Shetland Gruffalo's Bairn

Da Gruffalo said dat nae gruffalo sud
Ivver set fit i da mirky wid.

But ee nicht o snaa da Gruffalo's Bairn nivver leets whit her faider is telt her an tippers oot inta da caald. Eftir aa, der no sicca thing as da Muckle Mean Moose ... is dere?

In 2015, following on from the huge success of James Robertson's Scots translation of The Gruffalo, Itchy Coo published four dialect versions: the Orkney, Shetland, Doric and Dundee Gruffalos have all proved immensely popular as celebrations of the Scots language's astonishing regional diversity.

Laureen Johnson's Shetlandic version of The Gruffalo is now followed by Christine De Luca's The Shetland Gruffalo's Bairn. A cautionary tale about what happens when a small Gruffalo leaves the comfort of its cave and sets off into the dark wood on a wintry night, this is sure to be another big hit in Shetland and with Shetlandic speakers wherever they bide.

Julia Donaldson, the 2011-2013 Children's Laureate, is the outrageously talented, prize-winning author of the world's most-loved picture books including The Gruffalo and What the Ladybird Heard. Axel Scheffler is one of the world's best-loved illustrators. A publishing phenomenon with millions of copies sold, he has illustrated some of the bestselling and most-read children's books over the last twenty years. Christine De Luca grew up in Walls, Shetland, but has long been resident in Edinburgh. She writes in both English and Shetlandic, her native tongue. She has published six collections of poetry and one novel, and has been the recipient of many awards and prizes for her work. She is one of the founders of Hansel Co-operative Press which was established to promote literary and artistic work in Shetland and Orkney. In 2008 She has translated Roald Dahl's novel Geordie's Marvellous Medicine into Shetlandic as Dodie's Phenomenal Pheesic. She currently holds the post of Edinburgh's Makar (poet laureate). Christine De Luca grew up in Walls, Shetland, but has long been resident in Edinburgh. She writes in both English and Shetlandic, her native tongue. She has published six collections of poetry and one novel, and has been the recipient of many awards and prizes for her work. She is one of the founders of Hansel Co-operative Press which was established to promote literary and artistic work in Shetland and Orkney. In 2008 She has translated Roald Dahl's novel Geordie's Marvellous Medicine into Shetlandic as Dodie's Phenomenal Pheesic. She currently holds the post of Edinburgh's Makar (poet laureate).