Oxford illustrator and author Mini Grey is going from strength to strength. A former primary school teacher, she took an MA in sequential design at Brighton University. She is now a full-time picture book creator, specialising in telling stories from an unusual point of view. She weaves text into her artwork, and her books are a treasure chest of wacky graphics, with collages of clothing, labels and bottles bearing jokey brand names.

Her first picture book for children, Egg Drop, was written from the point of view of an egg that dreams it can fly. The Pea and the Princess (2003) was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway award, Britain’s main prize for illustrators, which she won in 2007 for the The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon. Her last book Jim is shortlisted for this year’s prize.

Her new book Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey (Jonathan Cape, £10.99), has the boys’ doll wearing his Squid-Proof Scuba Suit. There’s a nail-biting adventure as he is washed out to sea and — worst of all — trapped in a sandcastle with two very feminine dollies. At the same time, her previous book, Three by the Sea has come out in paperback (Red Fox, £5.99).