Feb 26, 20216 min read

Pen Dafad - Bethan Gwanas

*Scroll down for English*

Genre: #ffuglen #arddegau #defaid #doniol / #fiction #teens #sheep #funny

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: ◉◉◉◎◎

Lluniau/illustrations: Jac Jones

’Da chi ’rioed ’di cal yr hunllef ’na lle ’da chi’n troi fyny i’r ysgol heb eich trowsus ac mae pawb yn chwerthin ar eich pen? Naddo? Wel, dwi’m yn siŵr be di’r peth gwaetha – hynny, ta’r pethau anffodus sy’n digwydd i Dewi druan yn y llyfr yma! Mae’n saff deud fod gan y cradur dipyn o broblem, achos gyda’r nos, mae o’n troi’n anifail!

I mean, fair enough, os ydach chi’n cael troi mewn i ryw fath o werewolf- ’ma ’na rwbath eitha cŵl am hynny - cael bod yn gyhyrog a chryf, curo’r bwlis, neu cael gwneud be ’da chi isio achos mae pawb eich ofn chi!

O leia mae ’na rywbeth reit secsi am droi mewn i ryw fath o hync golygus fel wolverine ’does? Meddyliwch felly pa mor siomedig fasa chi o ddarganfod mai’r hyn rydach chi’n trawsnewid iddo fo ydi dafad. Ia. Blydi dafad.

Dwi’n siŵr fod y cyhoeddwyr wedi edrych yn reit rhyfadd ar Bethan Gwanas pan oedd hi’n pitchio’r syniad yma’n y swyddfa... Dwi’m yn meddwl y baswn i wedi gallu stopio fy hun rhag chwerthin! Cyn darllan y llyfr, do’n i ’rioed wedi cael amsar i ystyried materion mawr athronyddol fel cael fy nhroi’n ddafad, a dwi’n meddwl mai rhyw fath o morbid curiosity oedd hannar y rheswm dros ddewis y llyfr yma i’w ddarllen! Rhaid i mi gyfadda,’ mi fues i’n gwenu drwy gydol y nofel fwy neu lai, ac mi oedd y llyfr jest y peth o’n i angen ar gyfer cael gwared â’r lockdown blues.

Oes, mae angen dipyn bach o suspension of belief efo’r stori yma, ond unwaith ’da chi’n dod i dderbyn y ffaith fod Dewi jest yn fachgen tair ar ddeg oed, sy'n digwydd bod efo cyrn dan ei het, mae o jest yn gweithio!

Pwy fasa’n meddwl y bysa bod yn ddafad mor broblemus? Yn sicr dydi ei fam ddim yn rhy hapus ar ôl i Dewi fwyta’i houseplants gora – ydi hi’n deall fod gan ddefaid anghenion wir?! Yn dilyn ei antics ar bedair coes un noson, mae o’n deffro’n noeth borcyn yng nghanol y cae – sut ar y ddaear mae o’n mynd i esbonio hyn wrth ei rieni? A bechod, mae hyd yn oed y defaid eraill yn chwerthin am ei ben!

Cwestiwn mawr y llyfr, wrth gwrs, yw pam fod hyn i gyd yn digwydd i Dewi, o bawb? A sut goblyn mae stopio’r peth? Roedd ’na dipyn o dwist tua diwedd y llyfr, ac mi aeth y stori i rywle tywyllach nag oeddwn i’n ddisgwyl, gan groesi i’r byd ffantasi, rhamant ac arswyd am chydig.

Mae’r llyfr yn dipyn o oed erbyn hyn, ond dydio o ddim wedi heneiddio ac mae ei apêl yn dal i fod yr un mor gryf. Dwi’n digwydd gwybod ei fod yn cael ei ddarllen mewn sawl ysgol uwchradd ar draws Cymru, a hynny, mae’n debyg, am ei fod o mor ddoniol. Mae o ar gael yn y Saesneg hefyd o dan y teitl Ramboy, ond i mi, y teitl Cymraeg sydd pia hi! Mae ’na rwbath reit satisfying am alw rhywun yn hen ben dafad yn does, yn yr un modd a ’sa chi’n defnyddio twpsyn – a mae ’na ddigon o rheiny yn y byd ’ma does!

Gyda chymaint o ymchwil yn dangos fod bechgyn, ar y cyfan, yn darllen lot llai ’na merched, mae’n bwysig iawn fod ’na lyfrau doniol, ysgafn fel hyn i godi awydd darllen ymysg bechgyn yn eu harddegau - sy’n gallu bod yn dipyn o tough crowd i’w plesio (mae ’na dipyn o gystadleuaeth yn dod o'r xbox does!). Ma’r awdur yn hen law yn y maes yma, ond yn gyffredinol, mae na brinder o stwff newydd fel hyn yn y Gymraeg sy’n genuinley funny. Mae ’na linell denau rhwng bod yn ddoniol a thrio’n rhy galed- ond mae BG yn dallt hi'n iawn!

Os wnaethoch chi fwynhau Pen Dafad – ewch i chwilio am lyfrau eraill y gyfres (o’r un enw) - chewch chi mo’ch siomi (mae gormod i’w rhestru yma). Ac os am rywbeth mwy diweddar, mae Brenin y Trenyrs gan Pryderi Gwyn Jones hefyd yn un da sy’n siŵr o apelio at y grŵp oedran 10-15.

Did you ever get that nightmare where you turn up to school without your trousers and everyone laughs at you? No? Well, I don’t know what’s worse – that, or the strange events plaguing our main character here! It’s safe to say that poor Dewi has a bit of a problem on his hands, or should I say hooves, because at night-time, he starts turning into an animal!

I mean, fair enough, if you're transforming into some kind of werewolf-like creature- there’s something quite cool about that – being muscly and strong, getting one over on the bullies, or just generally getting your own way ’cause everyone’s terrified of you!

At least there’s something quite sexy about turning into some sort of wolverine… So just think how disappointed you’d be if the only thing you could turn into was a plain, ordinary sheep…

I'm sure the publishers looked very oddly at Bethan Gwanas when she initially pitched this idea to the board! I doubt I'd have been able to keep a straight face! Before reading Pen Dafad, I'd never taken the time to consider great philosophical and thought-provoking issues such as being turned into a sheep, and I think I partly chose this book out of morbid curiosity! I’ve got to admit though, I smiled most of the way through, and it was just what I needed to shift those lockdown blues!

Now then, you do need a little bit of suspension of belief with this one, but once you just learn to accept the fact that Dewi, a thirteen-year-old boy, suddenly develops hooves and horns, it just works!

Who’d think that being a sheep could be so problematic? His mother certainly isn’t too impressed when he eats all her best houseplants – doesn’t she know that a sheep has needs?! Following some of his four-legged antics one night, he wakes up naked in the middle of the field – how on earth is he going to explain that to his parents? Even the other sheep are laughing at him, poor thing!

The big question is of course, why is all this happening to Dewi of all people? And how the heck will he get it to stop? There was a bit of a twist towards the end, and it took a darker turn than I was expecting, crossing into fantasy, romance and horror territory for a while.

The book has been around for a while now, but the story still works and it’s got plenty of life left in it. I think it was recently reprinted, actually. I happen to know that it’s still a popular choice in many secondary schools across Wales, probably because of its humour. It’s also available in English under the title Ramboy, but for me, you can’t beat Pen Dafad! Calling someone a ‘Pen Dafad’ when they’ve done something stupid has a nice ring to it!

With research showing that boys, on the whole, read less than girls, it’s very important that there are plenty of funny, light-hearted books like this to spark their interest- they can be a tough crowd to please at times (especially when you consider the competition from the xbox!) The author's written a lot for this age group and knows it well, but I still think we need more books like this in Welsh – genuinely funny novels that aren’t too long or taxing to read. As far as humour is concerned, getting it ‘right’ is a skill – there’s a very fine line between being naturally funny and trying too hard. BG's nailed it, to be fair!

If you enjoyed Pen Dafad – have a look at the rest of the series (which shares the same name) - you won’t be disappointed (too many good ones to list here). And if you’re looking for something new, Brenin y Trenyrs by Pryderi Gwyn Jones is also a good one that should suit the 10-15 age group.