Sali Mali is a popular Welsh children's book and television character, first created by author

Mary Vaughan Jones Mary Vaughan Jones (28 May 1918 – April/May/June 1983) was a celebrated Welsh children's author and schoolteacher. She was born at 'Firs Cottage', Maenan near Llanrwst in 1918, and died in the Rhuddlan area, Clwyd in 1983. Jones authore ...

and illustrated by Rowena Wyn Jones in 1969. Many Welsh-speaking children learnt to read by reading Sali Mali books.

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 Gomer Press ( Welsh: ''Gwasg Gomer'') is a family printing (and formerly publishing) company based in Llandysul, west Wales. It was the largest publishing house in Wales. History The company was first established in 1892 and began as a general ...

in 2009. Characters are: *Sali Mali *Jac Do (Jackdaw) *Jaci Soch *Jac y Jwc *Jini (Sali Mali's sister) *Tomos Caradog (Thomas Caradog) *Nicw Nacw *Pry Bach Tew *Siani Flewog *Dwmplen Malwoden *Morgan and Magi Ann *Mop Golchi Llestri (Dish Washing Mop) *Llwy Bren (Wooden Spoon) *Sosban Fach (Small Saucepan) 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 The iPod is a series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. from 2001 to 2022. The iPod Classic#1st generation, first version was released on November 10, 2001, about mon ...

is stolen by a

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. Several bookshops boycotted the book by refusing to stock it.

Television series

Prior to 1994, Sali Mali didn't had any television adaptations, not even the events of that book were mentioned in any of its television shows. An animated Sali Mali series was produced by Siriol Productions and Cymru Cyfru and Calon for

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') 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-speakin ...

in 2000. The theme tune to this was sung by

Cerys Matthews Cerys Elizabeth Matthews (; born 11 April 1969) 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. Matthews now ...

(Angharad Bisby in some versions), and the series is narrated by

Rhys Ifans Rhys Owain Evans (; born 22 July 1967), known as Rhys Ifans, is a Welsh actor. He has portrayed roles in ''Notting Hill'' (1999), '' Kevin & Perry Go Large'' (2000), and '' Enduring Love'' (2004), in addition to Xenophilius Lovegood in ''Harry ...

. Sali Mali had broadcast in English on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

. The show also aired on Channel 4 and has also been sold to Scandinavian countries. A preschool live-action children's musical television series, Caffi Sali Mali (English: Sali Mali's Cafe), was produced by Siânco for

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 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

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centre run by Ifana and Adrian Savill. The rights to the series were bought by

Al-Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pr ...

in April 2006, to be shown across the Middle East in

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. Languages are: * British English * German * Danish * Welsh * Arabic * Norwegian * Latin American Spanish * Polish * Korean * Scottish Gaelic * French * Italian * Hebrew * Swedish * Finnish * Brazilian Portuguese * Turkish * Slovene * Mandarin Chinese * American English * European Portuguese * Castilian Spanish

Episodes

* Autumn Leaves * Little Lamb Lost * Dirty Feet * Time Flies * Windy Day * Stowaway Guest * Leaving Home * Christmas Eve * Digging for Treasure * Splash Day * Wet Paint * Hot and Bothered * Playing in the Snow * Snowed In * Hide and Eek * Who Ate The Lettuce? * Twins * Hot Day * Say Cheese * Lost Friends * Easter Eggstravaganza * Blackberry Belly * A Model Model * Chimney Weep * Snow Fun * Mushroom Madness * Have An Ice-Day * Feeding the Birds * Sing Along A-Sali * Achoo * Naughty Day * Spring Clean * Mama Jackdaw * One, Two, Three * At The Seaside * Let's Go Camping * Happy Birthday, Jackdaw * Falling Leaves * Bake A Cake * Balloon Race * How Does Your Garden Grow * The Storm * The Visitors * Snap! * Making Music * The New Teddy * Sticky Toffee * Boo! * Making Masks * Keep Fit * All Tied Up * He's Been Framed

References

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 {{Authority control Welsh children's literature British children's animated television shows Television shows based on children's books 2000s British animated television series 2000s British children's television series 2000s preschool education television series British preschool education television series Animated preschool education television series S4C original programming Nick Jr. original programming Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming British English-language television shows 1969 children's books Children's books set in Wales Channel 4 animated television series