*Scroll down for English*
Storïau am gi bach fferm drwy'r tymhorau.
Stories about a farm dog through the seasons.
Genre: straeon byrion / short stories Gwerth addysgiadol/educational value: ◉◉◉◉◎ Negeseuon positif/positive messages: ◉◉◉◉◉ Themau trist,anodd/upsetting, tough themes: ◎◎◎◎◎ Trais, ofn/violence, scary: ◎◎◎◎◎ Iaith gref/language: ◎◎◎◎◎ Rhyw/sex: ◎◎◎◎◎ Hiwmor/humour: ◉◉◎◎◎ Her darllen/reading difficulty: ◉◉◉◎◎ Dyfarniad/Rating: ★★★★☆
Dyma gasgliad o bedair stori gan y gantores, Gwawr Edwards. Yn ôl y broliant, cafodd ei hysbrydoli i ysgrifennu’r llyfr ar ôl clywed ei nain (mam-gu) yn adrodd storïau ar lafar iddi pan oedd yn blentyn. Y peth cyntaf sy’n fy nharo am y llyfr yw pa mor lliwgar ydi o. Mae arlunwaith cain Ali Lodge yn gweddu’r llyfr ac mae’r lluniau’n creu rhyw ddarlun hapus, traddodiadol, quaint o fywyd yng nghefn gwlad. Gwna’r golygfeydd i mi feddwl am Beatrix Potter a Watership Down.
Yn sicr, bydd y llyfr yn apelio at blant o gefn gwlad Cymru, oherwydd y sefyllfaoedd cyfarwydd, ond byddai’r llyfr yn plesio unrhyw un sy’n hoff o anifeiliaid – a stori dda. Dwi’n meddwl rhywsut fod cael straeon byrrach yn gweithio’n well yn yr achos yma – digon i’w mwynhau bob nos fel stori amser gwely. Os dwi’n bod yn gwbl onest, bosib bydd y stori’n apelio fwy at ferched ond dwi’n meddwl fod hi’n bwysig trio peidio gosod ‘labeli.’
Stori am gi bach o’r enw Mali yw hon, sy’n mynd am dro o gwmpas y fferm ac yn mwynhau cwmni’r anifeiliaid eraill. Mae un stori ar gyfer pob tymor o’r flwyddyn – sy’n helpu i atgyfnerthu’r syniad o dymhorau (a threigl amser) i blant ifanc e.e. y rhinweddau unigryw sy’n gysylltiedig â phob tymor.
Beth sydd yn gwneud y llyfr yn well, yw bod ‘na negeseuon pwysig yng nghraidd y straeon ac maen nhw’n cael eu pwysleisio/crynhoi’n glir. Ceir negeseuon mor amrywiol â phwysigrwydd helpu pobl eraill a pheryglon chwarae o gwmpas gyda thân gwyllt. Mae digon o gyfleoedd i ddatblygu sgiliau personol a chymdeithasol yma.
Mae iaith y llyfr yn eithaf tafodieithol, ac mae acen Ceredigion i’w glywed yn glir – ond mae’n gwbl ddealladwy i unrhyw un – hyd yn oed ‘Gog’ fel fi! Mi wnes i fwynhau dysgu ambell i air newydd – doeddwn i ‘rioed wedi clywed “Dwi’n clemio!” o’r blaen!
Yn ogystal â’r negeseuon moesol, yr agweddau o fywyd beunyddiol y fferm, a’r drafodaeth o’r tymhorau, mae gan y llyfr hyd yn oed mwy i’w gynnig. Fe geir dywediadau Cymraeg yma ac acw o fewn y llyfr hefyd - cyfle da i drafod ac egluro’r rhain i blant fel bod y dywediadau yma’n parhau. Pwysig iawn.
Fel syrpreis bach olaf, mae geiriau i 5 cân hyfryd yng nghefn y llyfr, ond bydd angen archebu’r CD ar wahân o wefan Sain. Os rhywbeth, hynny oedd yr unig beth siomedig am y llyfr – nad oedd hi’n bosib cynnwys y CD. Mewn ffordd, mi fydda’n well gen i fod wedi talu mymryn yn fwy am y llyfr er mwyn cael y CD fel rhan ohono.
Cyflea’r llyfr ddarlun bendigedig, diniwed o gefn gwlad Cymru a bywyd braf Mali, sy’n mwynhau antur newydd bob dydd gyda’i ffrindiau- biti na fase bywyd go iawn mor syml!
CD ar gael o wefan Sain: £12.98
Gwawr ei hun yn darllen stori:
🎵🎵 Cân o'r llyfr:
Am fwy - dilynwch yr awdur ar Twitter neu Facebook. @gwawredwards
The singer, Gwawr Edwards, has published a collection of four stories. According to the blurb, she was inspired to write the book after hearing her grandmother recounting stories orally when she was a child. The first thing that strikes me about the book is how colourful it is. The fine, delicate artwork of Ali Lodge work well to create a happy, quaint and picturesque image of life in the countryside. It gives me a Beatrix Potter and Watership Down vibe.
The book will certainly appeal to children from rural Wales, because of the familiar situations, but the book would generally please anyone who likes animals – and a good story. I think somehow having shorter stories works better in this case – enough to enjoy each night as a bedtime story. If I'm quite honest, the story might be more appealing to girls but I think it's important not to set 'labels.'
This is a story about a small dog called Mali, who walks around the farm and enjoys the company of the other animals. There’s one story for each season of the year – which helps to reinforce the idea of seasons (and the passage of time) for young children e.g. the unique qualities associated with each season.
What makes the book better, is that there are important messages at the core of each tale and they are clearly emphasized/summarised. Messages are as wide-ranging as the importance of helping other people to the dangers of playing around with fireworks. There are plenty of opportunities to develop personal and social skills here.
The language of the book is quite dialectic, and the Ceredigion accent is to be heard clearly – but it is perfectly understandable to anyone – even a ‘Gog' like me! I enjoyed learning a few new words – I’d never come across "Dwi’n clemio!” before.
In addition to the moral messages, the aspects of daily farm life, and the discussion of the seasons, the book has even more to offer. There are also Welsh sayings peppered about the book – a good opportunity to discuss and explain these to children so that they will continue.
As a final little surprise, included are the words to 5 lovely songs at the back of the book, but the CD will need to be purchased separately from Sain. If anything, that was the only disappointing thing about the book – that it was not possible to include the CD. In a way, I would have preferred to pay a bit more for the book and get the CD included.
The book gave a wonderful, innocent picture of Welsh countryside. Mali leads a comfortable life, with a new adventure each day - I only wish real life was this idyllic!
CD available from Sain: £12.98