An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Castle Legends

“The castles of Scotland are storied places—literally—as we learn from Theresa Breslin’s engaging narrative in An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Castle Legends, with dramatic pictures by Kate Leiper. A map at the beginning, inset with monochrome paintings, gives us a glimpse of the real places that have given rise to fantastic yarns about goblins, dragons and the seal-creatures known as selkies, but also to human-scale tales involving faithful dogs, cow thieves and identical twins of unusual sagacity.” —The Wall Street Journal 

“The book’s elegant design enhances the reading experience, while the artwork creates strong, enduring images of the people and creatures in the stories. Created primarily with chalk pastels and enhanced with ink and acrylic paint, the illustrations create scenes with unusual clarity, beauty, and mystery.... In a time when few new books of legends are published for children, it’s a pleasure to find such a beautiful collection of riveting stories.” —Booklist 

“A map of Scotland with images of the castles appears at the beginning of the book, followed by 11 tales, fluidly told and stunningly illustrated in a large format. The artwork is done in acrylic and ink with pastel on paper and adds detail and visual interest to propel readers forward. This handsome volume will be an appealing addition to libraries as both source material for programs and for individuals to read and share.” —School Library Journal 

“An exciting collection of deliciously spooky legends associated with no fewer than thirteen ancient Scottish castles.... [It] unfolds with luscious authentic illustrations and is told in delightful traditional style.... A beautiful children’s classic that will cause readers to dream hopefully of visiting all the mystical castles and sites in Scotland associated with these magical tales.” —Midwest Book Review 

“Each tale is beautifully illustrated with drawings on every page done in chalk pastel on paper with occasional use of ink and acrylic paint... The tales are absolutely fascinating including dragons, Monsters (Loch Ness), Selkies, Goblins, Faeries and more. A brief history of each castle is provided before the tale providing an enriching background...” —Youth Services Book Review 

“The illustrations are mesmerizing.... Simply stunning.” —Catherine Rayner 

“A glorious collection of traditional stories. The perfect gift.” —Vivian French 

“I loved Fantastic Beasts, and I’m really glad I got to read this book—it has loads of beasts from Scotland in it, and it’s amazing how many stories I didn’t even know before. I’m going to ask my parents to visit all the places in the book, and I’m going to ask for the other two books like this for my birthday. The pictures are amazing, and the stories are great for reading at night. My friends like it, too!” —Jack, age 9, for Families Glasgow 

“Everything you’d expect it to be. What you’d want it to be. From the wonderful cover by Kate, to every last little story by Theresa, set in different castles all over Scotland, and taking place at varying times in history.... This is a great book.” —Bookwitch

C O N T E N T S:

The Ghostly Piper of Edinburgh Castle
The Mysterious Monster in the Castle of Glamis
The Redcap Goblin of Caerlaverock Castle
The Faery Flag of Dunvegan Castle
The Wizard of Stirling Castle
Doe Not Vaken Sleiping Dogs (Craigievar Castle)
The King’s Three Questions (Moot Hill and Scone)
The True Story of the Loch Ness Monster... (Castle Urquhart)
Meg with the Muckle Mouth (Elibank Castle and Abbotsford)
The Selkie Girl and the Otter King (Eilean Donan Castle)
Tale End (Bothwell Castle)

Glossary

Theresa Breslin

Theresa Breslin is a critically acclaimed author of over 30 books for children and young adults. She lives near Glasgow, Scotland. Her work has been filmed for television, broadcast on radio, and is read world-wide in many languages.