One of Australia’s best-loved and prolific writers for young audiences in books, plays, and TV programs, mourns the lack of attention to the process of making live entertainment for the young. Its creators are often more inventive with visual imagery, story structure, puppetry, and electronic effects, than text-based for adults; but it is secretly assumed that kids will be less critical of mediocre production than adults-. He asks whether stage and film adaptations of popular children’s books are a benefit or are making it harder for original scripts to get a hearing; and he looks to other ways of moving forward.