Africa-turned-Las Vegas resident transforming children’s books into TV series

From dancing to singing, Las Vegas resident John Rothman’s creative wheel is always turning.

Most recently, he composed music and lyrics for his 16-part children’s book series called “Sing with Bling.” He plans to turn each part into a television insert this fall.

“Without trying to make the whole thing sound like a musical sermon, the accent is on the entertainment side,” Rothman said. “There’s a certain amount of educational content, but it’s subliminal. It’s dispensed through the most accessible way, which is music.”

Using catchy tunes, children are set to learn a variety of subjects, such as eating healthily and working out or crossing the street and not talking to strangers. By the time they memorize the lyrics, they’re able to master the book’s message, Rothman said.

“Kids are creatures of repetition. They want it again and again and again,” he said. “Parents often say to me, ‘I’m so tired of your music playing in my car. I can’t even think because my children never want to listen to anything else.’ ”

As the books are completed, Rothman plans to design the main character Bling into a puppet and film a DVD pilot to pitch to television networks.

“ ‘Sing with Bling’ is designed for 4- to 8-year-olds,” Rothman said. “It’s an age group that’s a little too old for the baby stuff but a little too young for the preteen stuff. For them, it’s either ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ or Britney Spears.”

A native of South Africa, Rothman’s credibility as a songwriter skyrocketed when he won a contest for composing a celebratory song for Johannesburg’s centennial in 1986.

“I had just started composing seriously, but I ended up winning with a song called, ‘City with a Heart of Gold,’ ” he said. “What gave me the winning edge was that I wrote it in both the official languages, English and Afrikaans, and included a section where we wished Johannesburg a happy birthday in 86 languages.”

On the strength of his achievement, Rothman was contacted by Louise Smit, a children’s book and television writer, to compose songs for her upcoming TV series “Pumpkin Patch.”

“I told her I would love to write for her, but I couldn’t write ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’ or ‘Three Blind Mice’ because it gave me no canvas to work with,” Rothman said. “She agreed, and I began composing original material.

“We got a contract for 13 episodes, which was about six months. The show ran for 10 years, and I wrote more than 1,000 (songs) for the show.”

In 1997, Rothman moved to Las Vegas, where he’s worked on creating and producing dance performances and musicals for seniors. It wasn’t until about four years ago when he received a souvenir in the mail from Smit.

“My ex-director sent me my old puppet from ‘Pumpkin Patch,’ ” he said. “I decided to take all my knowledge and experience and apply it to ‘Sing with Bling.’ It was a leap of faith because I work extensively with seniors in Vegas, but the beautiful tie is that all the seniors have grandkids.”

Henderson resident Helen Teitelbaum purchased the whole series as Christmas gifts for her daughter’s 3- and 5-year-old grandsons in Montana after Rothman showed the books to her during a dance rehearsal.

“When I saw them, I said to myself, ‘This is perfect for these boys growing up,’ ” Teitelbaum said. “They love the drawings and pictures. They really enjoy it, and it gets their minds moving.”

The books cost $15 to $20 each and are set to be available for purchase at Rothman’s future dance performances.

For more information, email Rothman at johnrothman@cox.net.

Contact Henderson View reporter Caitlyn Belcher at cbelcher@viewnews.com or 702-383-0403.