In the end we brought eight of Mairi’s original tales to life in Series One. But we had a commission for 26 episodes, so we also had to write more Katie Morag stories for both of the series. Which was equally fun! We brainstormed potential themes, stories and issues. We made a timeline for events - again it was great to have Mairi there, in the books she could move time along and introduce people and things without explanation, but for a weekly TV show, we had to have a chronology. The CILIP Kate Greenway Medal: Nominations for 2008". Archived from the original on 16 May 2012 . Retrieved 18 January 2011. Study the map of the Isle of Struay (The Big Katie Morag Storybook) and you will find that the indent of Village Bay is the only geographic similarity to Coll. Scattered about are a few local place names but further study will show that the majority are stolen from neighbouring islands and mainland locations personal to me. There are several references to Powell and Pressburger’s I Know Where I’m Going, filmed on Mull in ’45. The mountain range called the Five Sisters of Struay have their mainland counterpart in Kintail. In fact their illustration is inspired by Rum.

Alexandria Patience, Artistic Evaluation: Katie Morag at Ardross Hall, Scottish Arts Council, 5 October 2005 Mark Brown, Christmas show review: Peter Pan and Katie Morag, The Daily Telegraph, 11 December 2007Are you studying Katie Morag as a topic in your First Level class? This beautifully illustrated poster of the Isle of Struay Map is the perfect addition to your classroom topic display. Our Isle of Struay Map features various settings in the Katie Morag book series, including: Move On Up is based in Cromarty, North East of Inverness. From the outset we were determined to keep as much of the production in the Highlands as we could, beginning with the writing. The series is filmed on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Although the fictional Island of Struay is based on Coll [10] in the Inner Hebrides, the producers felt Lewis had the necessary infrastructure to create the series. [11] Executive producer Lindy Cameron further explained, "It was important to us to try and keep as much of this production in the Highlands as we were able. By making good use of all the innate facilities and skills that Lewis has to offer us we hope that the benefit to the Island, and to all of the Hebrides, will be great." [12] We gathered our team up here for the writing sessions: writers Sergio Casci, Stuart Hepburn and Martin McCardie, trainee writers, Jan Storie and Lou Wylie, script editor, Angela Galvin(now BBC Writersroom's Development Producer for Scotland), two producers Margaret Matheson and me, and the director, Don Coutts. BBC Execs Sara Harkins and Michael Towner came along when they could. And we invited Mairi too, because we wanted her to feel involved in the team right from the start.

We had long discussions about how to portray a totally free-range child, who had the run of the island and was often alone, in a way that would not inspire a legion of small viewers to emulate her. In the end I think we found a balance, compromising on some of the freedoms, but guarding others. Begin by jumping onto a ferry at Oban, at Mallaig, at Tarbert, Uig or at Ullapool , even up at Scrabster for the Nothern Islands, Or you could simply stay on the Highland Mainland and head up to places like Durness, Arisaig, Ardnamurchan Peninsula; the list is very long indeed.

What are some fun facts about the Isle of Coll for kids?

Announcing the 2015 Kidscreen Awards winners!". Kidscreen. 25 February 2015 . Retrieved 26 February 2015. KATIE MORAG wins RTS Scotland Award". Sayle Screen. 19 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014 . Retrieved 13 July 2014. Before disillusionment sets in, and you decide to take the boat to Mull or Rum instead of Coll, I can assure Katie Morag aficionados that the first clutch of Struay characters in the first books did have Collach forbears, old friends. Granma Mainland, however, is my mother visiting Coll in the ’60s, handbag and all. Never in a thousand years! With the first book, I was given a brief to write and illustrate a picture storybook. My own children were teenagers by this point and so it was a self-indulgent nostalgia re-run of my children’s upbringing on the Isle of Coll. Some of the existing stories would prove impossible for us to adapt; some of the scenarios were totally impractical, which is why it was really excellent to have the director and producers there, for their practical reigning-in of the blue-sky thinking!

For many years there was talk of adapting the tales for television – the character was first optioned by Scots filmmaker Don Coutts in 1997 – and, by 2005, there was the first talk of filming such a series on Lewis. The series was shot on the Isle of Lewis between May and August 2013 at BBC Alba's studios in Stornoway and on location around the island. It comprised 26x15 minute episodes (6 of which were part of a sub-series called Grannie Island's Ceilidh) and began its run on Cbeebies on 3 November 2013. If you’re looking for a great way to begin your class learning on the Scottish islands, look no further than this PowerPoint! In this resource, you’ll find informative, well designed slides all about the islands and their transport, housing, schools, places to visit, and much more. I have seen this book used with a key stage 2 class over a variety of subjects. The class were weeks away from a summer fair, and taking the character Mrs Bayview and her garden as a starting point they planned a flower sale. Casting for the series included a casting call in Stornoway in March 2013, [21] for filming on Lewis in May 2013, [22] some of which took place in the remote village of Tolsta Chaolais.In November 2012 it was announced at last that the BBC CBeebies channel had commissioned twenty-six 14-minute live-action dramas, from Coutts’s Cromarty-based production company Move On Up.

Casting for the series included a casting call in Stornoway, Lewis in March 2013. [7] [8] The casting team also held extensive auditions in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The part was eventually won by seven-year-old Cherry Campbell from Glasgow (whose grandmother was born, and still lives, on Lewis). Campbell took part in the Stornoway auditions. Director Don Coutts said, "We were looking for someone with energy, humour and courage to play the feisty wee character of Katie Morag and we think that Cherry has all three of these attributes in spades!" [9] Locations [ edit ] Struay Shop and Post Office from the TV series Katie Morag Those early inspirational islanders are long dead. Not many on Coll today would know who they were. Yet their familiar Hebridean identity as individuals still lives on, albeit with new accents and new ways, because, then and now, we are all islanded, bound by the sea. And CalMac. Some things never change.

Being exposed to this large display poster also develops children’s map reading skills. It can enhance their spacial awareness by clearly highlighting the location of objects and their proximity to one another. Katie Morag is a feisty, red-headed girl who lives with her family on the magical Scottish Island of Struay. Her life is full of stories of jealousy, bravery and rivalry, peopled by an annoying little brother, busy shopkeeper parents, a perfectly perfect best friend and a couple of grandmothers who between them know everything about everything. Katie Morag is played by Cherry Campbell.