Katoomba children's author and illustrator Tohby Riddle visited India as a backpacker 25 years ago, but his latest trip there gave him a new perspective and much deeper connection with the country.
Mr Riddle was invited to make presentations at the 2014 Bookaroo Children's Literature Festival in New Delhi in late November and early December and didn't hesitate saying yes.
He ran workshops for younger kids about the latest Word Spy books published in India (written by Ursala Dubosarsky and illustrated by Riddle) and his 2010 children's book called My Uncle's Donkey.
He also took part in panel discussions with other children's authors and talked to an audience of about 100 Indian children aged between 10 and 14 about his most recent book, Unforgotten.
To finish off his trip he spent time with students and English teachers at St Mary's School for Girls at Model Town, a suburb in New Delhi's north.
"The festival was really buzzing - more than 30,000 children from all over India attended sessions with their teachers or parents, some even coming from far flung regions like Sikkim, which borders Tibet," Mr Riddle said.
"On one level kids are the same wherever they are around the world, but what I definitely noticed here was that the kids seemed to value their education so much and really appreciated the opportunity to meet children's authors.
"I had a very strong sense of that - their motivation to learn and ask questions.
"It was an incredible event full of enthusiasm for ideas and books."
Mr Riddle said his next book, due for release in April, will be called The Greatest Gatsby.
"The idea for that one is presenting the fundamentals of grammar in a very visual way, using fun and colourful illustrations," he said.
