'Scotland's greatest contemporary storyteller.'-- The GuardianSilver Unicorns and Golden Birds is a treasure trove of traditional Scottish folk and fairy tales as told by Duncan Williamson, one of Scotland's greatest storytellers. Young readers will explore a land of folklore and magic inhabited by friendly fairies, wicked ogres, majestic birds and shining unicorns in captivating tales, full of colour, humour and life. These timeless stories have been passed down the generations through oral tradition and are now retold for today's children while carefully preserving Duncan's unique storytelling voice. One of Scotland's Travelling People, Duncan spent a lifetime journeying the country's highways and byways, collecting stories along the way. This beautifully presented treasury includes insight into Duncan's life and cultural heritage alongside a curated collection of his best-loved stories and classic tales. A selection of these stories has previously appeared in The Coming of the Unicorn and The Flight of the Golden Bird.

 

 

This book is part of a book series called Kelpies .

This book has been graded for interest at 8-12 years.

There are 224 pages in this book. This book was published in 2022 by Floris Books .

Duncan Williamson was born in 1928 on the shores of Loch Fyne. He was the seventh of sixteen children born to a family of Travellers, who set up camp in the same place every winter and wandered the Highlands during the summer, hawking their tin and natural willow wares. Duncan left home at the age of fifteen and spent the next forty years travelling, continuing the traditional trades of his people. In 1980 he moved into a farm cottage in Fife with his second wife, Linda, who transcribed some of his vast repertoire of songs, stories and family history. Duncan died in 2007, leaving behind a worldwide legacy. His reputation was extraordinary and the impact of his storytelling continues in literary editions of his work, published by Canongate, Cambridge University Press, Penguin, Mondadori, and more recently Birlinn, Luath Press and Floris Books. Linda Williamson was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1949. She has a PhD from Edinburgh University, and is an American folklorist, storyteller and editor. She has three children and five grandchildren -- on both sides of the Atlantic.