|
Coll the Storyteller’s Tales
of Enchantment
Illustrated by Anthony Lewis
Summary
Save now the Treasures all hidden.
Warriors fight in lands forbidden
and fire and danger ring the Merlin’s nest.
Before next Wintereve has gone
Coll Hazel must find Avalon
And bring the Treasures to a safer rest.
Coll the young bard has a vision of danger
and a mysterious high green hill. So on the morning after
Wintereve he and his cheeky raven, Branwen sail away from
his home far in the north of Alba (that’s Scotland now)
on a quest to find the hill and rescue the thirteen Treasures
of Britain. Who will help him? Will the gods be on his side?
And how will he escape the fierce raiders sailing to attack
the Island of Britain?
All is eventually revealed as Coll
finds his way through the lands of Ellan Vannin, Eriu, Cymru,
Armorica, Kernow and Dunein, not to mention the confusing
mists of the Otherworld, telling fifty wonderful Celtic
myths and playing his harp as he goes. And of course he
has Branwen to keep him cheerful (and peck him when he’s not).
This book is in a similar format to
Atticus the Storyteller’s
100 Greek Myths, so you can follow the separate story of Coll’s
magical journey in words and Anthony Lewis’s great cartoons
as you go through the book as well as having fun finding the
real places he visits on a map of the British Isles. You can
read
an extract
and take Coll's
Quiz in the Kids’
Area.
| |
 |
| |
Coll and Friends |
Why I loved
writing this book:
I am a Celt by blood, and the stories of Finn
and Cuchulain and all the heroes of this land are part of
my heritage. I had a wonderful time wandering around all the
parts of Britain (and I went to Brittany too), talking to
all sorts of interesting people and finding sniffs and fragments
of fabulous stories in all kinds of dusty old guidebooks and
histories. A good few of these stories (especially the ones
from Skye) have never been written down for children before—in
fact the last time anyone heard them properly was probably
orally, from a grandma or grandpa, and that would have been
local to where they first came from.
| |
 |
| |
|
The map was just as much
fun to do as the one for Atticus. I walked miles over Dartmoor
to find Wistman’s Wood where I have sent Coll to find
Merlin. It’s a really enchanted place with twisty trees
all covered in moss, and great grey-green boulders scattered
like a giant’s jackstones. Merlin wasn’t there
when I visited, but perhaps he was just too well hidden for
me to find. As for the Thirteen Treasures (or Hallows) of
Britain—the easiest place to find a list of them is
at wikipedia.
All
the places on the map have either a connection to the story,
or there is evidence that a settlement would have existed
there in the time of the druids. The best thing for me has
been bringing all those ancient sites back to life.
back
to top
|
