RIDING through London on an open-topped bus surrounded by giant, inflatable elephants is not something you get the chance to do every day.

Award-winning Glasgow illustrator and author Ross Collins never imagined it would be top of his to do list ­either. But earlier this month, he did exactly that as the stage version of his picture book The Elephantom prepared to open in London's West End, courtesy of the team behind hit show War Horse.

"It was a bit unusual," smiles Ross, who is the creative genius behind more than 100 much-loved children's books.

"Going across Waterloo Bridge with a bus full of inflatable elephants is something I can recommend thoroughly.

"It was one of the most surreal experiences I've had in my life."

Glasgow School of Art graduate Ross wrote and illustrated The Elephantom - about a little girl and the ghost-elephant who comes to stay in her house - seven years ago, and it was shortlisted for the prestigious children's book prize the Greenaway Medal.

"That probably helped keep the book in the shops for a bit, but every book has its own lifespan, I guess, and eventually you kind of forget about it and move on to other projects," explains Ross.

"I thought - oh, that's nice, someone wants to make The Elephantom into a play. And then I thought - aren't they the people who do War Horse? So I instantly emailed them back."

War Horse, based on Michael Morpurgo's much-loved book, is an international hit, ­entrancing audiences with magnificent puppetry (breathing, galloping, full-scale horses are brought to life on the stage) and stirring music.

"I spent the next week walking on a cloud," Ross adds.

"I went down to London to meet them, and they told me the ideas they had for the play. I was being as nice as I possibly could be as I didn't want to be ­excluded - I really wanted to join in the fun."

"I saw a lot of the rehearsals and it was wonderful to watch it all coming together.

"But when I actually saw it performed for the first time with an ­audience, watching the children's faces with all these giant, inflatable elephants flying around their heads, it was amazing."

The show was a sell-out hit at the National over Christmas and in June it will move to the New London Theatre - hence the open-topped bus publicity stunt.

It will enjoy a daytime run until September (War Horse is on at the same theatre in the evenings) and after that, Ross is keeping his fingers crossed for a tour.

ann.fotheringham@ eveningtimes.co.uk