Na Peataichean a thàinig gu Sràid Phalmerston / The Pets That Came to Palmerston Street

About the Publication

by Laurie Stanley-Blackwell (author), Teresa MacKenzie (illustrator), and Effie Rankin (translator)

Paperback

$15.99 CAD

This book is a collaboration of Laurie Stanley-Blackwell (author), Teresa MacKenzie (illustrator), and Effie Rankin (translator). Their goal is to create an English-Gaelic children’s picture book that is fun, gentle, and full of life. This story is about Henry and Abby who want to own a dog. They soon find themselves sharing their home at Palmerston Street with an assortment of pets. The children and their Mom learn that the heart can always expand to make more room for love.

With its beautiful illustrations and sensitive Gaelic translation, this light-hearted story will captivate young readers and young listeners alike. It will also appeal to Gaelic learners who will be able to link via a QR code to a recording of the Gaelic version of this story read by Effie Rankin.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Pictou Bee Press (13 May 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ Gaelic and English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎44 pages
ISBN ‏ : ‎ 978-0-920297-01-8
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 180 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 21.59 x 21.59 x 0.4 cm (8.5 x 8.5 x 0.2 in)

Copies of The Pets that Came to Palmerston Street /Na Peataichean a thàinig gu Sràid Phalmerston may be obtained in person from McCulloch House Museum & Genealogy Centre, 86 Haliburton Road, Pictou; The River Gallery on Water Street, 49 Water Street, Pictou; Antigonish Heritage Museum, 20 East Main Street, Antigonish; and Happenstance, 260 Main Street, Antigonish.

About the Author, Illustrator and Translator

The Author

Dr. Laurie Stanley-Blackwell is a retired history professor whose research interests include built heritage and the history of Maritime Canada. She is the author of academic books and articles, and historical websites relating to religious, social, medical, and material history.

Since her childhood when she read by flashlight, Laurie has been an avid reader. She fondly remembers being read to as a child and later sharing this treasured experience as a parent with her daughter. With its relatable and light-hearted storyline, this book is designed to delight and engage the pre-reader and young reader in both English and Gaelic.

The Illustrator

Teresa MacKenzie is curator of the McCulloch House Museum & Genealogy Centre in Pictou, Nova Scotia, and author of Pictou town (The Pictou Bee Press, 2023). A talented and highly regarded graphic artist, she brings flourish and personality to her watercolour paintings by combining her love for history, architecture, nature, and art.

Teresa’s illustrations in this children’s book are full of joy and life, and reflect her ability to bring a child’s perspective of wonder to her world view. She shares an affinity with the famous British illustrator, Beatrix Potter, in her love for animals and nature and in the rich detail, gentleness, and whimsy of her illustrations.

The Translator

Effie Rankin was born in North Uist in the Western Isles of Scotland and is a native Gaelic speaker. She holds an MA in Celtic Studies from the University of Glasgow and an Education Diploma from Jordanhill College. Effie immigrated to Nova Scotia in 1972 to help initiate a Gaelic program in several schools in Inverness County, Cape Breton. She has taught Gaelic at many levels elsewhere in Canada, including St. Francis Xavier University, and in the United States.

Effie is the compiler and translator of As A' Bhràighe | Beyond the Braes: The Gaelic Songs of Allan The Ridge MacDonald, 1794-1868 (UCCB Press, 2004). She also prepared the Gaelic translation for the classic children’s story, Around the Year with the Malagawatch Mice | Feadh na Bliadhna Còmhla ri Luchain Mhalagawatch (Cape Breton University Press, 2011).