novels set in urban Scotland, including Run, Zan, Run (1994), Fighting Back (1998), Fugitive (1999), Tribes (2001), and Another Me (2003). Jordanhill.

Jackie Kay: Two's Company (1992), Three Has Gone (1994), and The Frog Who Dreamed She was an Opera Singer (1998) are collections of poems for and about children; Strawgirl (2002) is her first novel for children. Jordanhill.

Julie Bertagna: a number of novels for children and young adults, including Exodus, an impressive adventure story set in 21st century-Scotland when global warming has all but flooded the world. See Julie Bertagna's website.

Mairi Hedderwick: the 'Katie Morag' series for younger readers. Jordanhill.

J.K. Rowling: the 'Harry Potter Series': Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997); Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998); Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999); Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000); publication of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is imminent. The question of whether the Harry Potter series can be included in a list of 'Scottish' children's books raises the larger question about what the criteria are for giving national labels to books. (Rowling was born, grew up, and went to university in England; she wrote the first novel in Edinburgh and now lives in Perthshire.) Jordanhill. Harry Potter Website

I'd be grateful for further suggestions from students.

For further information about the Children's Literature class, please contact Dr Tom Furniss at t.furniss@strath.ac.uk

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