There's some very good news for young readers and their parents — Traction Man is back by popular demand.

In 2005, Oxford author Mini Grey won the Dundee-based City of Discovery award for Traction Man Is Here. The picture book struck a chord with youngsters who love making up adventure stories about their toys — and with parents who grew up in the 1970s, when all you needed was an Action Man and a copy of The Beano to enjoy yourself.

The story proved so popular that Ms Grey received a number of letters from parents urging her to write a sequel, and Traction Man Meets Turbo Dog is the result.

Since writing the first book in 2005, Mini, who is in her early 40s, has become a parent, and can now enlist the help of her 18-month-year-old son Herbie to find out what young readers really enjoy.

But the downside of being a parent is that she gets less time in the day to focus on her illustrations.

"My illustrations take a long time — they're rather fiddly," the illustrator told The Guide.

"I could spend all day and night on them but now I have to try to work more quickly.

"Herbie is being very obliging at the moment because he has a two-hour nap every lunchtime. It's really nice to be able to write a book about the same character and jump back into the same world. I couldn't get the pictures quite how I wanted in the first book, but this time I think they have worked out very well — I've been more cunning with the paint."

In the new book, Traction Man's loyal sidekick Scrubbing Brush vanishes, and in his place is the more hygienic Turbo dog, in indestructible purple plastic with flashing eyes, electronic bark and three AA batteries.

Together, Traction Man and Turbo dog creep through the underpants and cross the wastes of the sandpit. But it's not the same without Scrubbing Brush. Where can he be?

The author, who was given her name after being born in a Mini in a car park in Newport, Wales, talks enthusiastically about her latest tale, which conveys the simple message that children can have fun with anything — even a simple scrubbing brush, if they use their imaginations.

"There are toys that give your child no imaginative room but you can make anything into a game, even household objects," she explains.

One idea for Traction Man came from when she worked as a primary school teacher in South London, about 10 years ago, and a pupil showed her his action man — dressed in knitted green trousers.

Earlier this year, Ms Grey was named one of the top 10 illustrators in the UK market as part of the Big Picture campaign.

She has won numerous awards. including the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal in 2007 for The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon. Ms Grey lives with her partner Tony and her son in Aston Street, East Oxford, which earlier this year featured in an Oxford Mail survey about a typical street.

The article identified the residents and Ms Grey said the article generated greater community involvement.

"One of the residents organised a garden party afterwards, so now some people know their neighbours better than they did before," she said.

If they look carefully in their recycling boxes, they might find an old scrubbing brush — or other household items that could become great kids' toys.

Traction Man Meets Turbo Dog is published by Jonathan Cape on October 2, price £10.99.