Children, books and languages are Pauline Mackay’s passions.
Somehow, she has made it her business to bring them all together.
Visitors to her bookshop in the centre of Inverness can not only peruse a collection of works in a variety of languages, but also meet the author behind many of them.
As a former teacher of English as a second language, she sees the potential for children to learn from her bilingual picture books, and perhaps help their parents as well.
From teaching to publishing
Pauline’s interest in languages began when she studied English and French at Glasgow University.
She went on to teach English in Poland where she also learned Polish and a little Russian.
Returning to Scotland, several years were spent in a family retail business before Pauline set up Ablekids, a children’s bookselling business specialising in bilingual books.
Then in 2007 she took the plunge and started Ablekids Press to self-publish her own stories and promote language learning.
The first was Fruit Lane, a picture book about ten different fruit characters.
Since then Pauline has produced 15 books across 17 languages, from Gaelic to Mandarin, Japanese and Arabic.
Her most popular creation is the Wee MacNessie picture book series based on the Loch Ness Monster which has spawned six books, with another planned.
Book based on a global icon
“It’s been incredible. People love the idea of the Loch Ness Monster, it’s a global icon, she said.
”I get a really good response from locals and visitors. So many visitors have incredible English, but if you have a very small child who is not learning English, or just learning, you still need a story in their own language.
“That’s where these books come into their own.”
She says stories, as well as games and songs, can help children learn language in their everyday environment.
And the bilingual books can help adults who may not know the language.
“Picture books are not necessarily easy language-wise, that’s a bit of a myth.
“But they are simple stories and they are shorter and more accessible.
“There is hope of getting to the end of the book, which gives you confidence and having the bilingual format you can understand what the story is.”
Wild About Inverness trails
Pauline’s own story has added new chapters since those early days.
During the Covid lockdown she started the Storyflower Project when she grew a giant sunflower called Peekaboo for The Family Centre in Merkinch.
The idea of growing a flower for someone special is expanding as primary schools create their own projects.
This year also saw the launch of the latest Wild About Inverness trail around the Ness Islands, the second in a series of trails around the city, which she put together with historian Norman Newton and illustrator Marjory Tait.
The first activity trail was published in 2021, highlighting animals and mythical beasts hidden in the city centre’s architecture.
“We’ve had a fantastic reaction to the trails”, said Pauline. “They are very family-friendly, they are for adults and children and it’s something you can do at any time. So it ticks a lot of boxes.
“It’s a way of learning about local history and about the city. It’s not overwhelming, it’s just snippets of information.
“But my hope is it’s a way for people to go away and find out more themselves.”
Are there more books on the way?
The evolution of the business has seen Pauline expand the range of books to include other local authors at the shop on Market Brae Steps.
Further expansion may be needed as she not only plans a future Wee MacNessie story, but also a third Wild About Inverness book to complete the trilogy.
She also has ideas for other middle grade (for 8-12 year olds) books, one a fantasy and intended to be part of a trilogy, and a work of historical fiction.
But there are no immediate plans to move from her current base which opened in 2017 and has its good and bad points.
“Being on the Market Brae Steps means I get a lot of breathless customers. So being in the High Street might be easier”, says Pauline.
“But I love being in this old part of town and there is such a supportive community here.
A great place to visit
“People also love small, independent bookshops. I get so many people saying it’s such a great place to visit.
“The fact I have my own books here as well as other authors’ books works really well.
“I also find myself acting like a tourist information service, not just talking about my own business but recommending cafes or restaurants and giving advice and directions.
“I think it’s a wonderful part of what I do.”
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