THE creator of The Gruffalo is once again in the running for a leading children's book prize.

Julia Donaldson's Jack and the Flum Flum Tree is one of nine books shortlisted for this year's Scottish Children's Book Awards.

Run by the Scottish Book Trust in partnership with Creative Scotland, the Scottish Children's Book Awards offers a total prize fund of £12,000. Shortlisted authors and illustrators receive £500 per book and the three overall winners are awarded £3000 per book.

In the Bookbug category (3-7 years) are Jack and the Flum Flum Tree by Ms Donaldson, The Day Louis Got Eaten, by John Fardell, and Solomon Crocodile, by Catherine Rayner. For younger readers (8-11) are Out of the Depths, by Cathy MacPhail, Soldier's Game, by James Killgore, and The World of Norm: May Contain Nuts, by Jonathan Meres. Shortlisted for older readers (12-16) are The 13th Horseman by Barry Hutchison, Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein, and The Prince Who Walked With Lions, by Elizabeth Laird.

The winners are decided by Scots children and will be announced on March 7, 2013, at the Caird Hall in Dundee.