That could be a very cheeky question. “Is this your bottom?” But Sandy and Ella are really just trying to be helpful when they ask all their neighbours about their bottoms, as a bottom print is the only clue they have to a mystery on the beach.

This is my first picture book, and it was wonderful to see the pictures, by Gabby Grant, bring the story to life. Not just the bottoms (lots of bottoms – bottoms in nappies, kilts, jeans, and shorts. Even a bottom that claims to be a posterior!) but also the lively wildlife on the beach, and the looks on the neighbours’ faces when they are asked about their bottoms. And the very polite but slightly cheeky look on a small child’s face when they say, just one more time, “Excuse me, but is this your bottom?”

The Big Bottom Hunt won the Heart of Hawick Picture Book Award 2011 – an award voted for by infants in Borders schools.  Now I can say I have an award-winning bottom!