Recently Luath Press in Edinburgh published a Scots translation by Matthew Fitt of the children’s book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, by English artist Charlie Mackesy.  Mackesy, who began as a press cartoonist, but later became a full time artist, published this story in 2019. The story starts with a lonely boy who first befriends a cake-eating mole, and then also a fox and a horse. As they journey together they address moral and other issues about love, friendship, and life, which is why it has been favourably compared to the now classic work The Little Prince. The book is, of course, illustrated throughout and makes a pleasant way for parents to impart life lessons to their children while reading and learning.

The Scots version – The Laddie, The Mowdie, the Tod and the Cuddie – is available from Luath Press in hardback, price £16.99 (ISBN 9781910022177) via sales@luath.co.uk or telephone 0131 225 4326.