The name Pootle is an acronym for PO-based Online Translation / Localization Engine, but it is also a character in the BBC children's program The Flumps.
He has written and illustrated other children's books including Thud!, The Whisperer (dedicated to Desmond Tutu and winner of the Nestle Prize 2005) and two books about Q Pootle 5, a space-dweller whose friends include Oopsy, Planet Dave and Tiger.