Dotty the super sleuth!

Author Clara Vulliamy talked to us about stationery, hieroglyphics and detectives as she celebrates her fifth Dotty Detective book - Dotty Detective: The Birthday Surprise!

In the new book, it's Dotty's birthday - and her teacher's, and he's REALLY excited. What can the children do to make it special for him? But Dotty is soon calling on all her detective skills when something special goes missing... We asked author Clara Vulliamy some questions about her new book: Q: Why did want to write about young detectives, Dot and her friend Beans? A: I like that the story can be absolutely part of their everyday lives and isn't fantastical, and a lot of children like solving puzzles. Dot is a great word search fan and I always liked doing those too. The children in my stories always do their detecting work on their own; no adult will ever know about them, it will be their secret and I think children need privacy, they need their secrets. Q: What gave you the idea for basing Dotty's detective work around birthdays for this story? A: I knew that sunny-side-up Dot would be very excited about her birthday - but not half as much as her teacher Mr Dickens is about his! I had lots of fun thinking about presents, parties, and how McClusky would celebrate HIS birthday, too. Q: How careful do you need to be when laying clues in your stories? A: When I read a mystery novel or watch a detective programme on TV, it always irritates me when the case is solved with an unexpected reveal you couldn't possibly have predicted - a long-lost identical twin, for instance. So I make sure every clue is there to be discovered. I like the feeling at the end of a story when you think - OF COURSE! So that's why that happened! Q: In this book, the children use Egyptian hieroglyphics to send coded messages. Do you bring different forms of coding into each story? A: Egyptian hieroglyphics are a perfect way for Dot to send secret messages; in fact she has created her own picture-code-alphabet before, in The Midnight Mystery. Children love to invent their own secret codes - it's a highlight of the events I do in schools and festivals. The Join the Dots Detectives have also made their own invisible ink, another top favourite, and I can reveal that in the next book (The Holiday Mystery, published in May) Dot and Beans will be getting to grips with morse code! Q: There is a strong 'boy versus girl' theme in this story, why did you want to tackle that? Dot and Beans are best friends, and a great team. When they find themselves on different sides of a boys versus girls race to solve the mystery, they aren't at all happy about it. Without spoiling the ending, there's a very nice message for readers to take away about friendship and fun across the unnecessary girl-boy divide! Q: How important is it to you that you illustrate these stories yourself? A: Being an author-illustrator is a bit like being the playwright, director, stage designer and ALL the actors rolled into one! Q: Dot is a real 'stationery' fan - does she get that from you. What are the favourite items on your desk at the moment? A: She certainly does get that from me! In lots of ways we are unalike - I'm not good at maths, nor can I run fast - but stationery is a love we share. And I'm so glad you ask, because on my desk I'm especially enjoying my new Christmas presents: a pair of gold scissors, some geometric post-it notes and many rolls of washi tape. Check out those gold dots - I think Dot would approve!