YOUNG Esme Skevington is a published author - at the age of six.

She and mum Sophie collaborated on a book with mum Sophie doing the illustrations and Esme making up the story.

It started by accident when home-schooled Esme was looking through her mum's sketch book.

As a way of challenging her daughter Sophie asked if her drawings could be made into a story.

Proud mum Sophie said: "I do little cards that are for sale in our little shop for crafts in the village.

"My daughter was looking through my sketch book one day and it has little, quite comical varied pictures in it.

"I just asked her if she could make a story with those, thinking 'I couldn't' but she did and made links between all of the pictures.

"So we made it into a little book. It has turned out very well, we think."

Sophie said her daughter had made up a story about a little bug crawling along a dandelion which gets blown away.

She said: "His friend says come down but he can't.

"Various interesting things happen. There is a group of apples, a worm, a snail and a ladybird lying around in an orchard chatting and they all have different ideas on how to get him down."

While mum is busy cultivateing her dauther's imagination she herself has been more than busying pursuing her life-long love of drawing.

She said: "My mum was an artist. I have always drawn but never trained. I always had a sketch book on the go.

"Mum always encouraged me to do something with it but I didn't. She passed away and I started drawing with a vengeance after that."

Sophie has two grown-up children and felt she now had the time to home school Esme.

She added: "Charmouth is a lovely school but I thought she'd benefit from being at home.

"She loves to dance and dances all the time, wherever you are, Tesco.

"She seems to be really enjoying it at home but she has the option to go back anytime she likes

"It is not for everyone."

Blown Away is available at The Book Shop in Bridport, Serendip in Lyme REgis and the Herringbone co-operative in Charmouth.