Kathleen Fidler – författare

Ten-year-old twins Kirsty and David Murray love their crofting life in the north of Scotland. They collect shellfish, milk the cows and help their father grow oats and vegetables. Then one day the Countess's men come and burn their house, saying they must leave. The family travel across Scotland to Glasgow. City life is dirty and overcrowded, and work in the mills is hard and dangerous. The chance comes to join a ship sailing for Hudson Bay in Canada, and once again they start a long, perilous journey.Will they survive the treacherous Atlantic crossing, and what will they find in the strange new land?Kathleen Fidler had a gift for bringing characters from history to life for today's children. The Desperate Journey is her best-known story, a true Scottish classic whose thrilling plot will keep children gripped from start to end.

Kathleen Fidler's classic story is set in the ancient Stone Age village of Skara Brae on Orkney. This is a fascinating and vividly portrayed story of life nearly 3,000 years ago.Kali and Brockan are in trouble. They have been using their stone axes to chip limpets off the rocks, but they've gone too far out and find themselves trapped by the tides. Then, an unexpected rescuer appears, a strange boy in a strange boat, carrying a strangely sharp axe of a type they have never seen before.Conflict arises as the village of Skara must decide what to do with the new ideas and practices that the boy brings. As a deadly storm threatens, the very survival of the village is in doubt.Step back into the Stone Age and learn about the daily life and rituals of the ancient village of Skara Brae in this compelling, fictional account of the famous Orkney settlement. Vivid descriptions and accurate historical details bring the village to life and make this an ideal choice for those studying the Stone Age curriculum.

Orphan Tom has been sent to live in the Scottish Borders with an uncle and aunt he's never met. But a remote sheep farm in Scotland is a different world from his home in London. Tom is lonely and struggles to fit in with strange new people and their odd ways, until his uncle gives him a sheep dog puppy called Flash. Flash is loving, clever and brave and Tom is determined to make him the best sheepdog he can be -- perhaps even a champion! But when the day of the competition arrives Tom faces a difficult decision -- will he leave his new life, and Flash, behind?In this true classic by much-loved children's author Kathleen Fidler, a young boy discovers friendship, acceptance and a new home in the Scottish Borders through his love for his best friend, Flash. Adapted for the big screen in 1966, Flash the Sheepdog remains an unrivalled portrait of rural Scotland and is a story that has been loved by generations of children.