The Secret of the Kelpie

Flora is playing with her brothers and sisters by the loch when she notices a stunning white horse. While her siblings demand a chance to ride the beautiful animal, Flora is worried. Where has this strange horse come from? And why are its hoof prints wet? 

Too late, Flora realizes this is no horse! It’s a kelpie: a shape-shifting water horse from Scottish folklore known to steal children. Can Flora reveal the secret of the kelpie in time to save her family?  

The Secret of the Kelpie introduces young readers to the kelpie, a creature of Scottish mythology. This engaging tale shows how the shape-shifting water horse tricks kids into jumping onto its back. Once the children are on the Kelpie’s back, they become entangled in its mane. Unlike her siblings, Flora does not ride the beautiful horse because she wonders why the horse leaves watery footprints. Flora then recognizes the horse for what it is: “It’s a kelpie! Remember the old stories? It’s tricked you onto its back, now it’s taking you into the loch to drown you and eat you!” 

The Scottish landscape and loch appear in stunning full-page illustrations that use muted browns, while the children’s clothes are soft blues and browns. The Kelpie grows as each child gets on its back, and the illustrations excellently show its increasing size. When the kelpie returns to the loch, Flora bravely faces the angry sky, violent waves, and the kelpie itself. The kelpie’s beauty will transfix readers; however, the ending shows the kelpie transform into a dragon-like creature that is “huge and ugly and hungry. Steam swirled from its nostrils, waves swirled round its hooves.”  

The Secret of the Kelpie is not a book for the easily frightened, as the kelpie’s desire to drown the children and its dramatic change may scare some readers. Most of the book pairs one page with a picture, while the other page contains oversized text. Each page has five to 15 sentences with complex sentence structure and advanced vocabulary such as spluttering, flank, snickering, and daft. Because of this, younger readers may have difficulty sitting through a reading of the book. 

The story of the kelpie reminds readers of the dangers that lurk in a loch, waiting for children to come close. However, Flora uses her power of observation to determine that the “pretty princess’s horse” is a kelpie in disguise. Flora also uses runes on a stone to discover the kelpie’s weakness. Ultimately, Flora’s curiosity and bravery help save her siblings from “the dark, cold depths of the loch.” The Secret of the Kelpie mixes a variety of Scottish traditional tales into a story that will give young children shivers of fear and delight. 

Sexual Content  

• None 

Violence  

• The kelpie’s secret weakness is metal. One of the children stuck on the kelpie’s back, Magnus, uses this knowledge to get free. Magnus “swung the key on its chain and hit the horse’s flank. The kelpie screamed and reared high in the air.” Magnus and two of his siblings fall off the kelpie when it rears.  
• Flora uses a knife to free her brother. She “jumped up and slashed at the kelpie’s mane. The horsehair sizzled when the iron blade touched it. Fergus ripped his hands free and fell into the water.”  

Drugs and Alcohol  

• None

Language  

• None 

Supernatural 

• None 

Spiritual Content  

• None