"Katie Morag's mother is post mistress on the island, and her father runs the shop or general store. You are as likely to see her father in an apron doing domestic chores as her mother. Her grandmother is "Granny Island"--people on Struay are called by traditional Gaelic-type names referring to where they live, what they do, who they are related to, or by some physical feature--thus, Katie Morag's other grandmother is "Gramma Mainland". Granny Island wears overall and wellies and drives a tractor." The book shows that life on an island in Scotland may not be different from life in other parts of the world when it comes to family. ( )

Mairi Hedderwick has lived on the West Coast of Scotland, and on Coll, one of Scotland's Inner Hebridean islands off the west coast, and shows she knows the island and West Coast culture well in her books about Katie Morag. Katie Morag, a little red-headed girl, lives on a Hebridean island called Struay. Stereotypes and surprises combine in Ms. Hedderwick's stories and illustrations to give a picture that is delightful and utterly charming.

Katie Morag's mother is post mistress on the island, and her father runs the shop or general store. You are as likely to see her father in an apron doing domestic chores as her mother. Her grandmother is "Granny Island"--people on Struay are called by traditional Gaelic-type names referring to where they live, what they do, who they are related to, or by some physical feature--thus, Katie Morag's other grandmother is "Gramma Mainland". Granny Island wears overall and wellies and drives a tractor. Mostly, however, men are farmers and fishermen, and women do the shopping or hang out the wash.

These books, written for young children, have little to do with sheepdogs or herding per se, but life on the island is a traditional one, and careful study of the illustrations (which are lovely in both their simplicity and complexity) reveals scenes of sheep farming. Sheep are everywhere and sheepdogs appear on almost every page. Granny Island has her own collie, with a split face, that you will recognize from scene to scene and book to book, even though she is never mentioned directly. ( )

Don't think much of the Amazon description of Granny Island as 'plain'. I know that Granny Island is always going to be preferred by all children to Grandma Mainland. Biologically inaccurate (a 7 year old sheep being the best sheep?) but great fun, charming and beautifully illustrated as alway. ( )