Coorie Doon by Jackie Kay and Jill Calder

2025      

Like Jackie Kay herself, protagonist Shona is adopted and her skin is a different colour from that of her parents. It is quite uncanny that Kay tells us the father in the book looks just like her father and the garden is similar to the one where she lived as a child in Glasgow.

Shona’s father sings ‘Coorie Doon’ to her as she settles down to sleep.  There are other songs: ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ ‘The Riddle Song’ and ‘Tree Love Song’. As the book progresses we enter Shona’s dreams.

Then in a thought-provoking twist at the end of the book sixty-year old Shona sings ‘Coorie Doon’ to her ageing parents.

Jill Calder’s’ illustrations are quite delicate, particularly in the dream scenes.   As ever more story appears in the illustrations.

At the beginning of the book is a QR code that takes you to an interview with Kay and the songs.

At the end of the book there is a letter from Kay to the young reader and simple biographies of both Calder and Kay.

There are sixteen double spreads in the book. The text uses a serif font with difficult ‘a’s and ‘g’s’. It is meant to be read aloud by an adult. Some Scottish dialect may be a challenge for some English readers.  

Find your copy here  

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