Books published by publisher Birlinn

Packed with humour - I recommend the whole lot!,' - The School Librarian Rob Roy And All That is a real-life adventure packed with historical facts about the loveable Highland rogue. Stampede through the glens as Rob and his gang are chased by the deadly Duke of Montrose. Follow Rob's quest through dungeons and river rapids as his enemies close in for the kill . . . With brilliant illustrations that bring Rob and his foes to life, Rob Roy And All That is essential reading for all aspiring cattle rustlers! Aimed at children aged 8-12 * Learn about Rob's royal ancestry * Uncover Rob's dodgy deals and scams * Find out why Rob's clan had their name stolen * Discover why some people thought Rob was an orangutan!

'Packed with humour - I recommend the whole lot!,' - The School LibrarianMacbeth And All That is a real-life adventure packed with historical facts about Scotland's infamous king. Journey back to the dark ages where the throne is splattered in blood and death lurks in every corner. Join Macbeth's quest for power - and find out why the truth is very different from the way Shakespeare told it. Groaning with great illustrations, Macbeth And All That is a chilling murder mystery that will keep you guessing to the very end! Aimed at children aged 8-12Learn the difference between Shakespeare's Macbeth and the real MacbethDiscover how dark the dark ages truly wereInvestigate Macbeth's dealings with witches and VikingsUncover the true Lady Macbeth

Precious Ramotswe is on holiday, staying with her Aunty Bee at safari camp deep in the Botswana countryside, and is excited when a new lion arrives. Not just any lion but an actor-lion called Teddy with his own film crew! But when the four-legged movie star goes missing the camp is thrown into confusion. Can the young detective and her resourceful new friend Khumo solve the mystery and find out where Teddy has gone? The search plunges the two young sleuths deep into the jungle. As they dodge the hippos and crocs they will need all their bravery and cleverness to catch their prize. Find out if they succeed as Alexander McCall Smith tells us the story of Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion.

Precious Ramotswe is on holiday, staying with her Aunty Bee at safari camp deep in the Botswana countryside, and is excited when a new lion arrives. Not just any lion but an actor-lion called Teddy with his own film crew! But when the four-legged movie star goes missing the camp is thrown into confusion. Can the young detective and her resourceful new friend Khumo solve the mystery and find out where Teddy has gone? The search plunges the two young sleuths deep into the jungle. As they dodge the hippos and crocs they will need all their bravery and cleverness to catch their prize. Find out if they succeed as Alexander McCall Smith tells us the story of Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion.

Packed with humour - I recommend the whole lot!,' - The School Librarian Mary, Queen of Scots and All That is a real-life adventure packed with historical facts about Scotland's headless heroine. Follow hot-blooded Mary's lifelong rivalry with her frosty cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England - and discover why the Queen of Scots gets her head chopped off. Start at the beginning by finding out how well Mary gets on with her pushy Mum, her ladies-in-waiting and her first boyfriend. Work out why she is hated by Nasty Knox the preacher and his Edinburgh mob. Meet Mary's horrible husbands and understand what makes her marry them. Solve the mysterious murders of her nearest and dearest. Learn the truth about Mary's madness. Uncover the secret plots that earn the Queen of Scots a deadly date with her cousin's executioner - and decide for yourself whether Mary is guilty or innocent. Aimed at children aged 8-12 * Learn to tell the difference between Mary's romantic reputation and her real life. * Find out why going to church gave the Queen of Scots a headache. * Understand the difficult decisions Mary had to make. * Discover the truth about her infamous Casket Letters.

Acclaimed children's author Allan Burnett turns his attention to the First World War in a book of explosively exciting and emotionally charged tales of bravery and adventure. Featuring the true exploits of soldiers, spies, pilots, sailors and many others, these stories, all based on interviews with these heroes themselves or their descendants, offer a unique, personal insight into the First World War that no conventional history book can ever hope to match.

Introducing "Sookin' Berries", her collection of stories for younger readers, Jess Smith writes: 'I have been a gatherer of tales for most of my life, and I suppose it all began when I was a wee girl. I shared a home with parents, seven sisters and a shaggy dog. It could be said that I lived a different sort of life from most other children, because 'home' was an old blue bus. We were known as tinkers or travellers, descendants of those who have wandered the highways and by ways of Scotland for two thousand years'. Acclaimed for her autobiographical trilogy, "Jessie's Journey", Jess is on a mission to pass on the stories she heard as a girl to the young readers of today.'If you are aged from around 10 going on 100, then you're a fine age to read, enjoy and hopefully remember forever these ancient oral tales of Scotland's travelling people. What I'd like you to do in this book is to come with me on the road; back to those days when it was time to pack up and get going, and to take the way of our ancestors. I want you to imagine that, as my friend, you are by the campfire listening to the magical Scottish stories that have been handed down through generations of travellers'.

Acclaimed children's author Allan Burnett turns his attention to the Second World War in a book of explosively exciting and emotionally charged tales of bravery and adventure. Featuring the true exploits of soldiers, spies, pilots, sailors and many others, these stories, all based on interviews with these heroes themselves or their descendants, offer a unique, personal insight into the Second World War that no conventional history book can ever hope to match.

Adults may lament that today's children do not sing in the playground, but the kids know better. Funny, imaginative, shocking and nonsensical rhymes and songs are as much in evidence today as they always were. In this book, one of Scotland's best-known storytellers introduces hundreds of such rhymes from all over the country. Some date back hundreds of years; many others have been collected on the author's personal visits to schools. The result is an entertaining anthology which also offers a fascinating insight into the minds of Scottish children over the years.

Haig masterminded a British-led victory over a continental opponent on a scale that has never been matched before or since. Whereas Wellington commanded forces at Waterloo in which the British were only a minority, in the final stages of the war, Haig controlled a vast British Army, which had grown from a mere six divisions to sixty over the course of the war. The British Army in France in 1918 compromised nearly three million men - only a third less than the population of London, then the largest city in Europe. Contrary to myth, Haig was not a cavalry-obsessed, blinkered conservative, as satirised in Oh! What a Lovely War and Blackadder Goes Forth. Fascinated by technology, he pressed for the use of tanks, enthusiastically embraced air power, and encouraged the use of new techniques involving artillery and machine-guns. Above all, he presided over a change in infantry tactics from almost total reliance on the rifle towards all-arms, multi-weapons techniques that formed the basis of British army tactics until the 1970s. Prior re-evaluations of Haig's achievements have largely been limited to monographs and specialist writings. Walter Reid has written the first biography of Haig that takes into account modern military scholarship, giving a more rounded picture of the private man than has previously been available. What emerges is a picture of a comprehensible human being, not necessarily particularly likeable, but honourably ambitious, able and intelligent, and the man more than any other responsible for delivering victory in 1918.

In the village of Tobermory, on the Scottish island of Mull, lives a very special ginger cat. But once upon a time he didn't think he was special at all, not like the woolly cats of Loch Ba, the singing cats of Staffa or the fishing cats of Fishnish. But now everyone knows about him. He's the cat who has become a legend in his own lifetime by simply being himself. He's the cat who dances on top of the fish van - the cat who speaks to otters - the cat who drives the big yellow digger - the cat who rides on top of cars. He's the Tobermory Cat.