NA GÀIDHEIL

NA GÀIDHEIL is a book by Catrìona Zappert which is an illustrated introduction to Scottish Gaelic for children.

It's aimed at children, parents, grandparents, teachers and adults who want to learn Gaelic or who want to help other people to learn Gaelic.

Learning a new or different language can be a bit difficult at first, but it's the intention of Catrìona that this book will serve as a simple introduction to gently introduce the reader to some basic Gaelic words that they can build on in later books.

Catrìona says that Gaelic is in her blood. She points out: "As my great grandparents on the Finlayson side were Gaels and on my mother's side, too, some of the Drummonds were also Gaelic speakers, so I feel very strongly about learning and teaching the language."

The illustrations within this book takes the reader on a magical journey through the Gaelic fairy realm of the mystical country of Scotland and introduces them to the Gaels, a family of Scottish fairies, an some of the Gaelic place names in Scotland.

You'll meet magic, unicorns, enchantment and by employing some simple phonetics, you'll be able to learn some Gaelic words that you can use around the home.

Catrìona is learning Gaelic herself and she practices it with her daughter who is six years old. She says: "I love to hear her speak the language."

The book is published by Matador and costs £9.99. It will make an absolutely stunning Christmas gift to any person who wishes to learn the Gaelic of Scotland.

It will be a very helpful book. Or "Bidh e na leabhar gu math cuideachail."

Three Little Mermaids

Three Little Mermaids is a new book for children from Louisa MacVeigh. Lilly, Claire and Nina are all given an invitation to the birthday party of Princess Kikki.

They have to think really, really hard about what kind of birthday present they would get for her. But it was not easy for them, after all what would you buy fora Mermaid Princess who already has everything under the sea?

The three Mermaids all set off on a special quest to find the perfect present for their Mermaid Princess.

Whilst they are searching they meet some fascinating new sea creatures and discover a shipwreck which is chock full of treasures.

But they need to find a present to show Princess Kikki how much they value her friendship. Can they do this?

If they do, what will they find for her?

This is a book that's aimed at children of ages three and over, it's a well-written and nicely illustrated and carries some important messages about the importance of friendship.

It's published by Matador and costs £7.99 and will be an ideal Christmas present.

Aya and Papaya Keep Trying

Aya and Papaya Keep Trying is another well written and well illustrated book for children from MQ.

Aya wakes up smiling. Why? Because she knows that today is the day when she and her family will be going to spend a day on the beach!

Aya busily collects all the important things that she will need for her day at the beach. She then fetches Papaya because it is time for everyone to leave for their day at the beach.

When she is at the beach, Aya builds a nice big castle. But something is wromg! A huge wave comes up the beach and perhaps the sea is hungry, because it eats poor Aya's sand castle, bit by bit!

Of course, this makes Aya very sad. But then Aya is no longer that sad, because she has had a brilliant idea. The idea to build the biggest and strongest sandcastle that the whole world has ever known!

But does she succeed in her ambition? To find out, you'll need to buy this right and sunny book that helps teach children about persisting in their ambitions.

It's another great stocking filler.

It's published by Matador at £9.99.

Aya and Papaya Learn to Imagine

Aya and Papaya Learn to Imagine is anther in this wonderful series of books for children.

Aya awakens to the sound of raindrops pitter pattering gently on her bedroom window. When she draws her curtains back, she sees that the day looks kind of grey.

She and her best friend Papaya splash about outside in the puddles, having a lot of splashy fun. But eventually Aya starts to feel tired. She feels sad, because everything is very wet and she has nothing that she can do.

However, along comes her clever big brother, Faz. He helps Aya learn to use her imagination and to think of new ways that she can have fun.

Its a wonderful illustrated story that will be ideal Christmas gift for children and mums and dads, too!

It's created by MQ and is published by Matador at £8.99.

The Sun Shines Through

The Sun Shines Through is an amazing book from Sharon King.

It's a gripping memoir of Sharon's true account of love, loss, cancer and cannabis oil.

It covers the years between 2012 and this year, 2019, and tells the true story of a married couple who were both diagnosed with cancer in the same year, 2013 and their attempts to take control of the situation and cure themselves.

The book is made up from written diary entries, posts on social media accounts and from personal memories.

It's an engaging account of what they both went through, written with power, clarity and humour.

He had lung cancer whilst she had breast cancer and they decided to employ cannabis oil in their treatments of their diseases.

It's a book that will make you smile and also cry. It will make you angry, too. Why didn't the health professionals realise that Jasper had lung cancer that turned out to be Stage 4 and incurable until he only had four months to live?

How are self employed people such as entertainers like Jasper and Sharon supposed to live if they are seriously ill, yet not actually diagnosed with the serious illness that is affecting them?

Sharon acknowledges that whilst cannabis oil is not a panacea it certainly does deserve to be considered as a potential medicinal treatment.

If you are interested in cannabis oil, how people can survive cancer and the loss of a loved one, this book is a must purchase. And every doctor and nurse in the country should be gifted a copy of this book to help them work with cancer patients and their families and friends.

It's published by The Book Guild at £8.99.

Star Matters II

In Star Matters II by David John West we read what happens when a special code is sent out that informs the military authorities that the Prime Minister of Britain has been contacted by Gayan star people.

However, as might be expected, the US President desires to be in control of the entire situation, but all might not be quite as simple as it appears.

Because, whilst the Gayans appear to be nice, peaceable and reasonable people, the Gayans have enemies who are far from being nice, peaceable and reasonable people.

The enemies of the Gayan would like to annex our planet to become a part of their Spargar Empire.

They send a highly feared warrior to deal with the Gayans who made contact with the British Prime Minister and to either talk them round to his viewpoint, or deal with them by force.

Before First Contact can become a reality, Gayan and Spargar forces prepare to deal with planet Earth.

What will win out? A relationship based on enlightenment and mutual benefit? Or one of the Earth being beaten into becoming a race of slaves under the Spargar Empire?

How will Humanity deal with this existential threat to its very future?

This modern day space opera is  published by Matador at £9.99 and will make a nifty choice of Christmas present for the SciFi fan in your life.

Peter Pixie Visits the Rescue Centre

In Peter Pixie Visits the Rescue Centre younger readers (and their mummies and daddies) will learn all about Peter Pixie.

Peter Pixie lives in a toadstool which is right in the centre of a dark and big forest. Peter (along with all of the other Pixie children) has to attend Pixie school.

Travelling to the school isn't too bad as he rides on an acorn train with his best friend Jonathan, to the big oak tree school slap bang in the very heart of the forest.

When readers meet Peter it is a very special day for him because his class is to visit the Rescue Centre.

Whilst they are being shown around, a terrible calamity occurs! There is a real live emergency. A human is spotted and the human is hunting for mushrooms! The class of Pixie children are able to see a real rescue take place.

Will the members of the Pixie village manage to flee to freedom in time? What will happen to the human?

It's a fantastic story written and illustrated by author an artist Michael J. Woodward.

This book is published posthumously as Mr Woodward died prior to its publication.

It's published by Matador at £7.99 and will make a most excellent Christmas present for the little Pixies in your life!