Sali Mali is a popular Welsh children's book and television character, originally created by author Mary Vaughan Jones and illustrated by Rowena Wyn Jones [1] during the 1960s and 1970s. Many Welsh-speaking children learnt to read by reading Sali Mali books.
Following the death of Mary Vaughan Jones, many of her original books were re-published. The copyright belonged to Cymdeithas Lyfrau Ceredigion until the publisher was bought by Gomer Press in 2009. Characters are:
Many new titles for children were authored by Dylan Williams and illustrated by Simon Bradbury. One of these books courted controversy in December 2007, when Sali Mali a'r Hwdi Chwim was published, in the story Sali Mali's iPod is stolen by a hoodie. Several bookshops boycotted the book by refusing to stock it. [2]
An animated Sali Mali series was produced by Siriol Productions and Cymru Cyfru and Calon for S4C in 2000. The theme tune to this was sung by Cerys Matthews (Angharad Bisby in some versions), and the series is narrated by Rhys Ifans. [3] Sali Mali had broadcast in English on Nickelodeon. The show also aired on Channel 4 and has also been sold to Scandinavian countries. [4]
A preschool live-action children's musical television series, Caffi Sali Mali (English: Sali Mali's Cafe), was produced by Siânco for S4C in 1994 and ended in 2001, which was Sali Mali and the others' first television appearance. There are songs every episode, and it was an episodic series, where each episode has a different plot. There was also a spin-off of this series called Slot Syniadau Sali. It was written by Ifana Savill [5] using the characters created by Mary Vaughan Jones, including Sali Mali's pet bird, Jac-do, and her good friend, Jac y Jwc. This series is produced using actors in costumes and puppets. Sali Mali runs a cafe in the small village of "Pentre Bach" (English Little Village). A follow-up soap-opera series, Pentre Bach, which consisted of 52 episodes and aired on 6 September 2004 to 2007, after Caffi Sali Mali was cancelled in 2001, was filmed using a purpose-built village, located in Blaenpennal, which is also a guest centre run by Ifana and Adrian Savill. [6] The rights to the series were bought by Al-Jazeera in April 2006, to be shown across the Middle East in Arabic. [7]
Languages are:
S4C is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience. S4C's headquarters are based in Carmarthen, at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David's creative and digital centre, Yr Egin. It also has regional offices in Caernarfon and Cardiff. As of 2024, S4C had an average of 118 employees. S4C is the fourth-oldest terrestrial television channel in Wales after BBC One, ITV and BBC Two.
The Welsh Language Society is a direct action pressure group in Wales campaigning for the right of Welsh people to use the Welsh language in every aspect of their lives. The chair of the Welsh Language Society since October 2023 is Joseff Gnagbo.
Cerys Elizabeth Matthews is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the "Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s.
Pentre Bach is a Welsh language television soap-opera for younger children, shown on S4C as part of the daily Planed Plant Bach block. It is a follow-up series to Caffi Sali Mali, after the show was cancelled in 2001. The series is based on the characters created by Mary Vaughan Jones, the main character is Sali Mali, and the new characters were introduced, including her sister Jini. It first aired on 6 September 2004. It is the only soap-opera that's aimed towards younger children in any sort of media. It was also free to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Thomas Llewelyn Jones was a Welsh language author. Over a writing career of more than 50 years, he became one of the most prolific and popular authors of children's books in Welsh. He wrote, and was generally known, as T. Llew Jones.
Moog Droog is the second EP by the Super Furry Animals. It was originally released in October 1995 by the Welsh label Ankst Records, and reissued in May 1997. The two releases have different covers: the original version depicts a faceless humanoid brushing dust under a carpet, while the "export" version simply has a red/orange bear drawn on a blue background.
The Tir na n-Og Awards are a set of annual children's literary awards in Wales from 1976. They are presented by the Books Council of Wales to the best books published during the preceding calendar year in each of three awards categories, one English-language and two Welsh-language. Their purpose is "[to raise] the standard of children's and young people's books and to encourage the buying and reading of good books." There is no restriction to fiction or prose. Each prize is £1,000.
Gomer Press is a family printing company based in Llandysul, west Wales. It was the largest publishing house in Wales.
Bow Street is a large village in the Tirymynach district of Ceredigion, Wales, approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-east of Aberystwyth. As well as Bow Street itself, it is now often considered to include the neighbouring smaller village of Pen-y-garn and the hamlet of Rhydypennau. All three places stretch in a long narrow strip along the main Aberystwyth to Machynlleth road, the A487.
Cyw is the name of a Welsh-language children's television block from S4C, which launched on 23 June 2008.
Mary Vaughan Jones was a celebrated Welsh children's author and schoolteacher.
Emily Huws is a Welsh language children's author. She is a recipient of the Mary Vaughan Jones Award.
Cymdeithas Lyfrau Ceredigion was a Welsh publisher, established in 1954, specialising in books of interest to Ceredigion, and Welsh language children's books, including adaptations and original works. Cymdeithas Lyfrau Ceredigion bought the Welsh Teldisc Ltd c. 1974.
Calon is the trading name of Mount Stuart Media Ltd., a British animation television production company based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, which primarily produced Welsh animated series for S4C. The company was formerly known as Siriol Animation and Siriol Productions.
Angharad Tomos is a Welsh author and prominent language activist. She is a recipient of the Tir na n-Og Award.
Gareth Finlay Williams was a Welsh language author who wrote novels for children and adults, as well as creating many television drama series.
Keeping Faith is a British thriller television series, filmed and set in Wales, and first broadcast in Welsh on S4C from 5 November 2017.
Hidden is a Welsh television drama serial, created by Mark Andrew and Ed Talfan. It was initially broadcast in Welsh on the Welsh-language channel S4C under its Welsh name Craith. The bilingual version of the series, under the English name Hidden, was broadcast on BBC One Wales and BBC Four. The Welsh-language versions of the first two series aired on S4C in 2018 and 2019, respectively, with the third and final series beginning on 10 October 2021. The English-language version of the third and final series aired in April 2022.
A list of the Sali Mali titles currently in print can be found at http://www.gomer.co.uk/index.php/books-for-children/sali-mali.html
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