Kelpies News and Features
Category: Fun Stuff
David Macphail’s Top Ten (Almost Entirely True) Viking Facts
Posted on 24/04/26 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
The Vikings. Big, hairy blokes who sailed around Europe, terrifying people with their giant beards and even gianter farts… But they weren’t all blok …
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Velda’s Unicorn Name Generator
Posted on 24/04/26 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
Every unicorn needs a good unicorn name, a name that sends waves of fabulousness out into the world. What’s your Unicorn name? 1. On what day of the m …
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Secret Agent Nessie: Meet the Characters
Posted on 03/03/26 in Fun Stuff
In the quiet town of Lochbank, on the shores of Loch Ness, some fiendish feathered felons pull off a heartless fish-and-chip heist. Secret Agent Nessi …
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How to Draw Nugget
Posted on 23/02/26 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
The Fowl Fiend from Secret Agent Nessie When a gang of squabbling seagulls pull off a daring fish and chip heist, Secret Agent Nessie and her pals in …
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Celtic Tales on the Map
Posted on 07/10/25 in Books, Folk and Fairy Tales, Fun Stuff, Lari Don
Journey with us to the Celtic lands – Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man and Brittany – to discover classic stories of myth, magic an …
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Abdullah’s Bear Needs a Name! Teddy Bear Colouring Sheet
Posted on 08/09/25 in Fun Stuff, Yasmin Hanif
Abdullah loves his Eid gift — a teddy bear! It used to belong to his abba, who encourages him to guess its name. Abdullah’s siblings, friends and clas …
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Firebloom: Meet the Characters!
Posted on 24/07/25 in Books, Fun Stuff
Dive in to Firebloom, Justin Davies’ new magical mystery adventure, with our character round-up! Read on to meet some of the residents of Stormcliff, …
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Brilliant Beaver Facts Poster
Posted on 28/02/25 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
Looking for some fun posters to brighten up a classroom, library or bedroom? Check out this brilliant beaver poster featuring illustrations by Phoebe …
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Features for Teachers: By the Beaver Pool
Posted on 28/02/25 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
The Brilliance of Beavers In By the Beaver Pool, author Catherine Ward deftly spins together a compelling story with factual information about how bea …
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My Granny Went to Scotland… Kids Activity Pack
Posted on 18/02/25 in Fun Stuff
My Granny went to Scotland and she brought back…. Ticklish tartan, sugary shortbread, and a hairy Highland cow? Granny has been on a trip to Scotlan …
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Printable wrapping paper!
Posted on 11/11/24 in Christmas, Fun Stuff
Looking for that unique touch for your festive gifts this year? Try our free printable wrapping paper designs using illustrations from some of our fav …
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Features for Teachers: The Edge of the Silver Sea
Posted on 29/08/24 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
Creative writing, art and environmental activities: are you looking for rewarding reading resources that your pupils will relish? Then why not try thi …
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Behind the Folklore at the Edge of the Silver Sea
Posted on 12/08/24 in Books, Fun Stuff, Guest posts
“One of the last places in the world where the human and fey realms still overlap…” Myths and stories about the fey — or fae, fay, faeries, fairies …
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The Edge of the Silver Sea: Character Art Activity
Posted on 06/08/24 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
Character Art Activity Sheets When you meet a new character in a book, do you immediately start to form a picture in your head or what they look like? …
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Meet the Characters at the Edge of the Silver Sea
Posted on 05/08/24 in Books, Fun Stuff, Guest posts
“An island all alone at the edge of the silver sea. In a place like this, anything could happen…” Forced to move to the remote island of Roscoe, Bla …
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It’s Summer Time!
Posted on 20/06/24 in Books, Fun Stuff
Summer in Scotland means plenty of extra daylight hours – ideal for getting lost in a good book! Read on to explore our spectacular collection of deli …
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Exploring Scotland’s Past with David MacPhail
Posted on 08/09/23 in Books, Fun Stuff, Guest posts
10 Free Historical Sites Perfect for Family Adventures Days out with the kids can cost an arm and a leg, but it doesn’t have to cost a penny. Let chil …
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Cloudlanders Top Trumps!
Posted on 01/09/23 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
Get to know the Cloudlanders characters with these downloadable “top trumps” cards! Print and play with the pre-filled cards featuring the six main ch …
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Spectacular Scottish Women: Poster Download
Posted on 24/08/23 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff, Posters
Looking for some fun posters to brighten up a classroom, library or bedroom? Download our free pdf posters featuring artwork by the amazing Eilidh Mul …
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Who’s YOUR Spectacular Scottish Woman?
Posted on 21/08/23 in Competitions, Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
From authors to athletes, scientists to singers, queens to campaigners, you’ll meet some of Scotland’s most spectacular women in this inspiring collec …
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Cloudlanders Poster
Posted on 28/07/23 in Fun Stuff, Posters
An island of magic and mayhem floating above the flooded Earth, Bastion has long been the last country left in the world. Then one day best fri …
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Meet the Cloudlanders
Posted on 11/05/23 in Fun Stuff
An island of magic and mayhem floating above the flooded Earth, Bastion has long been the last country left in the world. Then one day best friends Ku …
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Features for Teachers: Outer Space with the Museum Mystery Squad
Posted on 27/04/23 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
Do you have an out-of-this world outer space project coming up with your class? Are you looking for a fun way to introduce the topic, some engaging cl …
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Features for Teachers: Haarville
Posted on 23/02/23 in Books, Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
Creative writing, design challenges, research missions, group discussion, drama exercises, games and lots more! Are you looking for rewarding reading …
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Welcome to Haarville: Interactive Map
Posted on 09/02/23 in Books, Fun Stuff
Off the grid and not on the maps, Haarville is a place shrouded in fog and steeped in pungent pongs. Everything here smells fishy, especially the town …
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Haarville Video Extract
Posted on 31/01/23 in Books, Extract, Fun Stuff, Video
Welcome to Haarville. If you’ve arrived, you’ve survived… Take a journey to the misty, murky and mysterious seaside town of Haarville, where somethi …
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Timeline of the Kings and Queens of Scotland Poster
Posted on 22/09/22 in Books, Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff, Posters
Looking for something to brighten up your classroom, library or child’s bedroom? Download our free, printable Illustrated Legends of Scotland’s Kings …
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The Tall Tale of the Giant’s Causeway poster
Posted on 15/09/22 in Books, Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff, Posters
Looking for something to brighten up your classroom, library or child’s bedroom? Download our free, printable The Tall Tale of the Giant’s Causeway po …
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Museum Mystery Squad and the Case from Outer Space
Posted on 20/07/22 in Books, Fun Stuff
Coming Soon! Someone’s sending the museum ransom notes threatening to steal a prized exhibit from the brand-new Space Zone! Can the Squad make …
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The Sky Beneath the Stone Blog Tour
Posted on 02/03/22 in Books, Fun Stuff
Ivy North is an adventurer and expert map reader, who can pitch a tent in four minutes flat. There’s just one problem. She’s afraid to go outside. Whe …
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The Sky Beneath the Stone Poster
Posted on 14/02/22 in Books, Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff, Posters
Looking for something to brighten up your classroom, library or child’s bedroom? Download our free, printable The Sky Beneath the Stone poster, featur …
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The Sky Beneath the Stone Map
Posted on 14/02/22 in Books, Fun Stuff
Discover Underfell! Ivy North is an adventurer and expert map reader who can pitch a tent in four minutes flat. There’s just one problem. She’s afraid …
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Discover our Spooky Reads!
Posted on 29/10/21 in Books, Folk and Fairy Tales, Fun Stuff, Lari Don
Do you like scary stories? We do! (Well, nothing TOO scary…) This selection of some of our favourite spooky reads features witches and monsters, gho …
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Secrets of the Last Merfolk: Video Extract
Posted on 26/07/21 in Books, Extract, Fun Stuff, Video
“They gave you the box, they gave me the key. The merfolk exist, and they want us to find them…” In the quiet seaside town of Dunlyre, new friends F …
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Features for Teachers: Velda the Awesomest Viking
Posted on 28/05/21 in Extract, Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff, Launches and Events
Are you ready for an AWESOME adventure? Well, ARE YOU? Velda is a small girl with a BIG axe, and a BIGGER attitude! Join her on her quest as she makes …
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Velda’s Viking Longship Name Generator
Posted on 06/05/21 in Fun Stuff
Like Velda and The Mangy Mutt, every awesome Viking needs a longship name that will make all enemies wet their pants. Velda’s Viking Longship Name Gen …
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How to Make a Book
Posted on 27/08/20 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff, Video
Have you ever wondered how a book gets made? Our friends at Bell & Bain printers sent us this brilliant video of An Amazing Animal Atlas of Scotla …
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The Baby Red Squirrel Rescue Activities
Posted on 07/08/20 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
The Animal Adventure Club, Isla, Buzz, Gracie and Lexi are always keen to learn more about the environment and the wildlife around them. Michelle Sloa …
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Kelpies Video Library
Posted on 05/06/20 in Books, Fun Stuff, Video
On this page, you will find an alphabetical list of video content related to Kelpies books, available for free online. Subscribe to our YouTube channe …
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Find Your Local Unicorn
Posted on 27/03/20 in Books, Fun Stuff, Lari Don
Once upon a time in the kingdom of Scotland, a young prince lost his smile. No one could help Prince Donald find his smile until his friend Hana, the …
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Thorfinn the Nicest Viking: Piebald’s Potion Maker
Posted on 19/03/20 in Fun Stuff
In the latest prank-playing, turnip-mashing, bunny-kidnapping adventure, Thorfinn the nicest Viking must find a cure for Chief Harald, who has been po …
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Awesome Scottish Castles map
Posted on 11/02/20 in Fun Stuff
Scotland is home to over one thousand castles! Hover over the picture of each castle for a fun fact, and click to find out more on Historic Environmen …
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Animal Adventure Club: Otter Fact File
Posted on 09/08/19 in Books, Fun Stuff
How much do you know about otters? The Animal Adventure Club learned lots about these fascinating creatures in their latest adventure, The Baby Otter …
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A Super Scotland Doodle Activity Pack
Posted on 26/07/19 in Extract, Fun Stuff
Visiting Scotland this summer? Looking for rainy-day activities to keep the children entertained? A Super Scotland Doodle Book is a must-have f …
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Features for Teachers: Jacobite Songs
Posted on 17/07/19 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
Many songs have been written about the Jacobites and Bonnie Prince Charlie, both at the time of the Risings and afterwards, in Gaelic, Scots an …
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Thorfinn the Nicest Viking: What’s Your Dragon Name?
Posted on 12/04/19 in Fun Stuff
The dragon sighed, a long, sad sigh full of misery. “I am no longer the Grrreat Dragon. I’m jussst plain old Hazel.” “Hazel?” asked Thorfinn. “Hazel w …
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Thorfinn the Nicest Viking: Dragon Care Top Tips
Posted on 12/04/19 in Fun Stuff
Vikings far and wide are travelling to Scotland’s Shetland Islands for the great Fire Festival where they’ll compete to become the ultimate champion b …
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Not Your Typical Unicorns…
Posted on 21/02/19 in Books, Fun Stuff
The unicorns of Lindsay Littleson’s latest middle grade novel are not your typical unicorns. Wild, dangerous, and hunted almost to extinction, read on …
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Meet the Animal Adventure Club!
Posted on 08/02/19 in Books, Fun Stuff
If there’s a wild animal in trouble, the Animal Adventure Club is here to help! Isla, Buzz, Gracie and new girl Lexi love animals, and they love helpi …
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Kelpies for Christmas
Posted on 06/12/18 in Books, Christmas, Fun Stuff, What We've Been Up To
On the hunt for the ideal Kelpie to gift at Christmas this year? The season has well and truly landed here at Kelpies HQ (the tree’s up and everything …
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Which Norse Deity are You?
Posted on 23/11/18 in Fun Stuff
With the latest adventure from the Museum Mystery Squad published this week, we’ve been getting excited about all things Vikings! The Vikings worshipp …
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Announcing the winners of the Map My Monster Competition…
Posted on 22/07/18 in Fun Stuff, Lari Don
To celebrate the publication of Lari Don’s latest terrific traditional tale, The Treasure of the Loch Ness Monster, Kelpies HQ have run our Map My Mon …
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Football Tips and Tricks with Scotland Stars F.C.
Posted on 03/07/18 in Authors, Fun Stuff
Learn some new skills for the World Cup with the help of Calum and his friends. Discover the Scotland Stars F.C. books by author and football fanatic …
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Join #PickleOnTour with Kate McLelland
Posted on 18/06/18 in Design and Illustration, Fun Stuff, Guest posts, Kate McLelland
It’s official – our favourite Shetland pony is back! Today is the first stop on Kate McLelland’s blog tour, which is celebrating the return of Isla an …
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#FlorisDesign meets Melanie Mitchell
Posted on 15/06/18 in Design and Illustration, Guest posts, Illustrators
Sung throughout Scottish homes up and down the country, classic rhymes and traditional tunes make for fun, interactive stoytime sessions. Some of them …
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Wee Granny’s Guide to Pirate Lingo
Posted on 31/05/18 in Fun Stuff
Get ready for excitement and surprises as Wee Granny (Scotland’s very own Mary Poppins!) and her magic tartan bag set off on another adventure. This t …
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#FlorisDesign meets Sandra Klaassen
Posted on 26/04/18 in Design and Illustration, Illustrators
A leopard may never change his spots, but a cover can change many times in the lifetime of a book. At Kelpies HQ our Kelpies Classics collection have …
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#FlorisDesign meets Nataša Ilinčić
Posted on 01/04/18 in Design and Illustration
There have been enough stories, claimed sightings and tall tales about the Loch Ness Monster to fill the famous loch itself. But as an illustrator how …
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Quiz: How much do you know about Arthur Conan Doyle?
Posted on 22/03/18 in Fun Stuff
Put your detective skills to the test! Are these fun facts about Arthur Conan Doyle true or false? SaFind out more about the creator of Sherlock Holme …
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The Blog Tour’s Afoot!
Posted on 16/03/18 in Authors, Books, Fun Stuff
Calling all amateur sleuths, budding detectives and eager bookworms – the wait is over! The second book in the Artie Conan Doyle Mysteries is publishi …
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Ruby McCracken’s Guide to Christmas
Posted on 08/12/17 in Fun Stuff
Hi guys, Ruby McCracken here. As I get ready to spend another Christmas in the Ordinary World, I thought I’d explain some of the weird Ord customs to …
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Illustrating Children’s Crime Fiction
Posted on 16/10/17 in Design and Illustration, Fun Stuff, Guest posts, Illustrators
In our latest #FlorisDesign interview we spoke to Spanish illustrator, Laura Aviñó, about illustrating children’s crime fiction in David MacPhail’s ne …
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#FlorisDesign meets Susana Gurrea
Posted on 15/08/17 in Design and Illustration, Fun Stuff
In our latest #FlorisDesign interview we spoke to Spanish illustrator, Susana Gurrea, about her experience of illustrating the first ever Kelpies stic …
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#FlorisDesign meets Kathryn Selbert
Posted on 01/08/17 in Design and Illustration, Fun Stuff, Illustrators, Traditional Scottish Tunes
To many Scots, the Coulter’s Candy tune is often sung yet rarely seen. Floris Books is changing that with a new board book inspired by the quintessent …
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Books to Bring History Alive!
Posted on 26/07/17 in Books, Fun Stuff
History is fascinating and visiting a museum or historical location is a great way to fill up a rainy day over the school holidays. Combining a trip w …
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Design Your Own Robot with the Museum Mystery Squad
Posted on 20/07/17 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
Some people think that museums are boring places full of glass cases, dust and stuff no one cares about: wrong! In a hidden headquarters below the exh …
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#FlorisDesign meets Nastasha Rimmington
Posted on 30/06/17 in Design and Illustration
#FlorisDesign got chatting to Stirling-based illustrator, Natasha Rimmington, the artist behind our new Picture Kelpie Max and Zap at the Museum. Duri …
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#FlorisDesign meets Kate McLelland
Posted on 19/06/17 in Design and Illustration, Kate McLelland
From wee lassies to midgies and nessies, Kate McLelland has illustrated many Kelpies books. Now she’s launching a new picture book series about a chee …
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#FlorisDesign Illustrator Interview – Alfredo Belli
Posted on 16/04/17 in Design and Illustration
Today is the 270th anniversary of the Battle of Culloden. Based on the famous Skye Boat Song, and with stunning illustrations by Alfredo Belli, new pi …
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A Deadly Giant Clootie Dumpling: Top Secret Recipe
Posted on 11/04/17 in Fun Stuff
We’ve got our hands on the SUPER-SECRET plans of Fergus McFungus, Gadget Grandad’s arch enemy! Rumour has it that these top-secret plans can make a ra …
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#FlorisDesign Illustrator Interview – Vanya Nastanlieva
Posted on 05/04/17 in Design and Illustration
The Island and the Bear by Louise Greig is one of our latest Picture Kelpies published this Spring. The book is inspired by a true story that has sinc …
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Hidden Hieroglyphics Puzzle Time!
Posted on 20/03/17 in Features for Teachers, Fun Stuff
Egyptian hieroglyphics don’t have an alphabet like ours. Hieroglyphics can be symbols, or pictures of animals, people or objects. Some are easy to fig …
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What’s your ideal dinosaur pet?
Posted on 15/03/17 in Fun Stuff
Dinosaurs are great, right? They’d make much better pets than a boring hamster (though I suspect Colin would disagree with you on that one…) But whi …
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Our Favourite Feisty Females!
Posted on 08/03/17 in Fun Stuff
We’re really lucky here at Kelpies HQ. We get to work with loads of amazing and inspiring women both in reality and in the worlds created by our autho …
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‘My First Scottish…’ – from brainwave to book
Posted on 07/03/17 in Design and Illustration, Kate McLelland
Have you ever wondered how a board book is created? Perhaps not! After all, it can’t be that difficult to make a board book, can it? We caught up with …
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#FlorisDesign Illustrator Interview: Yuliya Somina
Posted on 08/02/17 in Design and Illustration, Fun Stuff
Today #FlorisDesign is talking to Yuliya Somina, illustrator of our new Young Kelpies series, Porridge the Tartan Cat, penned by Alan Dapre. Featuring …
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A Very Kelpie Christmas
Posted on 25/11/16 in Fun Stuff
It’s almost Christmas morning, and all over the world children will soon be rushing to open their presents. But have you ever wondered what your favou …
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Slugboy’s Slugs Have Escaped!
Posted on 20/10/16 in Fun Stuff
You may not have heard of Slugboy, Scotland’s worst superhero. Thanks to an unfortunately tasty-looking radioactive slug, eleven-year-old Murdo Macleo …
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Floris Design: Behind the Scenes with Thorfinn the Nicest Viking
Posted on 21/07/16 in Design and Illustration
Today the #FlorisDesign team will be taking a look behind the scenes at some early sketches of Thorfinn-the-Very-VERY-Nice-Indeed. Thorfinn is the pol …
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Creating Characters in Illustrated Children’s Books – #FlorisDesign
Posted on 23/05/16 in Design and Illustration
With wacky expressions, silly quirks and heartfelt encounters, we know that characterisation brings personality to the page. At Floris, we think that …
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Have a sneaky peek at one of our spookiest #SpookyReads!
Posted on 28/10/14 in Authors, Books, Extract, Fun Stuff
One of our favourite things to do when it’s cold, wet and windy outside is to curl up somewhere warm and comfortable with a good book. And with Hallow …
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Are you #TeamThor or #TeamLoki? Vote today on Discover Kelpies!
Posted on 24/10/14 in Fun Stuff
We do like a Norse god here at DiscoverKelpies Towers, which is why we LOVE Robert J. Harris’ hilarious adventures The Day The World Went Loki and Tho …
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Clip clop CRASH! Yann and the Fabled Beasts gang are taking over DiscoverKelpies for a day!
Posted on 26/09/14 in Fun Stuff, Lari Don
Good morning Kelpies fans! We found this very mysterious blog waiting for us when we arrived at DiscoverKelpies Towers so of course we had to share it …
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#FlorisDesign Illustrator Interview: Philip Longson
Posted on 24/09/14 in Design and Illustration, Fun Stuff, Lari Don
Illustrator of…For the last three weeks we’ve dedicated our #FlorisDesign take-overs to showcasing our wonderfully talented Traditional Scottish Tal …
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#FlorisDesign Illustrator Interview: Ruchi Mhasane
Posted on 17/09/14 in Design and Illustration, Fun Stuff, Janis Mackay
Illustrator of… Last Wednesday we introduced you to the first of our Traditional Scottish Tales illustrators, Matthew Land – illustrator of Theresa …
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#FlorisDesign Illustrator Interview: Matthew Land
Posted on 10/09/14 in Design and Illustration, Fun Stuff
Illustrator of… With the release date of our stunning Traditional Scottish Tales just around the corner, we thought you might like to meet the illus …
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#FlorisDesign Illustrator Questionnaire: Astrid Jaekel
Posted on 13/08/14 in Design and Illustration, Fun Stuff
Illustrator of… Last summer Astrid became the very first winner of our very first Kelpies Design & Illustration Prize, and what a winner she was! …
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#FlorisDesign Illustrator Interview: Kirsteen Harris-Jones
Posted on 30/07/14 in Design and Illustration, Fun Stuff
Kirsteen Harris-Jones is the illustrator of… Kirsteen illustrated her first Picture Kelpies book, No Such Thing as Nessie!, back in 2013 for Ch …
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#FlorisDesign Illustrator Interview: Leah McDowell
Posted on 16/07/14 in Design and Illustration, Fun Stuff
Illustrator of… Leah has been illustrating Kelpies for nearly three years now and has stacked up an awesome variety of fun, spooky and sinister cove …
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Greetings from the Brotherhood of the Egg
Posted on 20/02/14 in Fun Stuff
Breaking news, live from the DiscoverKelpies coop in deepest, darkest Edinburgh. Fowl play was suspected this morning at the newly renamed Hatching Ga …
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Hedgehog Heroes
Posted on 21/12/11 in Fun Stuff
Do you know how to look after the hedgehogs that live in your garden? Our friends at The British Hedgehog Preservation Society and the PTES (that stan …
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Happy New Year!!
Posted on 01/01/11 in Fun Stuff
Happy New Year from everyone at Discover Kelpies. After lovely Christmas holidays we are all back at our desks getting new Kelpies ready for the new y …
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The Kelpies Prize 2026: Shortlist Announced!
