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Aussie Bites
The Bugalugs Bum Thief
Skeeta Anderson wakes up one summer morning to fi nd that part of him is gone, something he thought he’d never miss – his bum.He discovers that almost every single backside in the town of Bugalugs has been stolen – and 496 bums is a lot of bums to go missing without a trace. It’s up to Skeeta to catch the thief. And the embarrassed people of Bugalugs find it hard to own up ...A wonderfully silly story for kids from one of Australia’s best writers.
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
2 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
About the author
Tim Winton
76 books2,380 followersTim Winton was born in Perth, Western Australia, but moved at a young age to the small country town of Albany.
While a student at Curtin University of Technology, Winton wrote his first novel, An Open Swimmer. It went on to win The Australian/Vogel Literary Award in 1981, and launched his writing career. In fact, he wrote "the best part of three books while at university". His second book, Shallows, won the Miles Franklin Award in 1984. It wasn't until Cloudstreet was published in 1991, however, that his career and economic future were cemented.
In 1995 Winton’s novel, The Riders, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, as was his 2002 book, Dirt Music. Both are currently being adapted for film. He has won many other prizes, including the Miles Franklin Award three times: for Shallows (1984), Cloudstreet (1992) and Dirt Music (2002). Cloudstreet is arguably his best-known work, regularly appearing in lists of Australia’s best-loved novels. His latest novel, released in 2013, is called Eyrie.
He is now one of Australia's most esteemed novelists, writing for both adults and children. All his books are still in print and have been published in eighteen different languages. His work has also been successfully adapted for stage, screen and radio. On the publication of his novel, Dirt Music, he collaborated with broadcaster, Lucky Oceans, to produce a compilation CD, Dirt Music – Music for a Novel.
He has lived in Italy, France, Ireland and Greece but currently lives in Western Australia with his wife and three children.
While a student at Curtin University of Technology, Winton wrote his first novel, An Open Swimmer. It went on to win The Australian/Vogel Literary Award in 1981, and launched his writing career. In fact, he wrote "the best part of three books while at university". His second book, Shallows, won the Miles Franklin Award in 1984. It wasn't until Cloudstreet was published in 1991, however, that his career and economic future were cemented.
In 1995 Winton’s novel, The Riders, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, as was his 2002 book, Dirt Music. Both are currently being adapted for film. He has won many other prizes, including the Miles Franklin Award three times: for Shallows (1984), Cloudstreet (1992) and Dirt Music (2002). Cloudstreet is arguably his best-known work, regularly appearing in lists of Australia’s best-loved novels. His latest novel, released in 2013, is called Eyrie.
He is now one of Australia's most esteemed novelists, writing for both adults and children. All his books are still in print and have been published in eighteen different languages. His work has also been successfully adapted for stage, screen and radio. On the publication of his novel, Dirt Music, he collaborated with broadcaster, Lucky Oceans, to produce a compilation CD, Dirt Music – Music for a Novel.
He has lived in Italy, France, Ireland and Greece but currently lives in Western Australia with his wife and three children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
January 17, 2022
A funny Aussie children's book about a whole town waking up without their bums! And the search to find them and the culprit. Pretty cute.
I read my neighbour's paper copy but the cover matches this one.
I read my neighbour's paper copy but the cover matches this one.
Want to read
April 29, 2018Hee-hee-hee I always wanted to read this when I was a kid, but our school library didn't have a copy.
July 28, 2025
funny book, jokes lacked a bit.
July 30, 2014
Author: Tim Winton
Illustrator: Stephen Michael King
First Published: 1991
Tim Winton:
Tim Winton is one of those Australian-Authors-Everyone-Should-Know. He's a name in Australian literature. And he writes Big Concept books. "Cloudstreet", published in 1991, is a chronicle of Australian life over twenty years. It was adapted to a 5.5 hour play. His collection of short stories, "The Turning: Stories", has become a 3 hour film with 17 directors and some of Australia's biggest actors. They're Think Big Books.
On the other hand, there's "The Bugalugs Bum Thief". Part of the Puffin Aussie Bites collection, this 1991 book is a simple, funny, easy narrative. A book I'd been thinking to pick up for a while, with a dramatisation coming to town in the school holidays, now seemed a good time.
The book:
It was a heap of fun. Such an utterly preposterous story! Someone steals the townsfolks bums while they slept.... To even imagine this is ludicrous.
Look at that cover.
from penguin. com.au
No bums.
How does that even work?
But the 7yo loved it.
And so did I.
An easy read we shared (a page each) with wonderful imagery and complementary illustrations.
A book that encourages a child to read.
From an author she'll get to know as she ages with more High Brow works.
Aussie Slang:
After reading books from the UK and USA, it's a treat to read one with an Australian vocabulary. Avoiding a National cringe, we get to embrace our Australian-ness, location as well as slang.
- Bum
- "the little red critters made gutses of themselves." p.13
- "At lunch, Billy Marbles couldn't play doogs at all." p.23
- "The footy team was useless" p.25
- "They cacked themselves." p.27
This is an Australian books. The market is Australian children. There is no need to write it for an International audience. And Winton embraces this.
Age:
Read aloud: 4+
Read yourself: 7+
References:
w'pedia: http://en.wikipedia.org
Puffin: www.puffin.com.au
UrbanMyth Theatre: urbanmytheatrecompany.blogspot.com.au
(ISBN 9780143300847)
-CR-
Illustrator: Stephen Michael King
First Published: 1991
Tim Winton:
Tim Winton is one of those Australian-Authors-Everyone-Should-Know. He's a name in Australian literature. And he writes Big Concept books. "Cloudstreet", published in 1991, is a chronicle of Australian life over twenty years. It was adapted to a 5.5 hour play. His collection of short stories, "The Turning: Stories", has become a 3 hour film with 17 directors and some of Australia's biggest actors. They're Think Big Books.
On the other hand, there's "The Bugalugs Bum Thief". Part of the Puffin Aussie Bites collection, this 1991 book is a simple, funny, easy narrative. A book I'd been thinking to pick up for a while, with a dramatisation coming to town in the school holidays, now seemed a good time.
The book:
It was a heap of fun. Such an utterly preposterous story! Someone steals the townsfolks bums while they slept.... To even imagine this is ludicrous.
Look at that cover.
from penguin. com.au
No bums.
How does that even work?
But the 7yo loved it.
And so did I.
An easy read we shared (a page each) with wonderful imagery and complementary illustrations.
A book that encourages a child to read.
From an author she'll get to know as she ages with more High Brow works.
Aussie Slang:
After reading books from the UK and USA, it's a treat to read one with an Australian vocabulary. Avoiding a National cringe, we get to embrace our Australian-ness, location as well as slang.
- Bum
- "the little red critters made gutses of themselves." p.13
- "At lunch, Billy Marbles couldn't play doogs at all." p.23
- "The footy team was useless" p.25
- "They cacked themselves." p.27
This is an Australian books. The market is Australian children. There is no need to write it for an International audience. And Winton embraces this.
Age:
Read aloud: 4+
Read yourself: 7+
References:
w'pedia: http://en.wikipedia.org
Puffin: www.puffin.com.au
UrbanMyth Theatre: urbanmytheatrecompany.blogspot.com.au
(ISBN 9780143300847)
-CR-
dnf
March 23, 2017This is probably a great kids book, I just don't like audiobooks with sound effects. But this shouldn't put other listeners off. It's just me.
February 14, 2016
Absolute children's classic that was enjoyed by everyone in my family - especially my Dad!
It is filled with unmistakeable Aussie humour and I can still picture the hilarious illustration of all the stolen bottoms piled up in that boat shed.
It is so bizarre yet so right and will have your kids in stitches!
It is filled with unmistakeable Aussie humour and I can still picture the hilarious illustration of all the stolen bottoms piled up in that boat shed.
It is so bizarre yet so right and will have your kids in stitches!
October 5, 2021
Classic childhood comedy right here. Fancy waking up without your bum! I was fascinated by the pictures of people missing their rear-ends, and to see them all piled up at the end! My oh my!
Hilarious stuff!
Hilarious stuff!
August 17, 2020
Skeeta Anderson woke up one summer morning to find that his bum was gone.
Tim Winton has written many award winning books, but none quite like this.
To be honest, I didn’t know what to make of this book when I saw the title. However, I was won over from the very first line.
As the story takes shape, we find that not only Skeeta, but everyone in the small town of Bugalugs have lost their bums in the night. Total Bummer!
Mick Misery, Skeeta’s best mate, was enjoying not having a bum, because his mum was a real smacker. Smacking was her hobby. She walloped Mick for being early, she whacked him for being late. But with nothing at the back of him, Mick’s mum kept swinging and missing. But for everyone else in the town, having no bum was a real nuisance. Because, as any sensible person knows, a bum gives you balance. The footy team were useless, the netballers got depressed and you couldn’t be school marble champ without balance.
So, Skeeta Anderson set out to find who took the town’s bums. He uses his detective skills, and the help of the local police chief, to find the culprit and win back everyone’s bum.
One of my favourite parts of the book is when everyone comes to claim their bums back. Big people take little peachy bottoms, bald people take hairy bums and Mick Misery takes a big meaty one.
This is a fantastically funny story for early readers. It’s around 65 pages with illustrations from Stephen Michael King, whose distinctive illustrating style is perfect for this.
I love the way Stephen Michael King put it when he was asked to illustrate the book.
He thought to himself, Wow, Tim Winton. Oceans, moody environments, whales.
The voice on the other side of the phone said, ‘It’s a book about bums.’
‘Bums?’
‘Yes, bums.’
It has an easy to follow story structure where everything falls into place for the reader. But most of all, this is a funny, funny book that will appeal to all ages and all levels of reading. This is one of my all time favourites!
Tim Winton has written many award winning books, but none quite like this.
To be honest, I didn’t know what to make of this book when I saw the title. However, I was won over from the very first line.
As the story takes shape, we find that not only Skeeta, but everyone in the small town of Bugalugs have lost their bums in the night. Total Bummer!
Mick Misery, Skeeta’s best mate, was enjoying not having a bum, because his mum was a real smacker. Smacking was her hobby. She walloped Mick for being early, she whacked him for being late. But with nothing at the back of him, Mick’s mum kept swinging and missing. But for everyone else in the town, having no bum was a real nuisance. Because, as any sensible person knows, a bum gives you balance. The footy team were useless, the netballers got depressed and you couldn’t be school marble champ without balance.
So, Skeeta Anderson set out to find who took the town’s bums. He uses his detective skills, and the help of the local police chief, to find the culprit and win back everyone’s bum.
One of my favourite parts of the book is when everyone comes to claim their bums back. Big people take little peachy bottoms, bald people take hairy bums and Mick Misery takes a big meaty one.
This is a fantastically funny story for early readers. It’s around 65 pages with illustrations from Stephen Michael King, whose distinctive illustrating style is perfect for this.
I love the way Stephen Michael King put it when he was asked to illustrate the book.
He thought to himself, Wow, Tim Winton. Oceans, moody environments, whales.
The voice on the other side of the phone said, ‘It’s a book about bums.’
‘Bums?’
‘Yes, bums.’
It has an easy to follow story structure where everything falls into place for the reader. But most of all, this is a funny, funny book that will appeal to all ages and all levels of reading. This is one of my all time favourites!
Read
August 11, 2017A pretty good, (and fun and silly) kids mystery story. Who stole the bums of all the townsfolk of a sleepy Australian surfing town on the coast far away from the city?
It has a fair amount of Aussie colloquialism and slang (get out the Macquaries, people, not the Oxfords) and it was hilarious to watch the faces of my mainly non-Anglo young audience struggle with some of the phrases. Brilliant. It was also fun and worthwhile working out what they all meant.
I would recommend The Bugalugs Bum Thief to all little Aussie tackers, whether from a long-established-Australian family or fresh-off-the-boat. Pull your finger out and go read this thing.
It has a fair amount of Aussie colloquialism and slang (get out the Macquaries, people, not the Oxfords) and it was hilarious to watch the faces of my mainly non-Anglo young audience struggle with some of the phrases. Brilliant. It was also fun and worthwhile working out what they all meant.
I would recommend The Bugalugs Bum Thief to all little Aussie tackers, whether from a long-established-Australian family or fresh-off-the-boat. Pull your finger out and go read this thing.
April 2, 2018
There are a few of Winton’s books I’ve never read and this was one of them. All the people in Bugalugs wake up one morning to discover their bums have been stolen. This makes it very hard to keep your pants on or sit down successfully. And getting the bums back proves to be quite a challenge. I’m very grateful to my friend Liz for spotting this one in a street library and grabbing it for me. I chuckled my way through it and now it’s waiting on my grandson’s bunk for his next sleepover.
June 20, 2018
This could be Tim Winton's greatest ever book, in the Aussie Bites series about someone who steals everyone in the town of Bugalugs bum! Amusing and will have the younger reader chortling away. A fun read.
February 9, 2020
I loved it as a kid and I still love it now! Best line of the book “there was a smell of oil and stinky fish and rotten crabs, but also a strange pink smell he couldn’t quite name” 🤣😂🤣😂 THE BEST. The illustrations were also perfection!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2021
Good fun., whacky and would be great for young kids to make them laugh!
February 11, 2024
I absolutely love reading this with my son after recalling how much I enjoyed it as a kid!
Read
August 22, 2024I read this book myself.
Five years old.
Five years old.
December 3, 2024
Read with my 10yr old. He loved it
Read
May 17, 2025This is widely regarded in literary circles as Tim Winton's magnum opus.
August 25, 2025
tim winton's only good book
September 16, 2014
This was read to my class when I was in year 2 or 3 (I think!?!) during a library session and I liked it then and had not forgotten the title so when I found it in an op-shop I snapped it up to pass along to nephew who has started reading books by himself. Not a lot of text on the pages and there are plenty of illustrations and as the title suggests, it is about a bum thief which should raise the interest of young readers and get them to have a go at reading, either by themselves or with some help.
February 4, 2012
This is a great little book for children who are just moving into chapter books. It deals with the ridiculous, much like The Shrinking of Treehorn and Flat Stanley. I've found it a great success with reluctant readers, especially little boys to whom the idea of having one's bottom stolen seems particularly amusing. Once its been read aloud to them, they will happily pore over the book for hours, examining the pictures and attempting to read the text for themselves.
April 3, 2015
He is a hilarious author, writing about a bum thief who takes all the bottoms in Bugalugs. The boy is very clever because he found out who was the bum thief! I think little boys and girls will find this book very funny. There are funny pictures in it, too.
December 26, 2015
I read this many times as a kid and re-read it today before passing it on to my niece. It amused me just as much now. It's completely ridiculous. Also, it's by Tim Winton. Who knew I wasn't as illiterate in his books as I thought.
December 10, 2016
I didn't actually like this book because I like books that seem realistic like Moonlight Dreamers. Out of all the books I've read this is one of my least favourite books. This is just my opinion though.
December 15, 2008
Read to my (now grown up) girls when they were children. They, and I, loved it. Have kept it for my grandchildren when they come.
June 13, 2009
I have a vivid memory of reading this book on my grandparents couch one day after school, and laughing and laughing. such a good book for kids!
November 11, 2012
Such a hoot to read. I've read it aloud to my classes over the years and they always want more. Giggles assured.
February 23, 2013
THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVER.
THIS BLEW MY MIND IN THE SECOND GRADE.
THIS BLEW MY MIND IN THE SECOND GRADE.
Want to read
February 23, 2013i liked all of the parts it is very intersting =]! <3
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2013
My favourite when I read it to my children
June 13, 2014
Loved this as a child!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews