About the Publication
by Laurie Stanley-Blackwell (author), Karen Megronigle (illustrator), and Effie Rankin (translator)
Paperback
$18.99 CAD
Buy NowThis book is a collaboration of Laurie Stanley-Blackwell (author), Karen Megronigle (illustrator), and Effie Rankin (translator). Their goal is to create a Gaelic-English children’s picture book that is fun, gentle, and full of life.
When two new pets arrive at the Megronigles, everyone in Cape George is curious. No one had ever seen anything like them. The local animals decide to take turns to solve the mystery. The frog, red fox, dragon fly, eagle, field mouse, and dog learn an important lesson that day. They discover that meeting new neighbours can lead to special friendships and new understanding. Only at the end of the story is the identity of the new pets finally revealed.
With its vivid illustrations and light-hearted Gaelic translation, this story will delight 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 (November 2025)
- Language : Gaelic and English
- Hardcover : 32 pages
- ISBN : 978-0-920297-11-7
- Item weight : 134 g
- Dimensions : 21.59 x 21.59 x 0.4 cm (8.5 x 8.5 x 0.2 in)
The Author
Dr. Laurie Stanley-Blackwell is a retired history professor whose research interests include the history of Maritime Canada. She has written several children’s books, including Big Rory of Market Square, Big Rory Returns to Market Square, The Pets that Came to Palmerston Street /Na Peataichean a thàinig gu Sràid Phalmerston, A Pictou Christmas, Hanging out with the Haggis, and My Best Friend Forever.
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 whimsical images and playful storyline, this book is designed to delight and engage the pre-reader and young reader in both English and Gaelic.
The Illustrator
Karen Megronigle lives in Cape George, Nova Scotia, with her husband, Stephen, two donkeys, two dogs, and one cat. As a gifted artist, she delights in her natural surroundings. Karen operates the Garden Studio where she sells her creations, which range from artwork to jewellery in many different media. This is her third children’s book, the previous two being Big Rory of Market Square and Big Rory Returns to Market Square.
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 translations for the following two children’s books, Around the Year with the Malagawatch Mice | Feadh na Bliadhna Còmhla ri Luchain Mhalagawatch (Cape Breton University Press, 2011) and The Pets that Came to Palmerston Street /Na Peataichean a thàinig gu Sràid Phalmerston (The Pictou Bee Press, 2023).