Book of the Month

We bring you our pick of Scotland’s very best children’s literature every month, and you can win a copy of the featured book by answering the question below. Good luck and happy reading!

January's Book of the Month:
Pink! by Lynne Rickards & Margaret Chamberlain(Chicken House)

Patrick wakes up one day to find he's turned pink overnight| What will his friends think? Poor Patrick runs away in search of pink playmates. He crosses the ocean where he finds some flamingos - but will he ever fit in with them? Patrick soon learns that friendship is never black and white, but that real friends will accept you whatever. A heart-warming story of learning to be different.

More: Read about Lynne Rickards and her work or find out more about Pink!

We have 5 copies of Pink! to be won!

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the following simple question:

Q: What colour does Patrick turn overnight?

Send your answer, along with your name and address, to info@scottishbooktrust.com with the subject line "Book of the Month competition". Competition closes on 2nd February 2009.

Previous Books of the Month

The Trouble with Dragons by Debi Gliori (Bloomsbury)

Combining a strong environmental message with an immediately fascinating subject (dragons!) Debi Gliori's new picture book is ideal for young children, but has enough going on under the surface that older readers will be quickly drawn in too.

Written and illustrated by Debi, who has been writing children's books for 32 years now, the book is about the dragons' wasteful attitude towards the world's resources, and contains a warning for anyone who doesn't learn from the dragons' mistakes. With fantastic illustrations and simple but effective rhymes, The Trouble With Dragons is definitely highly recommended.

"Respect all Earth's creatures and cherish the land,
recycle, reuse and reduce your demands."

More: Find out more about Debi Gliori or buy a copy of The Trouble With Dragons.

The Murrian (Andersen Press)

Ben and Claire are staying with Aunt Gwen in Antmouth for the summer. They've been told the coast there is haunted by the ghosts of smugglers, but they are soon much more alarmed by the living residents of the village. There's the tall thin fellow in charge of the Insect Zoo, who acts like the worst kind of mad scientist. And then there's all the fish-eyed golfers who seem to be spying on them. Once again, in this fourth Ben and Claire Swift thriller, the thin curtain of normality is ripped aside, plunging the reader into a bizarre world of hidden terror!

Find out more about Robert Dodds or buy a copy of The Murrian.

Grimm (Floris)

If you have the misfortune to spend a night at Hotel Grimm, it may be the last night you spend anywhere! Or so the residents of Aberfintry believe. From its vantage point high above the town, the hotel has long been the source of dead guests and ghost stories. When eleven-year-old Rory McKenna becomes an overnight advertising sensation for Zizz Cola, Hotel Grimm's mysterious owner, Granville Grimm, presents Rory with the task of giving his hotel a new image. Refusal is not an option. Can "Zizz Boy" do it again, or will he become Hotel Grimm's next victim?

Find out more about Mike Nicholson or buy a copy of Grimm.

The Eleventh Orphan (Catnip)

In The Eleventh Orphan, Mr and Mrs Bigsby of the Pig and Whistle, Stoke Newington, already look after ten children. When Constable O'Dowd brings her an eleventh orphan he found on the streets, Ma Bigsby is reluctant to take her.

But there's something about Elfie - what had her mother to do with her pub and why does she possess a little watercolour of the Pig and Whistle? As the mystery unravels, Elfie's world will change completely.

Find out more about Joan Lingard or buy a copy of The Eleventh Orphan.

Leabhor nan Gaidheal Oga (CLAR)

Foillsichte 2008. 60+ sgriobhadairean bho sgoiltean air feadh sgire Chomhairle na Gaidhealtachd. Dealbhan dathte. Leabhar beag eireachdail. Sgriobhadh a tha a' toirt dochas dhuinn gum bi sgriobhadairean againn sna bliadhnaichean a tha romhainn!

The Book of the Young Gaels
60+ school-pupils all over the Highland region of Scotland have written stories for this illustrated book which shows us the writers of the future.

Find out more about the Gaelic Books Council here.

Witch Baby and Me by Debi Gilori (Corgi)

Lily is 9. Her sister Daisy is 1. And she's no ordinary baby. Somehow, when she was born, something went rather wrong...and now Daisy is a Witch Baby. Nobody knows this but Lily, and now the sisters have just moved to a new neighbourhood, and their mum wants them to make friends. She decides to throw a party and send Lily and Daisy out to deliver the invitations. They meet some odd characters along the way...Will the party be a big success or will Daisy's magic mean things are even more chaotic than normal?

Find out more about Debi Gliori or buy a copy of Witch Baby and Me.

The Nostradamus Prophecy by Theresa Breslin (Doubleday)

Melisande is the daughter of the king's minstrel and lives among the royal French court. She, like many others, pays little heed to the dire warnings of Notradamus the soothsayer. But when misfortune befalls Melisande's family and she realises that it was predicted by Nostradamus, she turns to the soothsayer for help. Upon his death, he leaves Melisande with some papers which hold the secret of the royal line of France - it is up to her to help fulfil Nostradamus' final prophecy but will she have the courage to do so...?

Find out more about Theresa Breslin or buy a copy of The Nostradamus Prophecy.

Mrs Floss and Mrs Fleece by Vivian French and Natalie Russell (Happy Cat Books)

Mrs Floss and Mrs Fleece are Highland sheep with very different personalities: Mrs Fleece is scared of nothing, Mrs Floss is scared of everything! Mrs Floss’s lamb Ross is big and bold while Reece Fleece is small and trembly. But when the Big Bad Wolf comes to eat them it is trembly Reece who saves the day! This is a funny story, with a message for us all!

Find out more about Vivian French and Natalie Russell, or buy a copy of Mrs Floss and Mrs Fleece.

The Ice Cream Con by Jimmy Docherty (Chicken House)

When Jake Drake gets mugged twice in ten minutes, he comes up with a plan to con the criminals on his estate. With the help of his closest pals, he starts a rumour about a new gangster in town – the Big Baresi, the biggest gangster that never was. The con works, but not for long, as events start snow-balling out of control. Soon Jake and his gang are in trouble. Big trouble. Facing total meltdown, they're stuck with a freezer full of diamonds every bad-guy wants a scoop of.

To read more about Jimmy Docherty please click here or to buy a copy of the book click here.

Competition Terms and Conditions

Only one entry per person. Competition winners will not be eligible to enter any subsequent competition for six months.
We require the entrant’s name, address and age. Applicants must be resident in the UK.
Every entry will be considered.
The decision on winners is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Competition entries will not be returned.
Competitions are not open to employees of Scottish Book Trust and their immediate family.