Books by the author JANIS MACKAY

The Fairy Song

The Fairy Song

Janis Mackay

Rose lives with her parents in a small cottage in the forest. Her family are poor and hardworking, and Rose yearns for fun, friendship and flowers. One Midsummer's Day, walking wearily home, Rose hears beautiful singing and follows the joyful sound deep into the trees. As she listens, a flurry of fairies bursts out of a tiny door in the side of a hill! One of the fairies invites Rose to join their party. Entering the fairy world, Rose is enchanted with her new friends and gladly joins in with their Midsummer song. Will she ever want to leave? Inspired by traditional Scottish stories of fairy folk, celebrated storyteller Janis Mackay weaves a magical tale that will capture any child's imagination. Ruchi Mhasane's delightful illustrations sparkle with joy and vitality.

Characters: Rose

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The Selkie Girl

The Selkie Girl

Janis Mackay

Fergus lives with his father by the sea, but is lonely. He wants a friend more than anything. One day Fergus finds treasure on the beach: a beautiful fur blanket hidden in the rocks. But Fergus doesn't know that his treasure belongs to someone else -- a selkie girl has lost her seal skin and can't go home to the sea without it. Will Fergus give his new friend what she needs, and risk being lonely again? This is a lovely retelling of the traditional Scottish folk tale of the selkie (a seal who can become human) adapted for a young audience. Beautifully written by storyteller and selkie storyteller Janis Mackay, the tale is accompanied by stunning illustrations by Ruchi Mhasane.

Characters: Fergus

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The Wee Seal

The Wee Seal

Janis Mackay

Jamie has been watching the wee white seal that lives on the beach. At night the wee seal cuddles up to its mother. In the morning she goes out to sea and leaves it alone like a strange white stone on the sand. One day tourists come and crowd the wee seal but Jamie knows just what to do to protect it until its mother comes back... Janis Mackay's lyrical prose tells the story of the tender relationship between a wild baby seal and the young boy who watches over it, while Gabby Grant's soft illustrations brilliantly evoke the landscape of the Orkney Islands.

Characters: Jamie

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We check all suggestions, so please ensure that all recommendations are picture books aimed at children less than 6 years old.

Sam and Soraya

Built by Sam & Soraya

In 2022 we welcomed our little twins into the world. Since then we have been building up our home library full of baby books to try and give our boys the best start.

While books with characters called Sam are found in bookstores and charity shops throughout the land, we struggled to find any books with Soraya, Jasper, or Xander.

This gave Soraya the idea to compile a list of books for new parents and then Sam decided to turn it in to a website.