KIDS

✽What The Ladybird Heard Tue 9 Sep, 1.30pm. Wed 10 Sep, 10am

& 4.30pm. Thu 11 Sep, 10.30am & 1.30pm. £12. Theatre Royal, 282 Hope Street, 0844 871 7647. Based on Julia Donaldson’s popular children’s book.

EDINBURGH

Activities & Fun FREE Street Arts Thursdays, 6.40– 8.30pm. WHALE Arts, 30 Westburn Grove, 458 3267. Kids can work with visual artists, musicians, photographers and dancers in the streets where they live. Ages 8–16. Hailesland 6.40pm; Walkers 7pm; Barnpark and Dumbeg 7.45pm. FREE Giving Nature a Home Sat 23, Sun 24, Sat 30 & Sun 31 Aug 11am–4pm. Royal Botanic Garden, Arboretum Place, 248 2909. Family friendly nature and wildlife activities with RSPB Scotland. FREE Let’s Make a Picture Book Sat 23 Aug, 11.30am–12.30pm. Edinburgh College of Art, 74 Lauriston Place, 221 6000. An interactive workshop in picture-book making for kids. Ages 3–8. Part of Edinburgh College of Art Masters Festival. FREE Recycled Cities Sat 23 Aug, 1.30–3.30pm. City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, 529 3993. Drop-in family workshop to create your own imaginative model using recycled materials. FREE City Nursery’s Summer Fun Day Sun 24 Aug, 10am–2pm. City Nursery, Greenbank Village, Greenbank Drive, 446 0088. A fun day out for the family, including a bouncy castle, face painting and tombolas. Junior Rugby Tots Sundays, 1.30pm. £7.25. Boroughmuir Rugby Club, Meggetland, Colinton Road, 443 7571. See Glasgow, Activities & Fun. FREE Meet the Ancestors Sun 24 Aug, 2pm, 2.45pm & 3.30pm. Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street, 624 6200. Explore what Scottish people did during WW1 using costumes, props and your imagination. Ages 4–12. Senior Rugby Tots Sundays, 2.10pm. £7.25. Boroughmuir Rugby Club, Meggetland, Colinton Road, 443 7571. See Glasgow, Activities & Fun. FREE Lego Swap Shop Sun 24 Aug, 3–5pm. Waterstones, Cameron Toll Shopping Centre, 6 Lady Road, 666 1866. Bring along your duplicate Lego figurines and see if you can swap them with other Lego fanatics. There are also brick-based competitions and challenges. Monkey Drama Mondays, 11am & 3.30pm. £6 per session; block of five £27.50; block of ten £50. North Merchiston Club, 48 Watson Crescent, 622 1757. Fun drama classes suitable for ages 2–5. Parent and Baby Group Art Classes Tuesdays, 10.30am–12.30pm. £6.50. Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 555 7101. Art activities for mum, dad and wee ones. Hands on History Tue 26 Aug, 11am– noon & 3–4pm. Included in admission price. Palace of Holyroodhouse, Royal Mile, 556 5100. Get your mitts on some real and replica objects from history. Swords of the Righteous Tue 26 Aug, 3pm. Included in admission. Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, 225 9846. Partially dramatised explanation of how and why Cromwell’s army came to lay siege to Edinburgh Castle. FREE Map Making Thu 28 Aug, 1.30–3.30pm. City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, 529 3993. Make your own hand- drawn map of Scotland at this family drop-in workshop. Exotic Bird Sculpture Workshops Sun 31 Aug, 11am–3pm. £5. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 228 1155. Make magical bird sculptures from modroc and decorate them in bright colours and patterns. Suitable for families. Strange Town Youth Theatre 66 THE LIST 21 Aug–18 Sep 2014

BOOK ADAPTATION ROOM ON THE BROOM IN SCOTS Julia Donaldson’s classic, translated by James Robertson. Out now ●●●●●

The winning combination of Julia Donaldson’s stories and Axel Scheffler’s illustrations has seen their picture books grace the shelves and bedside tables of children the world over. As such, it’s a formula you don’t want to mess with without due care and attention. Having sensitively tackled

two previous Donaldson works (The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child), James Robertson has taken on the even bigger challenge of translating Room on the Broom into Scots. Fans of the original will know that a fair bit happens to the book’s broomstick-flying heroine, as she travels

through the sky, picks up a gaggle of cute hitchhikers, then narrowly avoids becoming a dragon’s dinner. Robertson, therefore, had his work cut out for him.

The illustrations are exactly as they were, the story itself remains unchanged and some of the translation is plainly obvious to all (rather than enquire if the witch has ‘room on the broom for a dog like me?’, the playful canine now asks ‘is there room on the broom for a dug like masel?’).

But there are some real challenges here for little ones, and the majority of parents. Words such as ‘breenged’,

‘bricht’, ‘pechin’, ‘sheuch’ and ‘reenged’ will throw many readers but how wonderful to discover the Scots language through such a well-known and well-loved medium?

Once again, getting your tongue around the words at storytime might prove a stretch at first, but this already engaging and exciting story becomes even more theatrical when ‘performed’ in a new language. (Kelly Apter)

Fri 5 Sep & 12 Sep, 2–3.30pm. £75 per term. Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 629 0292. Weekly drama classes for kids to have fun with drama games and learn new skills. All the plays are written by young people for young people. Ages 11–14. This course runs 5 Sep–12 Dec 2014. FREE Kidz Exhibition Thu 11 Sep, 9.30am–4.30pm. Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, 335 6200. Exhibition dedicated to children and young adults with disabilities and special needs, their families and the professionals who work with them. Featuring more than 120 exhibitors and seminars. Bio Blitz Fri 12 Sep, 7–9pm. £10. Edinburgh Zoo, Corstorphine Road, 334 9171. Help scientists identify, count up and record all the animals on their check list. Keep your eyes peeled for bats and badgers. Caricature Workshop Mon 15 Sep, 10.30am–12.30pm & 1.30–3.30pm. £5. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 228 1155. Bring some pictures of people you’d like to caricature and the Lauriston team will show you how to create them. FREE Crowd Sourcing Mon 15 Sep, 1.30–3.30pm. City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, 529 3993. Create your own crowd scene using paper and collage. Books & Storytelling Mary Queen Of Scots Thu 21 Aug, Mon 25 Aug, Thu 28 Aug, Mon 1 Sep, Mon 8 Sep & Mon 15 Sep, 3pm. included in admission. Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, 225 9846. Scotland’s most famous queen returns to tell her own tale of tragedy, treason and turmoil in this living history presentation. FREE Mrs Mash: The Storyteller Cook Mondays, 10.30–11am. The Skylark, 241–243 High Street, 629 3037. Mrs Mash serves up delicious stories and

songs for ages 4+. Tiny Tales Tue 9 Sep, 10am & 11.30am. £5. Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Stories, rhymes and songs for wee (and not so wee) ears. Ages 1–3.

✽It’s in the Bag Sat 13 Sep, 10am, 11.15am & 1pm. £6. Scottish

Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. It’s in the Bag take kids on a storytelling adventure jam packed with songs, drama, games, puppets and rhymes all coming together to create something wonderful. Teddy Bears’ Picnic (for 0–2 years) at 10am; Knights and Princesses (3–6 years) at 11.15am & 1pm.

Music Happy Ears Sat 23 Aug, 30 Aug & 13 Sep, 10–10.50am. £5. Calton Centre, 121 Montgomery Street, 07778 117333. Live interactive music classes for ages 0–3 and their parents, with lots of instruments and no pre-recorded music. Sing and Sign Mon 8 Sep & 15 Sep, 10–10.40am. £65 per family for a ten- week block. Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 555 7101. Signing and singing with babies using fun songs and familiar themes.

OUTSIDE THE CITIES Activities & Fun FREE Boys’ Brigade Scotland World Record Attempt Thu 11 Sep– Sun 14 Sep, 9pm. Broadwood Stadium, Ardgoil Drive, Cumbernauld, 01236 451511. Sixteen youngsters from the Boys’ Brigade Scotland attempt to break the world record for the longest ever game of five-a-side football. Drop by to watch a slice of the 60 consecutive hours of footie action. Day Out with Thomas Sat 13 & Sun

14 Sep, 10am–5pm. £11–£12. Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway, Union Street, Bo’ness, 01506 822298. This fun day out includes a rail journey on one of Thomas the Tank Engine’s friends, plus entertainers. Festival Largs Viking Festival Sat 30 Aug–Sun 7 Sep, 10am–6pm. £2–£5. The Promenade, Largs, 01475 672884. Festival marking the Battle of Largs in 1263, featuring a Viking village, re- enactments, aerobatic displays, a funfair and a fire display.

Music The Singing Kettle: Jungle Party Sat 23 & Sun 24 Aug, 1pm & 3.30pm. £11.50. The Brunton, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh, 665 2240. See Glasgow, Theatre & Dance. The Singing Kettle: Fantastic Funfair Sat 6 Sep, 2pm. Sun 7 Sep, noon & 3pm. £12. Carnegie Hall, East Port, Dunfermline, 01383 602302. The Kettle gang take on the helter skelters and merry-go-rounds of the funfair. The Singing Kettle: Fantastic Funfair Sat 13 Sep, 2pm. Sun 14 Sep, noon & 3pm. £12. Falkirk Town Hall, West Bridge Street, Falkirk, 01324 506850. See above.

Theatre & Dance Kids’ Sunday Magic Show Sun 24 Aug, 1–2pm. £5. East Kilbride Arts Centre, Old Coach Road, East Kilbride, 01355 261000. Douglas Cameron performs a funny but baffling magic show. Ages 3+.

✽White Sat 13 & Sun 14 Sep, 11:40am. £10. macrobert, University

of Stirling, Stirling, 01786 466666. Charmingly surreal show for toddlers by Andy Manley about a dazzling and intriguing world where everything is white. Ages 0–4.