THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

Push, pull and slide the moving mechanisms to bring the story to life in this brilliant board book based on the favourite picture book The Smartest Giant in Town by the creators of The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.Meet George, a very helpful giant with a new, smart outfit! But what happens when he bumps into some animals who desperately need his help – and his clothes? Move the clever push, pull and slide mechanisms on every spread to join in the fun and find out.With a short, simple rhyming text based on the original story, The Smartest Giant: A Push, Pull and Slide Book is the perfect introduction for preschoolers to The Smartest Giant by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, and a great gift for fans of the original picture book.

You’re probably familiar with tired cliches around gaming culture in the media… that video games are violent and damaging. That they re for children, or society’s outcasts; for the lazy and those without purpose. Joe Donnelly is here to tell you that video games, in fact, save lives. They saved his. Inspired by his own experience navigating depression following a tragic personal loss, Checkpoint reflects on the comforting and healing effect that entering into new digital worlds and narratives can have on mental health both personally and on a wider scale. From the big-budget triple A studios, to the one-person indie set-ups, there are thousands of eye-opening games exploring human complexities overtly and subtly all waiting to enthrall and comfort players old and new. Through exclusive, in-depth interviews with video game developers, health professionals, charities and gamers alike, Joe makes the case for the vital value of gaming culture and why we should be more open minded and willing to pick up a controller if not for fun, for the well-being of ourselves and our loved ones.

Glasgow has long been an important settlement on the River Clyde but it grew rapidly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to become one of the largest cities in the world in that period. The largest seaport in Scotland, it was a major city in the Scottish enlightenment and the transatlantic trade brought wealth to the city. At the same time Glasgow was becoming an important industrial city, particularly in shipbuilding, engineering, chemicals and textiles, bringing in large numbers of people. Although many were relocated outside the city in the latter decades of the twentieth century, Glasgow’s dynamic history is reflected in its diverse architecture and the heritage of its church buildings.In this book author Gordon Adams surveys the historic churches of Glasgow, outlining their story through the ages and picking out interesting features of each. The churches range from the elegant eighteenth-century St Vincent Street Church, to the intimate Govan Old Parish Church with its unsurpassed collection of medieval monument stones, the unique Queen’s Cross, the only church built by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and many more gems.This fascinating picture of an important part of the history of Glasgow over the centuries will be of interest to all those who live in or are visiting this fascinating city in Scotland.

Jane Haining was undoubtedly one of Scotland’s heroines.A farmer’s daughter from Galloway in south-west Scotland, Jane went to work at the Scottish Jewish Mission School in Budapest in 1932, where she was a boarding school matron in charge of around 50 orphan girls. The school had 400 pupils, most of them Jewish. Jane was back in the UK on holiday when war broke out in 1939, but she immediately went back to Hungary to do all she could to protect the children at the school. She refused to leave in 1940, and again ignored orders to flee the country in March 1944 when Hungary was invaded by the Nazis. She remained with her pupils, writing ‘if these children need me in days of sunshine, how much more do they need me in days of darkness’.”Her brave persistence led to her arrest in by the Gestapo in April 1944, for “offences” that included spying, working with Jews and listening to the BBC. She died in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz just a few months later, at the age of 47. Her courage and self-sacrifice, her choice to stay and to protect the children in her care, has made her an inspiration to many.

After a terrible storm, the Kingdom of Birds is looking for a leader. Will it be the bird with the loveliest song, or the brightest plumage? The fastest in the air, or underwater? The bird who flies highest, or those who stick together and work as a team?All across the sky, birds are flocking together. Nightingales and robins, barn owls and blackbirds. The eagle, the flamingo, the birds of the moor. Curlews and cuckoos and herons and hoopoes. And Wee Jenny Wren.Let the contest begin!

‘A gleeful, page-flipping read’ Observer’The ultimate summer escape’ New York TimesOne wrong move, one misstep, and the course of a life can be changed for ever.Annie Perry is born beside the coal-muddied canals of the Black Country at the height of the industrial revolution. At nine years old she is sold for six guineas to the famous and feared bare-knuckle boxer Bill Perry, the Tipton Slasher. From that moment on, Annie will fight – for Bill and for her future.A whole new world opens up to Annie, one of love, fortune and family, but also of great danger.

It is 2007, a time of recession and impending climate crisis, and one young man decides to change the world.This is the story of Stephen Jackley, a British geography student with Asperger’s Syndrome. Aged just twenty-one, obsessed with the idea of Robin Hood, and with no prior experience, he resolved to become a bank robber. He would steal from the rich and give to the poor.And he did. Bank notes mysteriously found their way into the hands of the homeless. The police had no idea who was responsible. Until Jackley’s ambition got the better of him.

Meet the kindest giant around and all his animal friends in this special twentieth anniversary edition of the bestselling story The Smartest Giant in Town by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, featuring the much-loved original story plus special bonus content.George wished he wasn’t the scruffiest giant in town. So when he sees a new shop selling giant-sized clothes, he decides it’s time for a new look: smart trousers, smart shirt, stripy tie and shiny shoes. Now he’s the smartest giant in town . . . until he bumps into some animals who desperately need his help – and his clothes!The Smartest Giant in Town 20th Anniversary Edition features the classic story by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, creators of The Gruffalo, as well as extra-special bonus content to celebrate the anniversary year.

Brought to you by Penguin.Detective Inspector Ray Lennox has fled to Miami to escape the aftermath of a mental breakdown induced by occupational stress and cocaine abuse, and a harrowing child-sex murder case back in Edinburgh.But his fiancee Trudi is only interested in planning their wedding, and soon Lennox cast adrift, alone in Florida. A coke-fuelled binge brings him into contact with another victim of sexual predation, ten-year-old Tianna, and Lennox flees across the state with his terrified charge, determined to protect her at any cost. But can Lennox trust his own instincts? And can he handle Tianna, while still trying to get to grips with the Edinburgh murder?(c) Irvine Welsh 2008 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

There are around 8,000 people incarcerated in Scotland. For 40 years, Prison Fellowship Scotland has been working with prisoners and their families, providing practical help and care, and sharing the good news about Jesus. 40 Years Behind Bars tells the stories of the work of Prison Fellowship Scotland, from the perspective of the people closest to the work – prisoners, volunteers and prison workers, amongst others.These uplifting first-hand accounts give voices to many who are unheard, and an insight into the real difference God makes in the lives of those trapped in cycles of addiction and abuse. From weekly groups where anyone and everyone is welcomed, to the Sycamore Tree course, encouraging victim awareness and restorative justice Prison Fellowship Scotland, and other Prison Fellowships around the world, show the love of God in a tangible way to prisoners and their families.Learn more about the impact this incredible organisation has had in 40 Years Behind Bars.

Saul Vaigers (Scots for “Soul Travellers”) is a unique collaboration between award winning poet William Hershaw and artist Les McConnell. Based on the concept of a breviary or prayer book, the beautifully designed pamphlet by Gonzalo Mazzei from Grace Note Publications is a calendar of Saints, each related to Scotland, its medieval shrines and pilgrims’ routes. The poems and stunning artwork deal with themes of maintaining faith and hope through difficult times and are highly relevant in the context of today’s world. Each section comes with an explanatory note. This is a book that will be treasured by a range of folk who are interested in walking, poetry, Scottish landscapes, history and religion. The combined overall quality is stunning.

The ninth Inspector Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES.’Masterly’ SUNDAY TIMES’Ian Rankin is a genius’ Lee ChildDI John Rebus is hard at work on multiple cases. Not only is he on the trail of a WWII war criminal – he’s also become entangled in a dangerous battle between two rival gangs.But when his daughter is the victim of an all too professional hit-and-run, there’s nothing Rebus won’t do to bring down the prime suspect.Even if it means making a deal with the devil . . .

THE NAIL-BITING, BESTSELLING FINAL CHAPTER IN THE LEWIS TRILOGY’One of the best regarded crime series of recent years’ Independent’Peter May is a writer I’d follow to the ends of the earth’ New York TimesPETER MAY: THE MAN WHO BROUGHT MURDER TO THE OUTER HEBRIDESTHE NEW STARTFin Macleod, now head of security on a privately owned Lewis estate, is charged with investigating a spate of illegal game-hunting taking place on the island.THE OLD FRIENDThis mission reunites him with Whistler Macaskill – a local poacher, Fin’s teenage intimate, and possessor of a long-buried secret.THE FINAL CHAPTERBut when this reunion takes a violent, sinister turn and Fin puts together the fractured pieces of the past, he realizes that revealing the truth could destroy the future.LOVED THE LEWIS TRILOGY? Read Peter May’s other Hebrides thrillers, COFFIN ROAD and I’LL KEEP YOU SAFE.LOVE PETER MAY? Buy his latest frontlist thriller, A SILENT DEATH

A fun filled educational children’s book with amazing designs about a giraffe called ‘Gilly’ who comes from South Africa to Scotland on holiday. This book highlights great tourist attractions to visit in Scotland such as the Kelpies, the Falkirk Wheel and Loch Ness and things to do in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Orkney and St Andrews. There will be a link back to South Africa and interesting facts about giraffes. It is aimed at 10-year-old children and is a fun way of learning about parts of Scotland, about parts of South Africa with links to monsters, golf, castles, wizards such as Harry Potter, volcanoes and much more.

In the winter of 1920, the 25 year-old Masataka Taketsuru, with his new wife Rita in tow, arrived in Campbeltown, a small town on the west coast of Scotland. With the help of Professor Wilson of the Royal Technical College in Glasgow, the young Japanese had been fortunate enough to secure an invitation to undergo practical training in pot still whisky manufacture at the Hazelburn Distillery, then the largest of the Campbeltown distilleries. Under the guidance of chief technician Peter Margach Innes, Taketsuru was able to delve into all aspects of whisky manufacture. Four months later, he had completed this report. Taketsuru would go on to establish his own company – Nikka Whisky. Today Nikka’s whiskies are known the world over, and frequently win awards.

‘One of our finest writers’ Michael Moorcock’Alan Warner is one of our best living writers’ Jenni FaganKitchenly 434 is set in a sprawling Tudorbethan mansion in Sussex, Kitchenly Mill Race, on the cusp of the arrival of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister. In some ways, the last days of an Age of Innocence.Marko Morrell, guitarist in Fear Taker, is one of the biggest rock stars in the world. His demanding lifestyle means he is frequently in absentia at Kitchenly, his idyllic country retreat, and so it is his butler (or ‘help’), Crofton Park, who is charged with the maintenance and housekeeping. When, one day, two young girls arrive looking for Marko clutching their copies of Fear Taker LPs, Crofton finds himself on a romantic misadventure which leads to the tragi-comic unravelling of the fantasies he has been living by.A novel about delusional male behaviour, opening and closing curtains, self-awareness, loneliness and ‘getting it together in the country’, Kitchenly 434 is a magnificent novel about the Golden Age of Rock in the bucolic English countryside.

Jeda is a girl on the cusp of adulthood, living in Edinburgh; with a white father and a black mother, she feels self-conscious and out of place. Her feelings of alienation allow the stories of the shapeshifting Shadowman, who embodies all that is negative, to feed on her doubts and insecurities. The death of her mother, Rahami, gives the Shadowman an opportunity to control Jeda through her grief and his lies, but her mother’s last gift to her daughter was a box of stories. When the box is flung open, the stories escape, setting in motion an incredible journey.Jeda learns more about her African ancestry through tales of slavery, cruelty and colonisation, but she also discovers pride and love and sacrifice, ultimately embracing her dual heritage and her unique place in the world. Filled with tragedy, wonder and magic, Blood and Gold explores the themes of loss and oppression, while asking us to examine our own identities, attitudes, and humanity.

The Publisher is the story of Yvonne Duncan asuccessful publisher with two lives, one of publicaffluence and one of private decadence. LorenzoMaldini a sexy personal trainer enters her public life,and a stalker enters her private life. Soon Yvonne has achoice – which life will she choose?

One boy and his toy are about to change everything…

Jack loves his childhood toy, Dur Pig. DP has always been there for him, through good and bad. Until one Christmas Eve, something terrible happens – DP is lost. But Christmas Eve is a night for miracles and lost causes, a night when all things can come to life… even toys. And Jack’s newest toy – the Christmas Pig (DP’s annoying replacement) – has a daring plan: Together they’ll embark on a magical journey to seek something lost, and to save the best friend Jack has ever known…

A heartwarming, page-turning adventure about one child’s love for his most treasured thing, and how far he will go to find it. A tale for the whole family to fall in love with, from one of the world’s greatest storytellers.

A gorgeously gifty hardback, with full-colour jacket and featuring 9 black and white spreads and decorative inside art from renowned illustrator, Jim Field.

The long-awaited memoir by movie and theatre legend, Brian Cox.

From Titus Andronicus with the RSC to media magnate Logan Roy in HBO’s Succession, Brian Cox has made his name as an actor of unparalleled distinction and versatility. We know him on screen, but few know of his extraordinary life story.

Growing up in Dundee, Scotland, Cox lost his father when he was just eight years old and was brought up by his three elder sisters in the aftermath of his mother’s nervous breakdowns and ultimate hospitalization. After joining the Dundee Repertory Theatre at the age of fifteen, you could say the rest is history – but that is to overlook the enormous graft that has gone into the making of the legend we know today.

This is a rags-to-riches life story like no other – a seminal autobiography that both captures Cox’s distinctive voice and his very soul. Rich in emotion and meaning, with plenty of laughs along the way, it will be a classic in the vein of The Moon’s a Balloon by David Niven and What’s It All About by Michael Caine.