'When excellent stories and lovely illustrations come together in a book with nice thick pages and delightful design, it is apt indeed to call it a 'treasury' Both in themselves and the inventive ways they are disposed on the page, the pictures by Kate Leiper are stunning. It really is a book to treasure.'– School Librarian Journal
'A sublime collection of folk stories Theresa Breslin's pristine, sparkling retellings are accompanied by enchanting illustrations from Kate Leiper.'– The Guardian
'A delightful and varied collection of stories from all over Scotland. Theresa Breslin's style is so compelling and chatty that you feel she is sitting in the room with you, telling you her favourite tales of kelpies and brownies, talking birds, sheepdogs and selkies. And Kate Leiper's illustrations are stunning. This is a beautiful book, which will be treasured by children in Scotland and far afield.'– Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo
'This is a lovely book enhanced with the most beautiful illustrations. Folk stories have not lost their appeal in the modern world – it is books like this that will keep them alive.'– Alexander McCall Smith, CBE, FRSE and author
'A brilliant compilation of well-kent stories by award-winning author Theresa Breslin – but her funny, fast-witted storytelling, accompanied by Kate Leiper's otherworldly illustrations of stoorwoorms and selkies, makes these retellings special and truly new. A beautiful book. Buy it as a gift for a parent or grandparent to read to a child.'– Julie Bertagna, author of Exodus
'This breath-taking, beautiful book is a joy to look at and hold.'– Books for Keeps
'It's not all Grimm. Or Asbjørnsen and Moe. Now we have Theresa Breslin's An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales, fantastically illustrated by Kate Leiper This time it's Theresa Breslin's turn to re-tell stories she heard as a child, or learned about in some other way. It is all very, very Scottish. (And if you are not, there is a handy glossary for Sassenachs.)'– The Bookwitch
'This beautiful book of Scottish folklore and legends contains eleven charming stories. The atmospheric and sometimes dark illustrations by Edinburgh-based artist and illustrator Kate Leiper really bring these tales to life This book retells classic Scottish stories that can be appreciated by all the family The book provides a great way to ensure that these fairy tales continue to be passed down from generation to generation and ensure that they will never be lost to the children of Scotland.'– Scottish Field Magazine
'The illustrations complement the tales, with sinuous, flowing lines and beautifully realised detail that rewards close attention A book which would make a wonderful gift and is a very welcome addition to the canon of folk tale classics – an instant classic.'– Armadillo Magazine
'Not only have we a fine author in Theresa Breslin, the book is illustrated in exceptional style by Kate Leiper Theresa tells us her stories in a strong, unfussy, clear language, just as they should be told If that were not enough, the illustrations are exceptionally fine. They add considerably to the enchantment of the book one has rarely seen a kelpie quite so simultaneously magical and powerful as in the double spread for 'The Water Kelpie'.'– Carouse
'The words do not fill each page but are intertwined by illustrations so that you are drawn into each story. The illustrations are in muted colours, giving the book a real flavour of Scottish mystic.'– Juno Magazine
'This is a beautifully illustrated and designed book. Quotations from the text 'sweep' over the endpapers. The illustrations, by Kate Leiper are also delightful the beauty of the illustrations, the 'readability' of the text and the fun of linking the stories with others won me over. An ideal addition to a school library, which could be used to compare and contrast stories from different countries and explore the development of story.'– Inis Magazine
Gr 4–6—Breslin retells 11 tales that she heard in childhood and researched in literary sources, featuring a kelpie, a dragon, a brownie, and other figures, some human and some magical. The collection begins with the repetitive tale of the wee bannock, cousin to the gingerbread man, running down the road and goes on to longer romances and quests. "Whuppity Stourie" is here, along with a Cinderella variant. Breslin seems particularly interested in independent women, and one story is an extended telling of "The Goshawk and the Brave Lady" from Sir Walter Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Borders. Well constructed for independent reading, the selections sometimes become lengthy with extended explanations, description, and conversation so they aren't well suited to reading aloud or storytelling. Each tale begins with brief commentary on its region of origin or the author's personal preference for it, but no specific print sources are provided. Leiper's drawings shaded in muted tones portray the characters handsomely in scenes placed variously on a full page, to one side of the text, or above or below it. The bold dragon on the cover suggests a scarier panoply than is actually found here, and the endpapers and matching pages to introduce each tale lend a dark and sophisticated tone with phrases in varying sizes of lavender text scattered across a purple background. Large and heavy in the hand, the book offers a contemporary introduction to Scottish lore that tends to be represented in libraries by much older, more informative collections or picture-book versions of individual tales.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Some familiar tales and some that are less so make up this elegantly designed and produced collection with Scottish roots and branches. The volume sits nice and flat when opened, the type is large and clear, and the soft, evocative pictures range from full double-page spreads to tiny, exquisite images around the page numbers (a tuft of grass, a sprig of berries and a turnip, among other designs). Each of the 11 stories opens with a page of muted color on the left on which some lines from the coming tale are inscribed in a paler version of the hue. On the right, the name of the tale and a brief description of its source are framed in an image that carries and echoes through the pages. "The Wee Bannock" recalls "The Gingerbread Man," and "Whuppity Stourie" brings to mind "Rumpelstiltskin," but the rhythms and much of the detail reflect their Scottish sources. There's a lovely, brief story from Sir Walter Scott, "The Goshawk and the Brave Lady," that touches on the enmity between England and Scotland and in which the heroine rescues herself for her own true love. Breslin supplies a selkie story. Most of the Scots words are clear in context, but there is a strikingly informative glossary as well. A genuinely beautiful collection that begs to be read aloud--or told--again and again. (Folk tales. 7-12)
