Get ready to read The Diary o a Wimpy Wean

One of the most popular children’s books of the last decade is to be given a new lease of life – in Scots.

Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid books have been translated into 56 languages and 65 editions worldwide, with global sales exceeding 200 million.

There are currently 12 books in the series and four films, most recently The Long Haul.

Now, Scots writer, poet and translator Thomas Clark has transformed the Wimpy Kid into a Wimpy Wean. In

Thomas’s translation, 12-year-old hero Greg Hefley tells us all about his life in gallus modern easy-to-read Scots.

Here’s an extract from Diary o a Wimpy Wean…

Tuesday

Richt, afore ye say onythin: this is a JOURNAL, aye? No a diary. I ken fine whit it says on the front. But when ma Maw went doon the shops I SPECIALLY telt her tae get yin that didnae say “diary” on it.

The ither thing I want tae get oot the road straicht aff the bat is that this wis ma MAW’s idea, no mine.

But she’s no richt in the heid if she thinks I’m aboot tae stairt writin awa aboot ma “feelins” or ony o that guff. Sae if ye’re waitin on me giein it aw “Dear Diary” this and “Dear Diary” that, ye can awa and run.

The anely reason I’m gaun alang wi this at aw is that, wan day, when I’m pure mintit and famous, I’ll hiv better things tae dae than staun aboot answerin fowk’s stupit questions aw day lang. Sae this book is gonnae be wirth its wecht in gowd.”

A native speaker and Scots language specialist, Clark has published a number of Scots translations, including a Glaswegian rendering of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. A great book in any language, Diary o a Wimpy Wean is packed with laughter, gags, disasters, daydreams and plenty to keep young readers hooked until the very end.

Diary o a Wimpy Wean will be published by Itchy Coo, an imprint of Black & White Publishing.