‘Where’s Brian’s Bottom?’ amuses with fold-out book

Where’s Brian’s Bottom?

Written and illustrated by Rob Jones

Pavilion Children’s Books, London, 2021

‘Where’s Brian’s Bottom?’ is a fun concertino or fold-out board book in which Brian, a red dachshund, can’t find his bottom.

The story begins addressing the reader, “Have you seen Brian’s bottom? He can’t find it anywhere!”

Then the reader go from one room to another in the dog's house, looking for the back of Brian. The joke is that dachshunds are such long dogs. Photos hanging in the hall show the front and back of Brian in two separate photos.

As the reader moves through five rooms of the house, we keep seeing Brian’s body snaking through each room. The narrator asks an animal friend in each room if they have seen Brian’s bottom.

Pauline, the parrot in the hall hasn’t seen Brian’s bottom. Alan the gerbil in the living room hasn’t seen it either. Dave the turtle in the kitchen says he hasn’t seen any bottoms.

Derek the duck in the bathroom is asked if Brian has been on the toilet. Derek quacks he hasn’t seen a bottom. A piece of Brian is getting a bubble bath though.

Finally, we discover Brian’s bottom next to Cheryl the cat who is lying on the bed in the bedroom. The cat looks angry and says, “Meeoww! Meeoww! Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep!” And so ends the picture book.

An extra surprise comes when you flip the book over. In reverse, the wordless story begins with Brian’s head asleep on the bed with Cheryl the cat asleep on top of him.

Brian’s body winds through the rest of the rooms one by one. His animal friends are more active now. Ducks play in the bubble bath in the bathroom. Mice have a picnic of cheese while the turtle sleeps in the kitchen.

Alan the gerbil feasts on carrots in the living room and Pauline the parrot sings in the hall. A frog and a jug of milk sit outside the front door.   

Little children will be amused by this silly picture book.  

About the Author and illustrator

Rob James studied illustration at the University of Gloucestershire, UK, where he also discovered a love for making books, toys, and puppets. His first book, “Bernard,” won the People’s Book Prize in 2014.