FROM PAGE TO STAGE – thoughts on turning books into plays.

Although kids’ books can be bestsellers, it’s notoriously hard to get serious mainstream media attention for children’s literature.

Only a few times a year do our major Australian newspapers run reviews of childrens’ books, and when they do the reviewer usually gets ridiculously few words to sing the praises of several books in the one article. ‘Top Picks for Christmas’ – that kind of thing.

Which is why specialist websites like Kids’ Book Review, run by dedicated, informed, intelligent volunteers, are so important. Have a look at this site if you have any interest in reading, writing, children or education. That should cover just about everybody!

I was happy to contribute a piece they’ve just published; some notes about adapting novels for the stage…

“If it’s a good book…all the playwright has to do is type it out, omitting the ‘he said’s and ‘she sneered’s, and assume the story will entertain an audience for an hour or two. It ought to be a pushover. Very occasionally it is. Very often it’s not.”

You can read my full article HERE. Nice pics of the writer too!

MEN WITH CAMELS – Bikaner

Yes, this is a show camel, but it’s a good show.

Bikaner is a small town by Indian standards, with a mere 2 million people eking out a living on the fringe of the Rajasthani desert. It also has an awful lot of camels.

OLD JODHPUR IN SEPIA

I guess they’re just farmers off to do some ordinary job, but it looks like part of a mysterious story.

I’ve been so overwhelmed by the colour that is everywhere in India, that I’d forgotten to try this arty photo experiment…

With the stroke of a key in iPhoto Effects I can make my shots look as if they were taken by an intrepid explorer traipsing across India in the days of the Raj, with an entourage of bearers carrying his photographic equipment.

SAVING INDIA’S MONA LISA

The beautiful Padmapani, holder of the lotus and protector of the Buddha, herself preserved by being hidden in a cave for 1500 years. India’s Mona Lisa?

John Smith of the 28th cavalry was out looking for tigers in 1819, when he found a cave, full of bats and rubble and used by local people for religious ceremonies.

He’d stumbled upon one of the world’s ancient wonders, man-made Buddhist caves dating back to at least the fifth century AD, and probably seven hundred years before that. John was so excited he scratched his name on the wall, as explorers were wont to do.

Since word got out about the discovery, millions of people have followed him into the Ajanta Caves, and although we take off our shoes or pull soft covers over them, we’re all doing our little bit to damage them.

SIGNS A SOURCE OF INNOCENT MERRIMENT – India

Fair enough too. It’s at the door of a family fun fair, “Kingdom of Dreams”, in Delhi.

It’s a free, harmless and apparently endless source of amusement in someone else’s country to spot signs you would be unlikely to see at home.

ELEPHANT POLO – surely India’s silliest sport

Where’s the ball? Nobody seems to be able to find it, let alone take a swing at it.

Dribble the ball down the wing, get behind the defence, then slam a pass across the face of goal for the striker to tap in.

I know the tactics from many years as a hockey player. Apparently my elephant does not.