02 August 2011

 Children love the sound of rhymes, so the perfect book for them is launched today by publishers Gwasg y Lolfa. Raplyfr 1 Rapsgaliwn ‘O ble mae llaeth yn dod?’ (Where does milk come from?) is full of verses for children to read and rap at the top of their voices! Rapsgaliwn, the ever popular character on S4C’s children’s service Cyw tells the story in the form of verses.

Siân Eirian, Head of S4C’s Children Services said: “We are delighted that Rapsgaliwn’s fame is still spreading and his popularity is going from strength to strength. A book about him as one of the most iconic Welsh children’s characters and one of the newest from our pioneering children’s service, Cyw is sure to be a huge success.”

As well as starring on-screen, Rapsgaliwn has also released a CD of songs. During the Urdd National Eisteddfod Week in Swansea in June he released a song with Mistar Urdd, and gained hundreds more fans of all ages. And by now he’s an acclaimed author!

The story in the book follows the format of the TV programme, where Rapsgaliwn, the golden-suited rapper discovers the answer to life’s important questions with the help of his raplyfr (rap book).

Beca Evans of Fflic, the production company which produces Rapsgaliwn - is the author of the story. She is originally from Cardiff and has produced and worked on a number of popular programmes, such as the celebrity Welsh learning challenge ‘cariad@iaith:love4language’, ‘Rapsgaliwn’ and style show ‘Cwpwrdd Dillad’.

The book is a joint project between Gwasg y Lolfa, Fflic TV and Cube Interactive, a Cardiff-based company who have created pictures for the Rapsgaliwn website.

Gwasg y Lolfa and Cube are also working together to create a Rapsgaliwn app, which will be available to download in August. Appsgaliwn will include an e-book with animated images, pages to colour and puzzles.

Meinir Edwards from Gwasg y Lolfa said: “This is an extremely exciting development. Technology moves so fast these days and children are increasingly being inspired by the small screen of the phone or iPod rather than the TV or computer screen. It will be interesting to see if the experiment works. If Appsgaliwn is a success, the possibilities to expand are endless.”

Rapsgaliwn will visit Gwasg y Lolfa’s stand at the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham on Tuesday, 2 August at 3pm.

Title: Raplyfr 1 Rapsgaliwn ‘O ble mae llaeth yn dod?’

Publication date: 25 July 2011

Price: £2.95 Published by Y Lolfa

Author, Illustrator: Beca Evans; Cube Interactive

Phone: 02920 671528; 02920 452835; 01970 832304