The Shetland Gruffalo’s Bairn: The Gruffalo’s Child in Shetland Scots

Da Gruffalo said dat nae gruffalo sud Ivver set fit i da mirky wid. But ee nicht o snaa da Gruffalo’s Bairn nivver leets whit her faider is telt her an tippers oot inta da caald. Eftir aa, der no sicca thing as da Muckle Mean Moose …is dere? In 2015, following on from the huge success of James Robertson’s Scots translation of The Gruffalo, Itchy Coo published four dialect versions: the Orkney, Shetland, Doric and Dundee Gruffalos have all proved immensely popular as celebrations of the Scots language’s astonishing regional diversity. Laureen Johnson’s Shetlandic version of The Gruffalo is now followed by Christine De Luca’s The Shetland Gruffalo’s Bairn. A cautionary tale about what happens when a small Gruffalo leaves the comfort of its cave and sets off into the dark wood on a wintry night, this is sure to be another big hit in Shetland and with Shetlandic speakers wherever they bide.