Undiscovered Scotland

 

"Not the End of the World" by Talya Baldwin is a magnificent and magical book that takes a place that is on the edge of the imagination for most who have heard of it and turns it into somewhere beguiling and entrancing for the young readers and listeners it's intended for.

St Kilda is a remote archipelago comprising four main islands that can be found some 40 miles west of the Western Isles - or Outer Hebrides - of Scotland. The last residents were evacuated in 1930 after the island way of life simply became unsustainable and since then it's been left to visitors and some National Trust for Scotland (and Ministry of Defence) personnel based here.

"Not the End of the World" tells the story of the archipelago in an evocative and engaging way that will leave many who read it - or who have it read to them - wanting to know more. The illustrations are simply superb and complement the text beautifully and the result is an outstanding book that would make the perfect gift for the young person or people in your life.

You get a sense of the range of content from the publisher's description of the book: "This is a true story about a real place. A place hidden behind the waves. The Vikings saw it in their dreams, and sometimes sea birds call its name. It’s a dot on a map. The blink of an eye. The beat of a wing. Storms and songs and stickleback stop by on their travels. This is St Kilda. A tiny group of islands; an archipelago: Hirta, Boreray, Soay, Dùn. They call them The Islands at the End of the World. Come on an adventure, far away across the sea to the mysterious St Kilda to discover its story."