HERE BE MONSTERS remains my most borrowed book

I've just received last year's UK library loans figures for my books, courtesy of the Public Lending Right (PLR) organisation.

Here Be Monsters, illustrated by Poly Bernatene, is my most borrowed book for the second year running. The tale of dastardly pirates and ravenous monsters was taken out of UK libraries over seventeen thousand times last year.

A Spot of Bother, illustrated by Vanessa Cabban, has jumped from fifth to second place, while Prince Ribbit, also illustrated by Poly Bernatene, has entered the top 5 for the first time at number 4.

The PLR figures show that my books were borrowed from UK libraries a total of 149,917 times last year.

Position		Title	Nº of loans	Relative Position
1		Here Be Monsters illustrated by Poly Bernatene	17,374	–
2		A Spot of Bother illustrated by Vanessa Cabban	15,935	↑
3		The Princess and the Pig illustrated by Poly Bernatene	14,166	↓
4		Prince Ribbit illustrated by Poly Bernatene	13,693	↑
5		The Silver Serpent Cup illustrated by Ed Eaves	12,291	↓

A big THANK YOU to everyone that borrowed my books, the wonderful librarians that made them available and the UK PLR scheme for helping authors like me to earn a living.

FROM PAGE TO STAGE: Adapting Picture Books into Children's Theatre

This post was originally published on Picture Book Den, a blog about picture books by picture book authors and illustrators.

Some of the picture books currently treading the boards in the UK.
(Scroll down to the bottom of the page for links to each production)

If you're a regular children's theatregoer, you'll be be aware that a growing number of stage shows are adapted from picture books. I'm fortunate to have had several of my picture books adapted for the stage, most recently The Princess and the Pig, which finished a summer tour last week.

While some authors are content to sell the stage rights to their books and let the theatre company take it from there, others like to have some degree of involvement in the adaptation.  I'm one of the latter group; I always ask for script approval before an adaptation goes ahead. I usually have a few comments and suggestions on the early drafts and, once the script is approved, I'll continue to give feedback on the adaptation for as long as the theatre company wants me to, which can mean sitting in on rehearsals or reviewing marketing and publicity material.

Although picture books and theatre have many things in common (see Timothy Knapman's excellent PBD post here), they are very different media and what works well on the page, will not necessarily work well on the stage. Successfully translating a story from one to the other takes a great deal of skill across a wide range of disciplines: the list of creative contributors involved in a stage adaptation may include a scriptwriter, director, composer, lyricist, actors, musicians, set designer, costume designer, puppet maker, and lighting designer. However in smaller adaptations, individuals will usually take on two or three of these roles.

Here are five things that I've learnt from working with theatre companies on the stage adaptations of my picture books.

1: DO make a song and dance of it!

A common ingredient of most picture book adaptations is music and all of the shows that have been adapted from my picture books have included songs that were written for the adaptation. Songs are sometimes sung to a pre-recorded accompaniment, but it’s not unusual for the music to be played live as part of the performance.

In Belfield and Slater’s adaptation of Here Be Monsters all of Simon Slater’s score is performed live by a cast of actor-musicians. The original picture book is written in rhyme and Simon incorporated some of the couplets from the original text into his lyrics.

Poly Bernatene's illustration and Ben Tolley as Captain Cut-Throat, Eloise Secker as Sneaky McSqueaky, Lauren Storer as Quilly von Squint, Toby Vaughan as Stinky O'Bleary and Josh Sneesby as Findus Spew performing one of the songs from Belfield and Slater's adaptation of Here be Monsters. Photo: Ian Holder.

2: "Make 'em laugh!"

Children love to laugh and another common ingredient of many, if not most, picture book adaptations is comedy. In many adaptations the comedy stems from the original picture book, but it's often added in to a stage adaptation to provide moments of light relief in more serious stories.

The first of my picture books to be adapted for the stage was Bringing Down the Moon, illustrated by Vanessa Cabban. While the picture book has some gentle humour, I would not describe it as a comedy. Whereas Peaceful Lion's stage show was frequently laugh-out-loud funny – and all the more enjoyable for it!

Vanessa Cabban's illustration and Henry Wyrley-Birch as Mole and Victoria Andrews as Rabbit in Peaceful Lion's stage adaptation of Bringing Down the Moon. Photo: Pamela Raith.

3: "It's good to talk!"

Word count restrictions tend to limit the amount of dialogue that authors can include in a picture book. The same restrictions do not apply to stage adaptations and scriptwriters will usually take advantage of this, adding extra dialogue to flesh out characters and embellish the plot.

The Santa Trap's beastly anti-hero Bradley Bartleby spends most of the original picture book alone in his booby-trapped mansion. Consequently, the book has little dialogue and most the story is told in narration (along with Poly Bernatene's wonderfully atmospheric illustrations). Unfortunately, a children's show in which so little is said by the characters is unlikely to hold the interest of a young audience. Belfield and Slater's stage adaptation solved this problem by expanding the roles of the three secretaries who only appear on one page of the picture book. In the stage version, the three secretaries become Bradley's reluctant stooges, giving him someone to talk to (or in Bradley's case - shout at) and interact with throughout the play.

Poly Bernatene's illustration and Toby Vaughan as Bradley, with  Eloise Secker, Lauren Storer and Josh Sneesby as secretaries Scribe, Scribble and Smythe in Belfield and Slater's adaptation of The Santa Trap.

4: Sometimes story elements have to be added in …

Entirely original story elements such as new characters, settings, scenes and subplots are sometimes needed for a stage adaptation.

The original picture book cast of Ruby Flew Too! were joined by two new birdwatcher characters who acted as narrators in Topsy Turvy Theatre's stage adaptation of the book.

Rebecca Harry's illustration and Claire Alizon Hills and Rachel Priest as the birdwatchers with Jessica Kay's puppets in Topsy Turvy Theatre's adaptation of Ruby Flew Too! 

5: … and sometimes story elements have to be taken out.

The writer's maxim "kill your darlings" applies to adaptations as much as original stories and sometimes much-loved elements of the original picture book need to be removed completely for the story to work well on stage.

A popular element of the original picture book version of The Princess and The Pig is the way characters hold up books they've read to back up their (usually misguided) theories about what is happening in the story. The refrain "It's the sort of thing that happens all the while in books," is repeated throughout the text, culminating in the final punchline, "Unfortunately for the prince, it's not what happens in this particular book". The first draft I was shown of Folksy Theatre's script for their stage adaptation of the book retained this refrain and punchline, but it didn't feel quite right for the stage show. Much of the show's audience would be unaware that the story they were watching was adapted from a book, so I felt it would make more sense if the final punchline was altered to, "it's not what happens in this particular story." And once "story" was used in the punchline it had to be swapped in throughout the rest of the play as well. Folksy's scriptwriter and director Lee Hardwicke agreed and cut the "book" references from her script.

One of Poly Bernatene's illustrations and Emma Kemp as the Queen, Christopher Pegler-Lambert as the King and Em Watkins operating Sarah Lewis's pig puppet in Folksy Theatre's adaptation of The Princess and the Pig.

I hope this post has whetted your appetite for some picture book performances. Here's a selection of stage shows adapted from picture books that are currently showing in the UK.

UK Stage Adaptations of Picture Books Showing in September 2018

AERODYNAMICS OF BISCUITS by Clare Helen Welsh and Sophia Touliatou adapted by Entertainingly Different http://entertaininglydifferent.com/projects

DOGS DON’T DO BALLET by Anna Kemp and Sarah Oglivie adapted by Little Blue Monster Productions http://www.littlebluemonster.co.uk/book-tickets/4593853200

THE GRUFFALO by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler adapted by Tall Stories http://www.tallstories.org.uk/the-gruffalo

THE GRUFFALO'S CHILD by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler adapted by Tall Stories http://www.tallstories.org.uk/the-gruffalos-child

HAIRY MACLARY AND FRIENDS by Lynley Dodd adapted by Nonsense Room http://nonsenseroom.co.uk/wp/hairy-maclary-friends/

HANDA’S SURPRISE by Eileen Browne adapted by Little Angel Theatre https://littleangeltheatre.com/touring/upcoming-tours/

ME by Emma Dodd adapted by Little Angel Theatre https://littleangeltheatre.com/touring/upcoming-tours/

THE NIGHT PIRATES by Peter Harris and Deborah Allwright adapted by Nick Brooke http://www.nickbrooke.com/childrens-theatre/the-night-pirates/performance-info

PAT-A-CAKE BABY by Joyce Dunbar and Polly Dunbar adapted by Long Nose Puppets http://www.longnosepuppets.com/tour-dates.html

SHARK IN THE PARK by Nick Sharrat adapted by Nonsense Room http://nonsenseroom.co.uk/wp/

STICK MAN by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler adapted by Scamp Theatre http://www.stickmanlive.com

THE TIGER THAT CAME TO TEA by Judith Kerr adapted by David Wood http://www.tigerstealive.com/tour/

WHAT THE LADYBIRD HEARD by Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks adapted by Kenny Wax http://www.whattheladybirdheardlive.co.uk

WOW SAID THE OWL by Tim Hopgood adapted by Little Angel Theatre https://littleangeltheatre.com/whats-on/september-whats-on/wow-said-the-owl/

ZERAFFA GIRAFFA by Dianne Hofmeyr and Jane Ray adapted by Little Angel Theatre https://littleangeltheatre.com/whats-on/september-whats-on/zeraffa-giraffa/

HERE BE MONSTERS sails to the top of my "Most Borrowed Books" chart.

Yesterday I received last year's UK library loans figures for my books, courtesy of the Public Lending Right (PLR) organisation.

Here Be Monsters, illustrated by Poly Bernatene, has swapped places with The Princess and the Pig (also illustrated by Poly Bernatene) to become my most borrowed book. The tale of dastardly pirates and ravenous monsters was taken out of UK libraries over twenty-two thousand times last year.

There are three new entries in the remaining top five spots. The Silver Serpent Cup, illustrated by Ed Eaves, races in at number three, while The Clockwork Dragon, illustrated by Elys Dolan, and A Spot of Bother, illustrated by Vanessa Cabban take slots four and five.

The PLR figures show that my books were borrowed from UK libraries a total of 166,280 times last year.

Here are my top 5 most borrowed books.

Position		Title	Nº of loans	Relative Position
1		Here Be Monsters illustrated by Poly Bernatene	22,454	↑
2		The Princess and the Pig illustrated by Poly Bernatene	18,730	↓
3		The Silver Serpent Cup illustrated by Ed Eaves	15,312	↑
4		The Clockwork Dragon illustrated by Elys Dolan	12,977	↑
5		A Spot of Bother illustrated by Vanessa Cabban	9,508	↑

A big THANK YOU to everyone that borrowed my books, the wonderful librarians that made them available and the PLR organisation for helping authors like me to earn a living.

Doncaster Reads HERE BE MONSTERS Free Event

If you live near Doncaster, you might like to come along to my free Here Be Monsters event at the Doncaster Reads Pop-up Literacy Shop in the Waterdale Shopping Centre on Tuesday 27th October at 2.00 pm.

The event is being organised by Re-Read, a brilliant Doncaster-based organisation that provides books to communities where they can make a difference to literacy, educational achievement and quality of life. The Doncaster Reads Pop-up Shop will be in the Waterdale Centre for a whole week, from Saturday 24th to Saturday 31st October. Pop in to pick up a free book, get information about reading and literacy or to take part in some fun events and activities for children and grown-ups!

If you come along to my Here be Monsters event on Tuesday, you can hear a swashbuckling tale of dastardly pirates and mysterious monsters and draw your own monster-infested treasure map. And – if X marks the right spot – you could win a signed copy of the book!

Draw your own treasure map for a chance to win a copy of the book

Here Be Monsters Event

2.00 pm Tuesday 27th October

Doncaster Reads Pop-up Literacy Shop

30 Kingsgate

Waterdale Centre

Doncaster

Admission FREE

Find out more about Re-Read

Find out more about the book and download the free card game on my web site

HERE BE MONSTERS • Stage Show Production Photos

Mayflower Productions have just released a smashing set of production photos of the new Here Be Monsters stage show created by Robin Belfield and Simon Slater. The show is an adaptation of the  picture book, written by me and illustrated by Poly Bernatene. You can find the photos on the show's new Facebook page, but I thought I'd share them here as well.

"Captain Cut-Throat was a pirate and a fearless pirate too …"
Ben Tolley as the foolishly fearless fox.

"… He had the fastest pirate ship and the fiercest pirate crew."
Top: Findus Spew (Josh Sneesby). Middle: Quilly von Squint (Lauren Storer)
Right: Stinky O'Bleary (Toby Vaughan). Bottom Left: Sneaky McSqueaky (Eloise Secker)

"So despite the mate's misgivings, they set sail that very day, …"

"… And with a fair wind in their favour, they were quickly on their way." 

"So the first half of the voyage passed without a hitch,
As the crew talked of the gemstones and how they'd all be rich." 

Lookout Quilly glumly surveys the horizon

"Then something burrowed through the hull and broke in from beneath,
Something smooth and slippery, with far too many teeth." 

You can find details of the 2015 tour dates on the Mayflower Productions web site. Details of 2016 tour dates coming soon.

You can keep up with the latest news and tour dates by following the show on Facebook and Twitter.

And you can find out more about the picture book on this page of my web site.

Production Design © Rachel Fox and Photography © Ian Holder

HERE BE MONSTERS & THE SANTA TRAP rehearsals (UPDATED)

Following on from my last post, I popped down to the Theatre Royal, Winchester this week to spend an afternoon at the rehearsals of the Mayflower Productions' new Here Be Monsters and Santa Trap stage shows.

The Here Be Monsters show opens at the Theatre Royal,
Winchester  on the Saturday 19th September 2015 

Although the two shows are being created side by side, The Santa Trap opens a couple of months after Here Be Monsters, so it was not as far ahead in terms of rehearsals, but I saw the company run through the first half of the script including a couple of Simon Slater's songs.

Despotic brat Bradley Bartleby is played by Toby Vaughan. I don't know what sort of a child Toby was, but he did a worryingly convincing job of stomping around the stage, throwing tantrums, while the rest of the cast quivered and cowered on cue. There are only three main characters in the book – Bradley and his parents – but writer and director Robin Belfield has extended the cast for the musical by expanding the roles of the three secretaries (Robin christened them Scribble, Scribe and Smythe) who are hired to type up Bradley's Christmas list.

The three secretaries, who only appear on one page of the
book, get a bigger role in the play.

After lunch I saw a complete run though of the Here Be Monsters show. The music for both of the shows is performed live on stage by the cast but the two scores are played on different instruments. While The Santa Trap score includes a baritone sax and electronic piano, the music for Here Be Monsters includes an accordion, banjo and cajón and is more folky in style (composer and musical director Simon Slater aptly described some of the songs as having a Mumford & Sons feel). The Setting Sail song that the pirates sing on their way to the mysterious island is so catchy, by the third time I'd heard it, it was a struggle not to start singing along – but I decided to leave it to the professionals. You can watch the cast rehearsing it, and hear Eloise Secker (AKA Sneaky McSqueaky) tell you more about the show in the video below.

Here Be Monsters

A few words from Sneaky McSqueaky (aka Eloise Secker) on the brand new musical from Mayflower Productions and Belfield & Slater Musicals, Here Be Monsters.See Here Be Monsters in Winchester 19 & 20 September.

Posted by Theatre Royal Winchester on Monday, 14 September 2015

The talented cast play the score as well as the characters (Photo: Marco Piras) 

While the cast of The Santa Trap is bigger than that of the book, the cast of Here Be Monsters is slightly smaller. Crew members Blue-Bottomed Bart and Dead-Eyed Dirk (the baboon and crocodile in the book) have had to walk the plank, but all of the other crew members are still on board for the musical. The fearsome Captain Cut-Throat is played by Ben Tolley whose accordion playing gives the show a properly piratey atmosphere.

Ben Tolley plays the villainous Captain Cut-Throat. (Photo: Marco Piras) 

Producer and production designer Rachel Fox was also at the rehearsal and showed me some of her set designs for the shows. Like most touring shows, the sets are designed to be taken apart easily so that they will pack into the back of a large van, but the sets for these shows are especially ingenious as they are double-sided. So the pieces of The Santa Trap set that show the interior of Bartleby Hall can be turned around and reassembled to show the deck of Captain Cut-Throat's pirate ship. This will be particularly useful for venues like the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, where both shows will be performed on the same stage on the same day.

The sets were still being built when I saw the rehearsals, as were some of Marc Parrett's monster puppets, but I did get a sneak preview of the kraken's tentacle …

Exit, pursued by a tentacle: My rather blurry photo of  Sneaky McSqueaky (Eloise Secker) being snatched by the kraken.

… and a couple of the costumes for the Here Be Monsters show as Lauren and Elouise tried them on for the first time.

Lauren Storer tries on her Quilly Von Squint crow costume for the first time.

I always have a sense of trepidation when one of my stories is adapted for another medium, but I needn't have worried in this instance. Robin and Simon have created two smashing shows and I was hugely impressed by the talented cast and crew who have done a great job of bringing the characters and settings to life. I can't wait to see the finished shows!

Here I am with the cast and and crew.
From left: Robin Belfield (writer & director), Adam Stewart (technical stage manager), Toby Vaughan (Stinky & Bradley), Lauren Storer (Quilly, Mrs Bartleby & Scribble), Ben Tolley (Captain Cut-Throat & Mr Bartleby), Rachel Reeve (company stage manager), me, Eloise Secker (Sneaky & Scribe) and Josh Sneesby (Findus & Smythe).
(Photo: Marco Piras) 

And here's Robin and me with composer and musical director Simon Slater. (Photo: Marco Piras) 

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Here Be Monsters premieres at the Theatre Royal, Winchester on 19 September 2015 before going on to another 8 venues in October & November with further dates to be announced.

The Santa Trap premieres at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton on 15 November 2015 and then does a couple of days at The Plough Arts Centre, Torrington, before its main run at the New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth from 19 December to 3 January 2016.