Some children dream of being a doctor, an explorer, a popstar or maybe even a detective, but not Mansfield-based businesswoman Lucy Trinder.

Lucy, or Trinderella as she’s known to the many children who have read her book, dreamed of having a house full of animals ­— and that’s exactly what she’s done.

‘I’ve Got 7 Dogs, 2 Cats And A Gorilla In My Back Garden’ is based on truth, with a little bit of magic thrown in. The book is a collection of poems based around the pets of Lucy and her sister, Katie.

It allows readers to explore the stories of Frank the Gorilla, Barney and Buddy the furry Krays, Cyril-No, Marvellous Mabel, Flo and Barbara the Bumblebums, Carol-looly the dancing bulldog and leaders of the pack Nelly and Pudding.

Lucy explained what motivated her to write the book: “My day job is running a local jobboard called Dalmatian, which helps people find their dream career. When you create a Dalmatian profile, as well as filling in all the stuff you’d normally have on a CV, it also asks you to list your goals.

“When I was filling in mine, I realised that ever since I’d been a child I’d had two real goals in life — to have a houseful of animals and to write a book! I’d achieved the first but the second I hadn’t, so I set about writing about the things that inspire me the most — my pets!”

Lucy said she had been blown away by the response when she uploaded the book to Amazon.

“Children all seem to identify with a different character; some like Cyril because he’s so naughty, others the bumblebums because they’re so cute and many love Carol-looly because nothing will deter her from following her dreams,” added Lucy.

I’ve Got 7 Dogs, 2 Cats and a Gorilla in My Back Garden is available to buy at Amazon, Waterstones and local stockists.