Coorie Doon: A Scottish Lullaby Story

About this book

Shona’s mum and dad sing her Scottish lullabies before she goes to sleep: He-reeho-ro, my bonnie wee girl, he-reeho-ro, my fair one/Will you come away, my love, To be my own, my rare one? 

Then, when Shona is asleep, she has some fantastic dreams, which are as gloriously nonsensical as dreams often are: riding unicorns with her friends and chasing sheep. 

Many years later, when Shona is a grown-up, she sings the same lullabies to her dad, who is now very small and old. She goes outside to look at the moon, and waves to it. 

This gentle, lovely and poetic book is a wonderful celebration of Scots dialect and some of the traditional Scottish lullabies that author and poet Jackie Kay – once the Makar, the poet laureate of Scotland – remembers from her own childhood. It’s also a beautiful celebration of love and family, all dreamily illustrated by Jill Calder in stunning watercolour.  

There’s a lovely afterword from Kay too, giving readers a little insight into her childhood, and about the power of dreams and the loveliness of bedtime. A very special book.