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.  

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Zoo Girl by Rebecca Elliott

 

2012  

The protagonist whose name we never learn is an orphan. She goes with the other children on a visit to the zoo. She doesn’t get on well with the others and is often alone.  She is fascinated by the animals who befriend her and manages to get left behind. Two of the zoo keepers find her. She is returned to the orphanage. Later the two zookeepers who found her adopt her.      

There are very few words in this book. The story is told mainly though the pictures.

The two main themes are isolation and adoption. The main character feels more at home with the animals than with her peers. Readers, including the caring adult who shares the book with the child, will have to suspend their disbelief. It’s probably not wise for a child to cuddle up to tigers.

Some of the pictures from the story are repeated in the end-papers. They show the protagonist playing with the animal, perhaps emphasising that this little girl is more comfortable with animals than with other humans.

She is not treated unkindly at the orphanage. The adult there looks kind.  

The few words in this text are in a lager font though do have difficult ‘a’s and ‘g’s. 

Find your copy here  

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.