ARCHIVE News for 2008
News Item PFFCO1D - December 2008
A PRESENT FOR FATHER CHRISTMAS REVIEWS
Walker Books asked me to come up with a story for a book about Father Christmas. Dana Kubick, the illustrator, wanted to experiment with 3-D. The result has just been published in the UK and in lots of other places - I think there are ten foreign language versions, including the United States edition called A PRESENT FOR SANTA CLAUS.
I have started reading the story in schools and bookshops, and so far the response has been very encouraging! Fingers crossed for a successful Christmas!
The book has received, I am delighted to say, a glowing review from Kate Kellaway in the Observer. Here it is .....
...The cover of A Present for Father Christmas (Walker Books £9.99) by Dana Kubick, story by David Wood, looks conventional enough, with Santa in glittery red uniform riding through the skies with standard-issue reindeer.
But the proof of the Christmas pudding must, always, be in the reading. In my family, we all exclaimed over this pop-up book, not least because it has a great story (most pop-ups do little more than pop). And as I read it, I wished I had thought of the story myself.It is fresh and yet has a pleasing inevitability about it.
It's about a little boy called Sam who decides that Father Christmas needs to be given a present. Sam saves his pocket money and then, come December, is plausibly stumped (in the same way that many of us are about what to give our fathers).
On the night that Father Christmas visits, Sam has the money but no gift. Yet Father Christmas is touched by the boy's loving intentions and takes Sam off to do work experience with him. The tale moves nicely along, like an expertly driven sleigh, and carries its agreeably anti-materialistic moral lightly - 'helping' is more precious than any shop-bought gift.
News Item DIVDODFCO1D - 2008
 DANNY IN VIENNA
(Danny oder Die Fasanenjagd)
In November 2008 I was delighted to see the first German-language production of my adaptation of Roald Dahl's DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD.
It was presented by the excellent and celebrated Theater der Jugend in Vienna, and was a splendid production, with very good performances and imaginative set and lighting.
The audience, like those in the UK, reacted vehemently against the various injustices suffered by Danny and his father, and participated with great enthusiasm in the scene where they fool Mr. Hazell and his pheasant-shooting friends.
It was also a pleasure to meet Dramaturg Marlene Schneider, Artistic Director Thomas Birkmeir and Literary Manager Gerald Bauer. And what a beautiful city Vienna is! Here is a photo by Rita Newman from the production.
for more photographs click here...
News Item DAWNNCO1D - 2008
AWARD NOMINATION
It was an honour to be nominated for the 2008 Eleanor Farjeon Award, and, although I didn't win, it was a great pleasure to attend the presentation at Unicorn Theatre on November 26th.
The Award is presented by the Children's Book Circle. It is made 'for distinguished service to the world of children's books and is given to someone whose commitment and contribution is deemed to be outstanding. The spirit of the award is to recognise the unsung heroes who contribute so much to every aspect of children's books.'
The other nominees included several of my own heroes. Others on the shortlist included children's author Michael Morpurgo and Elizabeth Hammill and Mary Briggs, joint founders of Seven Stories. Congratulations to Chris Brown, the Reviews Editor of The School Librarian, who won the Award this year.
News Item ACAJMCO1D - 2008
 ACA J.M. Barrie Award 2008
In my capacity as Chair for Action for Children's Arts, I was delighted to introduce the ACA J.M. Barrie Award 2008 presentation, which took place at the British Library as part of The Big Draw, organised by the Campaign for Drawing.
Quentin Blake CBE was our worthy winner, and the award was presented by Adelaide Hill - it is traditional for the award to be presented to the adult winner by a child. It is presented annually to someone who works in children's arts, whose work has delighted children for many years, and whose work will, in the view of ACA, stand the test of time. A very happy occasion!
News Item CFJCO1D - 2008
 CALIFORNIAN JAMES
In October 2008 I spent a happy - and sunny - week in Rancho Cucamonga, California as Artist in Residence to the Lewis Family Playhouse, whose resident company, the Main Street Theatre Company, were presenting my adaptation of Roald Dahl's JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH.
It was a very enjoyable production, and the schools' matinees were all packed. It was a lovely production, and I enjoyed joining in post-show discussions on stage, as well as giving some workshops and lectures about children's theatre.
It was also arranged that I could do some sessions in schools, and some BOOKS ARE FUN programmes in the children's library, which is - quite intentionally - housed right next door to the theatre.
The City of Rancho Cucamonga is to be congratulated on its enlightened idea of creating a theatre - it has only been open for two years - that has, as its core activity, work for young people.
May the theatre, under the guidance of artistic director of the Main Street Theatre Company, Murry Hepner, flourish and prosper!
Many thanks to my kind and welcoming hosts for making it such an enjoyable trip.
Here is a review of the production...
James and the Giant Peach
Lewis Family Playhouse, Sunday, October 26
By: Red Vaughn
When a very involved and well-known children’s story is compressed into an hour-long work of art on stage, it’s always magical to see everything boiled down to the barest essentials.
The MainStreet Theatre’s production of James and the Giant Peach is no exception. Using two important notions—that kids have no shortage of imagination, and the stage is all about imagination—this production of Roald Dahl’s classic book has been placed in good hands with an adaptation from “children’s dramatist” David Wood and direction from theater vet Mark Rucker (South Coast Repertory Theater, Yale Repertory).
With inventive use of puppets, projections, shadows and balloons (always popular with youngsters), this version of Peach is perfectly-paced to hold the attention of children and adults alike. Colorful sets and zany costumes make for visual appeal and stage vibrancy.
The story is narrated in retrospect by James and his insect companions—most notably the blind pessimistic earthworm, hilariously played by John David-Keller.
Wood succeeds admirably in savoring the book’s quirky dark humor while keeping things active for those unused to sitting still.
“It’s so satisfying to do theater for kids,” says Rucker. “Introducing theater to people who either haven’t seen it, or haven’t seen it much, is kind of an amazing experience.”
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