TRANSFERRING from page to stage is nothing new.

But transforming an oh-so short children’s favourite into almost an hour of bewitching entertainment for youngsters is out of the ordinary. Judith Kerr’s classic tale of young Sophie and her unusual tea-time guest has been loved by millions of children since it was first published more than 30 years ago.

Smartly, David Wood’s inventive adaptation doesn’t try to change a winning formula.

Unlike the book, the story of Sophie and her stripy visitor begins at breakfast time, and the show stretches for all but an hour thanks largely to some sing-along songs and carefully crafted choreography.

But otherwise the show remains faithful to the book in all the right areas, from Sophie’s patchwork tights right down to the pattern of the crockery that the tiger licks clean.

(Just how the tiger managed to literally clean the plates, and the fridge and cupboard too, of all the food had Millie guessing all the way home. The show’s “magic advisor” – what a great job title – no doubt has the answer).

Just like Kerr’s book, but unlike so many of today’s children’s favourite TV shows that have also been adapted for the stage, Wood’s production oozes gentle charm, but doesn’t attempt to moralise.

Instead, and just like the book, it makes the preposterous notion of a tiger creating mayhem in a house seem not very ridiculous at all.

Of course, it’s the tiger who steals the show, and what a fantastic tiger this one is, at least 8ft tall with an appetite to match.

Sophie might still be awaiting the tiger’s return, but he would be welcome back for second helpings in York any time.

- Dave Stanford, aged 37, and Millie Stanford, aged five.