tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65541160475686547922024-03-18T20:38:30.069-07:00Beyond the Book Storytimesstevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.comBlogger185125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-42322582733161413952016-12-29T11:09:00.000-08:002016-12-29T11:15:45.538-08:00Caldecott Medal and Honor Books<br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2011/01/anansi-and-silly-string.html">Anansi the Spider</a></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by Gerald McDermott</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2012/04/ball-for-daisy-with-screen-and-music.html">A Ball for Daisy</a> </i>by Chris Raschka</span><br />
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<i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2011/03/book-click-clack-moo-by-doreen-cronin.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Click, Clack, Moo</span></a></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by Doreen Cronin, Illustrated by Betsy Lewin</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2013/05/creepy-cardboard-carrots.html">Creepy Carrots</a> </i>by Aaron Reynolds, Illustrated by Peter Brown</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2011/12/pigeon-with-puppet-and-projection.html">Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus</a> </i>by Mo Willems</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2013/06/frog-and-toad-and-story.html"><i>Frog and Toad: "</i>The Story"</a> by Arnold Lobel (from the book <i>Frog and Toad are Friends</i>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2014/05/measuring-scanned-birds-inch-by-inch.html">Inch by Inch</a> </i>by Leo Lionni</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2015/05/jumanji-puppet-show.html">Jumanji</a> </i>by Chris Van Allsburg</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2014/07/king-bidgood-with-kids-bubbles-and.html">King Bidgood's in the Bathtub</a> </i>by Audrey Wood, Illustrated by Don Wood</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-lion-and-mouse-with-surf-music-bach.html">The Lion and the Mouse</a> </i>by Jerry Pinkney</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2011/05/mr-rabbit-and-brick-and-elmo.html">Mister Rabbit and the Lovely Present</a></i> by Charlotte Zolotow, Illustrated by Maurice Sendak</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2014/04/moving-with-no-david.html">No, David! </a> </i>by David Shannon</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2011/10/officer-buckle-gloria-and-few-scans.html">Officer Buckle and Gloria</a> </i>by Peggy Rathman</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2012/02/raven-with-puppet-and-people.html">Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest</a></i> by Gerald McDermott</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2013/03/stinky-cheese-with-scans-and-puppets.html">The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Stories</a> </i>by Jon Scieszcka, Illustrated by Lane Smith</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2014/01/fish-on-stick-steals-hat.html">This Is Not My Hat</a> </i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">by Jon Klassen</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2012/04/tops-and-bottoms-carrots-and-broccoli.html">Tops and Bottoms</a> </i>by Janet Stevens</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2014/03/tails-scanned-and-projected.html">What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?</a></i> by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page</span><br />
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<i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2011/04/wild-things-without-pictures.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Where the Wild Things Are</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">by Maurice Sendak</span><br />
<br />stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-3839138546931684302016-02-21T12:13:00.000-08:002016-02-21T12:18:33.119-08:00Abiyoyo with Giant Feet, Hands, and HatBook: <i>Abiyoyo </i>by Pete Seeger, illustrated by Michael Hays<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7OC6j2RNSZY6UUuRyMNP39DtLv3rtaJXqoKNc_bSoT7dWI7DHWELB8gxMII6IELm63DqKDdZyjs2YKtQI7BhKYhyphenhyphen1lJuNS5WlTeFRH4b1WNi-5o7ZhqXjU3nz7BUcDRSNLqiY4OKa1aO/s1600/Abiyoyo+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7OC6j2RNSZY6UUuRyMNP39DtLv3rtaJXqoKNc_bSoT7dWI7DHWELB8gxMII6IELm63DqKDdZyjs2YKtQI7BhKYhyphenhyphen1lJuNS5WlTeFRH4b1WNi-5o7ZhqXjU3nz7BUcDRSNLqiY4OKa1aO/s200/Abiyoyo+-+cover.jpg" width="148" /></a></div>
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Puppets: none</div>
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Props: Stuff to make someone look a little bit like a giant</div>
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Presenters: two</div>
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Audience: Family Storytime (mostly 3-6 year olds)</div>
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<i>Abiyoyo </i>is one of a handful of stories I tell that I actually heard as a child. We had the Pete Seeger version on a record (it's possible it might even have been a reel to reel tape!). It was too scary at first and I would leave the room at "the sun rose blood red over the hills," but eventually I got used to it. I've told it solo a few times over the years, but at my current library Terri and Sheila came up with a way to tell it as a two-person tale, and Terri and I did this way for our "Monster" storytime theme. </div>
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The first part is just telling and acting out. I narrated, introducing the boy and his father. While I described the boy's annoying ukelele playing, Terri acted as the boy. We considered using a real ukelele, but decided that pretending works almost as well. I talked about the Father's tricks with his magic wand while Terri became the townspeople he tricked. She mimed drinking a glass of water, sawing a log, and sitting in a chair. I did a "Zoop! Zoop!" with my want (also imagined, no prop) and she acted like the things just disappeared. The second half begins right after the boy and his father are ostracized (there's our vocabulary word of the week!).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmMbRPPamE_0ea0UOam8KPw4kf33mHDwZ9zkLNEGw1lN7DdxO83i6GPE4sOh4_DqnHREZXUMNpOK0h1kC2QqOewocmFER8yaks-rcUMJlkOBA4z3Bi270cqXEfpddmpd4XWe2sijnvf2y/s1600/Abiyoyo+-+props.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmMbRPPamE_0ea0UOam8KPw4kf33mHDwZ9zkLNEGw1lN7DdxO83i6GPE4sOh4_DqnHREZXUMNpOK0h1kC2QqOewocmFER8yaks-rcUMJlkOBA4z3Bi270cqXEfpddmpd4XWe2sijnvf2y/s200/Abiyoyo+-+props.jpg" width="151" /></a></div>
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While I tell the audience how the townspeople liked to tell stories about giants, Terri zips off behind the backdrop and gets her Abiyoyo gear together. Instead of trying to actually become tall, Terri puts on giant-sized gloves, giant-sized feet, and a giant sombrero. She makes her entrance by sticking one giant hand into sight then stomping out into full view. </div>
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Her kind of silly appearance works just right, as the kids who might have been a bit scared at the build up to the giant's arrival get that it's all in fun, but we still got the suspense up for a while, which is a key part of the story. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbS3tBjWu_voVjMnOSPkEB-NByrae6bBy3J2aCz0Zixsz28b1Gq9Bv_RoQiQnOYMvGvVSeRh7jOguSBnDhqFLxUWGGSgMn1lc6hRMPtz5G79uaZsK_ITV9iVRYNJhyjMVJOU-BwCaycAu/s1600/Abiyoyo+-+terri2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbS3tBjWu_voVjMnOSPkEB-NByrae6bBy3J2aCz0Zixsz28b1Gq9Bv_RoQiQnOYMvGvVSeRh7jOguSBnDhqFLxUWGGSgMn1lc6hRMPtz5G79uaZsK_ITV9iVRYNJhyjMVJOU-BwCaycAu/s200/Abiyoyo+-+terri2.jpg" width="161" /></a> While I narrate Abiyoyo's path towards town, Terri stomps around. We have some cut-out sheep, cows, and goats that we set up (they're about three feet high) and she knocks them all over. In the original story he eats them, but this works too. <br />
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When the Father and Son run out to meet Abiyoyo, I get on my knees, so I'm looking up at the giant. I play my pretend ukulele, Terri dances in a silly giant style that's a little too funny for me to keep a straight face, but that's okay. <a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2016/02/abiyoyo-with-gaint-feet-hands-and-hat.html">Click here for a vi</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooMrYafSyFg">deo clip (no audience) sample</a>: <br />
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When she dances so fast that she falls over, Terri lies down mostly behind the backdrop, but with her giant feet sticking out so everyone can see them. As the Father, I go up with my magic wand, and as I Zoop! Zoop!, Terri pulls her feet all the way behind the backdrop and "Abiyoyo disappeared!"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjeZA3siA6TUF5DrYInlq9d_fOWZR24acbgunW6OYC1K9n9sgILogX0WUQ29pyC85XngYPFz982AXdlMyd49QAbt88S8SOYJwUR0vRXkChbGIx2VMqCmvTkL3n7DgkFp195VnxTWFNaeQ/s1600/Abiyoyo+-+terri+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjeZA3siA6TUF5DrYInlq9d_fOWZR24acbgunW6OYC1K9n9sgILogX0WUQ29pyC85XngYPFz982AXdlMyd49QAbt88S8SOYJwUR0vRXkChbGIx2VMqCmvTkL3n7DgkFp195VnxTWFNaeQ/s320/Abiyoyo+-+terri+1.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
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We finish up with the people welcoming the Father and Son back into town, and a final singalong version of the Abiyoyo song, which is a little hard for me because I'm a bit out of breath and even harder for Terri because she just got through dancing like a giant, and then dancing faster. </div>
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For the telling, I pretty much went straight with Pete Seeger's words, though I did have to edit the "bring your damn ukulele," which is how he told it on the record, to "darn ukulele" as it is in the book. At five years old I thought it was pretty cool that Pete Seeger used one of the bad words right there on a record, and I guess I still can't quite bring myself to use it with kids. </div>
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stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-83681090137709137512015-12-27T20:56:00.001-08:002015-12-27T20:56:15.486-08:00Foolish Frog with Puppets<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFusLseqK2Pmc5CC-I82k5qHgjYmf7thKFH8oXKyF9AZDAPDw6pYMDGeH3kB20Kqlr2rikvSsuW6tgHgc7UWAfRv5OsYp9brN2h1Iaf0K7ujNEhqybLVSrv-VYAbuYLCaW3TRxQBDjk-1S/s1600/Foolish+Frog+-+album+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFusLseqK2Pmc5CC-I82k5qHgjYmf7thKFH8oXKyF9AZDAPDw6pYMDGeH3kB20Kqlr2rikvSsuW6tgHgc7UWAfRv5OsYp9brN2h1Iaf0K7ujNEhqybLVSrv-VYAbuYLCaW3TRxQBDjk-1S/s200/Foolish+Frog+-+album+cover.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>Story: "The Foolish Frog" by Pete Seeger</b><br />
Puppets: Frog, Man, Woman, Child, Cow, Chicken (can cut one or two)<br />
Props: Grass, Water Bottle, Barn (optional)<br />
Presenters: One<br />
Audience: Family Storytime, also good for K-2<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9bwWOWXWt67DCjdiPZo3Td4MtTnVwkachYJhEUc4VnTBwV4Oi228qHY-DXi9y9rRCFYT3Ppeymn3pkUnjFLDdPqlOV7Dg0PaOPz11qGW8etsXiM3Oa7J4SE0ENHjZ25w3fyMCQNRnqdpt/s1600/Foolish+Frog+-+bullfrog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9bwWOWXWt67DCjdiPZo3Td4MtTnVwkachYJhEUc4VnTBwV4Oi228qHY-DXi9y9rRCFYT3Ppeymn3pkUnjFLDdPqlOV7Dg0PaOPz11qGW8etsXiM3Oa7J4SE0ENHjZ25w3fyMCQNRnqdpt/s200/Foolish+Frog+-+bullfrog.jpg" width="200" /></a>When I started as a children's librarian a few decades ago the world of storytelling seemed totally new to me. Later I realized it wasn't, because I grew up listening to Pete Seeger records, and although I liked his songs, it was the stories that really captured me: "Abiyoyo"..."Sam the Whaler"...and this one, "The Foolish Frog." It's kind of daunting to tell a story that you grew up with, especially when it's told by such a great teller (who also has a banjo). But fortunately the best stories work with all levels of tellers. And although I have no banjo, and don't sing well, I do have some puppets, and that's the way I first started telling this story in storytime.<br />
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It starts with a farmer watching a Bullfrog jumping across a creek. I narrate and act as the farmer, with the Bullfrog puppet on my hand. The Farmer makes up a song about it: "Way down south in the Yankety-Yank / A bullfrog jumped from bank to bank / Just because he'd nothin' better 'fore to do..." You can get the tune from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeVUr6jk5P4">Pete Seeger's version</a>. I'm no singer, but this is simple, silly, and has a strong rhythm, so anyone can sing it just fine.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1bEnX9hSdblLfYR95XWOvn9s7x8Gq3X-ur-NtbVHEc-sIZOecOS4I5AYvZbyQbfBcHL3Q3D1kmT2EcUXpTo-UYK51vUwpRhxhI8r2IuCibEMITwIM3_DT02eDhjfX4MIoQZb-Vy8PPu09/s1600/Foolish+Frog+-+child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1bEnX9hSdblLfYR95XWOvn9s7x8Gq3X-ur-NtbVHEc-sIZOecOS4I5AYvZbyQbfBcHL3Q3D1kmT2EcUXpTo-UYK51vUwpRhxhI8r2IuCibEMITwIM3_DT02eDhjfX4MIoQZb-Vy8PPu09/s200/Foolish+Frog+-+child.jpg" width="150" /></a>The Farmer sings it to the folks at the corner store, and that starts the pattern. When I sing the song the second time, I usually ask the audience to join in, which sets up the silly sing-alongs that come later. Since all the men are at the store singing (and drinking Coca Cola (I think the book switched it to "strawberry pop") and eating soda crackers), the wives come to look for them (gender stereotyping I know, but it works fine in this story). That's when I get the Woman puppet. She sings the same song. Then it's the kids who come down to the store (and I use one Child puppet). It's fine to skip Woman or Child to save time, which I typically do because it can be a longish story...but if I do have the time I use them all. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMZkePOJm9lKlPfuD-HuGilVo7vKipIsHtlO9ufPcS5lRegcAbky3Fujst8HbO_qPaCgFsAFVMTNsfcqpQ98J_30oEaDPjkVzTi4-rUyO1LE3aLqtLG8yEveciXhZH-IBz7IyD-OF5bQr/s1600/Foolish+Frog+-cow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMZkePOJm9lKlPfuD-HuGilVo7vKipIsHtlO9ufPcS5lRegcAbky3Fujst8HbO_qPaCgFsAFVMTNsfcqpQ98J_30oEaDPjkVzTi4-rUyO1LE3aLqtLG8yEveciXhZH-IBz7IyD-OF5bQr/s200/Foolish+Frog+-cow.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
Next it's the Cows. Like Mr. Seeger does in his telling, it's fun to have each newcomer wonder aloud to the audience where everyone is, to give each a bit of personality and silliness, and also build the anticipation. When the Cows sing along, though, they say "Moo-moo, moo-moo, moo-moo-moo..." to the same tune. This is a fun moment, when the audience realizes this is a much-silllier-than-usuial participation story.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qY9xO7ABSCusGtNFU0FUpBSI7FAs9fycXslHDuK3C3-OpVFZuT_FYkyJOUzB8QFi2dMs19Jx0ewGQzWFGi2ACOh_v0YRvHqcc3eiaHiAFMzJzFxhGjOHS1IT2ePOIO3cdJZ5ghYXLXhS/s1600/Foolish+Frog+-+grass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qY9xO7ABSCusGtNFU0FUpBSI7FAs9fycXslHDuK3C3-OpVFZuT_FYkyJOUzB8QFi2dMs19Jx0ewGQzWFGi2ACOh_v0YRvHqcc3eiaHiAFMzJzFxhGjOHS1IT2ePOIO3cdJZ5ghYXLXhS/s200/Foolish+Frog+-+grass.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Next come Chickens, though I sometimes also skip them to shorten the tale. Then there's another clever shift, from the mild silliness of animals singing, to the really crazy silliness of other stuff, like the Grass wondering where everyone went and swishing its way down to the corner store too. For Grass, I don't use a puppet, just hold up a handful of Easter grass and move it around like a puppet. The song there is "Swish-swish, swish-swish, swish-swish-swish...." Barn is pretty fun too: I sometimes skip it, but when I've had a toy barn of about the right size, I pull that out and we all "squeak" the song like a barn door. For the River, I use a half-full water bottle and shake it around while everyone sings in bubbly voices.<br />
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The final twist brings us back to the Bullfrog, who wonders where the creek he was jumping across went. He hears everyone singing about him, "puffs himself up with pride," and puffs himself so big that he explodes. I've thought about trying to actually make the Frog bigger as he puffs himself, but I think of this as really more of storyteller's version than a puppeteer's, so don't feel the need to visually represent everything. When he explodes, I grab as many of the puppets and props as I can and toss them up in the air. And Pete Seeger has a great ending for the tale: Nobody can find the Frog, so "all that's left of the Frog is the song...and we might as well sing 'er one more time." Which gives the audience one last go-round, this time with the words restored. <br />
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We've also done this at my library as a two-person puppet show, with one person playing guitar, singing, and telling, and the other person behind the puppet stage managing puppets and props. It's excellent, and even includes an inflating balloon for the "puffing up" at the end! But I haven't been a part of that version yet, so will wait to write more about it in a future post, because I definitely want to try that way. But the one-person with a few puppets version is also quite fun and works great too (as long as you avoid comparing your version to Pete Seeger's)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaOJyAHtLlgPdhre4snkK7R_QgOo0l-8DYopKVPpfLNgbBy8ag1DMIXy9-9meEUQ-tQfnQugqVRShSnmPemXtZjYa5v-J3RUcPhhKpOvv9vFpJ-mPeNk4MgcXntwiW12Z0g9hlqso5nA2Y/s1600/Foolish+Frog+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaOJyAHtLlgPdhre4snkK7R_QgOo0l-8DYopKVPpfLNgbBy8ag1DMIXy9-9meEUQ-tQfnQugqVRShSnmPemXtZjYa5v-J3RUcPhhKpOvv9vFpJ-mPeNk4MgcXntwiW12Z0g9hlqso5nA2Y/s200/Foolish+Frog+-+cover.jpg" width="175" /></a></div>
The book version of <i>The Foolish Frog </i>is long out-of-print (and runs for $100+ if you've got a new copy), but I always think of it as a record rather than a book. The version I grew up with was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeVUr6jk5P4">this one </a>from <i>Children's Concert at Town Hall</i>. What a great album! It also included <i>"</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXGGVu-4GKE">Abiyoyo</a>," "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSLmhL2ezN8">Here's to Cheshire, Here's to Cheese</a>" (a version of "Froggy Went a Courtin'), "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlMqpraERRc">Henry My Son</a>" (aka "Mother Be Quick, I'm Gonna Be Sick, and Lay Me Down to Die" (Henry ate some green and yeller eels that turned out to be snakes), and a bunch of other great ones....stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-20804753580572477522015-12-13T20:39:00.002-08:002015-12-13T20:39:42.412-08:00Santa Cat with Signs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ZUxPaEUptTiGetDvudvKKlCS-mw0AjYfSTSDjGCdvdzqQMaSQC0NyG5SjJpODdw8CUBy5idHX4vvXBwiJQFuIehMEHYllaKoC1MM6HyuEwvY050-IA8OQKr_nxYklwvXsM_2-8UGxqvi/s1600/Here+Comes+Santa+Cat+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ZUxPaEUptTiGetDvudvKKlCS-mw0AjYfSTSDjGCdvdzqQMaSQC0NyG5SjJpODdw8CUBy5idHX4vvXBwiJQFuIehMEHYllaKoC1MM6HyuEwvY050-IA8OQKr_nxYklwvXsM_2-8UGxqvi/s200/Here+Comes+Santa+Cat+-+cover.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Book: <i>Here Comes Santa Cat </i>by Deborah Underwood; Illustrated by Claudia Rueda</b><br />
Puppets: 2 Cats, Bird, Frog (or substitute)<br />
Props: Signs (copied from book); Santa Clothes for Cat (just a hat would do); Two Cat Food Cans (or similar); Christmas Lights; Puppet Stage (optional)<br />
Presenters: Two<br />
Audience: Family Storytime (could be done with one)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuytflYRHk7n1Hkhz5WylFdrg14h5y8PILHxn-LzOMba3FDneMMoBQP1bKmCSCUCDXn4R0A8vio23Lf6JSEHui_237rs7PrFfyDMMdbGCy21ISjUHkAPrsW7AIfM96HTcFfFuVjIRsQX-4/s1600/Here+Comes+Santa+Cat+-+cat+close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuytflYRHk7n1Hkhz5WylFdrg14h5y8PILHxn-LzOMba3FDneMMoBQP1bKmCSCUCDXn4R0A8vio23Lf6JSEHui_237rs7PrFfyDMMdbGCy21ISjUHkAPrsW7AIfM96HTcFfFuVjIRsQX-4/s200/Here+Comes+Santa+Cat+-+cat+close+up.jpg" width="166" /></a>We needed a new holiday story to go with our annual puppet show presentation of <i>The Nutcracker</i>, so <a href="http://www.bradstorysong.com/">Brad</a> and I decided to try <i>Here Comes Santa Cat</i>. In the book, the "narrator" is talking directly to Santa Cat, who responds by holding up signs. Very clever and fun! We considered using the projector to show scanned images, but decided the act of Cat physically holding up the signs was really the heart of the book. So we scanned some pictures, laminated them, and taped them to paint sticks.<br />
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For Santa Cat, we just squeezed a puppet cat into a little Santa coat and hat. Probably just having a hat could work, but the coat did help with this particular puppet. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYxP9o9yiZkUDCzNuE4eusKBzxTKHUnSX9z1j8aHcNmlaaVMJavAVlCWjHwmQkE8bSnoxPL2vTu26S4EZi3GHPzgkzesoOJwHGV3za328XeUBrnL5xn3i1NHGuO109xPPKswQMYNdF2_HX/s1600/Here+Comes+Santa+Cat+-+pie+chart+close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYxP9o9yiZkUDCzNuE4eusKBzxTKHUnSX9z1j8aHcNmlaaVMJavAVlCWjHwmQkE8bSnoxPL2vTu26S4EZi3GHPzgkzesoOJwHGV3za328XeUBrnL5xn3i1NHGuO109xPPKswQMYNdF2_HX/s200/Here+Comes+Santa+Cat+-+pie+chart+close+up.jpg" width="156" /></a>From in front of the stage, Brad interacted with Santa Cat. When he asked a question, like "Why won't Santa bring you any presents?" Santa Cat disappeared below, then popped up holding a sign.<br />
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The sign is a pie chart comparing "naughty" to "nice," which is pretty funny, but most preschool age kids won't get it just from the visual, so Brad's reaction helped to explain it: "Oh, you were mostly naughty this year [point to blue part], and only a little bit nice [point to pink part]." That's the pattern we followed for the most part, but we also mixed it up with some other props besides the signs. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtw8Xqvg2qWiP6h8Z_Ea-At1hL3b38fi8BVLtrfTW1SN85GRegcd29kzPqSgb-_E0lNEJbTi6HeJeteBv5XRB1Wo2hrGfua0f00Mdrau6otqp2FbooNnB-3FoDNB6AUdHr4v0AXOsL8DIT/s1600/Here+Comes+Santa+Cat+-+frog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtw8Xqvg2qWiP6h8Z_Ea-At1hL3b38fi8BVLtrfTW1SN85GRegcd29kzPqSgb-_E0lNEJbTi6HeJeteBv5XRB1Wo2hrGfua0f00Mdrau6otqp2FbooNnB-3FoDNB6AUdHr4v0AXOsL8DIT/s200/Here+Comes+Santa+Cat+-+frog.JPG" width="150" /></a>Santa Cat was silent for the whole thing, except for a couple of bursts of singing, as when he decides to sing Christmas carols and meowl's horribly to the tune of "Jingle Bells." <br />
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We also did some substituting. In the book, Santa Cat is asked how he'll travel like Santa without reindeer, and S. C. tries a rocket. Lacking a convenient rocket prop, we switched it to a Bullfrog, and the visual of frog and cat slowly hopping across the stage was pretty funny. Then when Brad reminded Santa Cat that he had to <i>fly. </i>we had a puppet Bird grab S. C., fly above the stage, and drop him. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4kxKiXvYd4yspBqBnuUtif9M3-n84JYmNpu8cFNAQ74RPB9PL5Xxxu0xu7fSpoqxcXTEYtJWvAeyIvPq6igioYaPmZr_9w-8iBi3nRxrSfd4mAOycG5-DMZnHufyutVg1pddPb56JjmRf/s1600/Here+Comes+Santa+Cat+-+lights.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4kxKiXvYd4yspBqBnuUtif9M3-n84JYmNpu8cFNAQ74RPB9PL5Xxxu0xu7fSpoqxcXTEYtJWvAeyIvPq6igioYaPmZr_9w-8iBi3nRxrSfd4mAOycG5-DMZnHufyutVg1pddPb56JjmRf/s200/Here+Comes+Santa+Cat+-+lights.JPG" width="200" /></a>In another scene from the book, Santa Cat tries going down the chimney....we just skipped that one for brevity and because we couldn't think of a simple way to replicate it. <br />
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With the Christmas Tree joke, we used sign <i>and </i>prop. When asked what else he can do that's nice, <br />
Santa Cat brings up the Christmas Tree sign. Then disappears below stage, makes crashing noises, shakes the stage, meowling to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree," and reappears tangled in Christmas lights. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigkGKP1diyM1ILBBnuxsoNrsyhnHcva_smQkycD4GP1Xw9PVEsBm9R-Wplo2si0Vivc51QhyphenhyphenYlqtYiLdxH9YfrbxTQRlRRnT3zJE88fDuDaEOWlW1mxTwn8JnicOOYCZST4itc6YoGPpga/s1600/Here+Comes+Santa+Cat+-+tree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigkGKP1diyM1ILBBnuxsoNrsyhnHcva_smQkycD4GP1Xw9PVEsBm9R-Wplo2si0Vivc51QhyphenhyphenYlqtYiLdxH9YfrbxTQRlRRnT3zJE88fDuDaEOWlW1mxTwn8JnicOOYCZST4itc6YoGPpga/s200/Here+Comes+Santa+Cat+-+tree.JPG" width="200" /></a>The book's ending is very satisfying, and worked well with puppets. The narrator decides that Santa Cat has been trying to be nice, so gives him a present. We used two cans of cat food. Then a Kitten appears. There's a little back-and-forth as Kitten shows interest in the cans and Santa Cat fends her off, until finally Santa Cat pushes one of the cans over to Kitten in the true spirit of the holiday.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYAo_VmjxKjCSMahNL4QJEfs_aSUyRFu52fNmj87muvPZFgW_b8sNpsaIYx07aQkYE2SAlWYBEkhvNPm3NGkUnLiskHViCaq3jWYX7hjUN0PcjKkDH0oqqLVoAqkyG_Pxh9xr2QFvxY8Y/s1600/Here+Comes+Santa+Cat+-+kitten+close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYAo_VmjxKjCSMahNL4QJEfs_aSUyRFu52fNmj87muvPZFgW_b8sNpsaIYx07aQkYE2SAlWYBEkhvNPm3NGkUnLiskHViCaq3jWYX7hjUN0PcjKkDH0oqqLVoAqkyG_Pxh9xr2QFvxY8Y/s200/Here+Comes+Santa+Cat+-+kitten+close+up.jpg" width="200" /></a>Overall the story worked well, with the combination of puppets, props, signs, and interaction with Narrator. The one change we'll make for next year is to make the signs more visible....it was a bit hard for people in the back to make them out very well. We printed them kind of in a hurry, and next time <i>Here Comes Valentine Cat</i>....<br />
we'll play around with contrast. And if needed, bold up the main lines with a sharpie. But that's twelve months away. Meanwhile, we've got two months to figure out another cool book:<br />
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<br />stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-51924835805473114522015-11-29T19:32:00.001-08:002015-11-29T19:33:54.822-08:00Fly Guy and Buzz<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uW2EUaoALo3tRvqtryVk1RwCQIqxVQDMtvklnajFYpyjC3P6GDDvnkHl7FdIDkLs195MCfgKW45Y7gxUMGXbBTq9A4gfU5dwX4RszHPulxBmrC0oNgadL4xdSURjBN-bkF-a3MiFwmur/s1600/A+Pet+for+Fly+Guy+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uW2EUaoALo3tRvqtryVk1RwCQIqxVQDMtvklnajFYpyjC3P6GDDvnkHl7FdIDkLs195MCfgKW45Y7gxUMGXbBTq9A4gfU5dwX4RszHPulxBmrC0oNgadL4xdSURjBN-bkF-a3MiFwmur/s200/A+Pet+for+Fly+Guy+-+cover.jpg" width="178" /></a><br />
<b>Book: <i>A Pet for Fly Guy </i>by Tedd Arnold</b><br />
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Puppets: Fly, Octopus, Monkey, Porcupine, Dog, Cat, Frog, Chipmunk, Spider, Worm (can substitute for all but Fly)</div>
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Props: Garbage Can, Banana (or substitute food), Bags for three puppets</div>
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Presenters: Two</div>
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Audience: Family Storytime</div>
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Tedd Arnold's "Fly Guy" books are excellent, but most don't translate too easily into read alouds or a two-person act-out kind of thing. But <i>A Pet for Fly Guy </i>is written as a picture book, rather than an early reader, and the structure is just right. I've used as a storytime read aloud several times, so when Sheila and I had a "Friends" theme for Family Storytime, I thought we could try it with a bigger production.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiuguiRlKq5sBdAaZkL0rUADZSyPuCFYZ5D35kjpSDp3HllQCDkc7S_zOtpiJLwAVyzcma5At7W0y9HralejQfIFgwDxptqf1d-nr7XrPyg5QT_1zLrpjwr0Uus6h-KBgGFo4zSaEMDRz/s1600/A+Pet+for+Fly+Guy+-+fly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiuguiRlKq5sBdAaZkL0rUADZSyPuCFYZ5D35kjpSDp3HllQCDkc7S_zOtpiJLwAVyzcma5At7W0y9HralejQfIFgwDxptqf1d-nr7XrPyg5QT_1zLrpjwr0Uus6h-KBgGFo4zSaEMDRz/s200/A+Pet+for+Fly+Guy+-+fly.jpg" width="200" /></a>I was Buzz, and Sheila used this cool fly puppet she made some time ago (for <i>Old Black Fly</i>) on a bent up wire hanger for easy control. The story divides neatly into sections. For the first part, Buzz introduces Fly Guy and talks about the cool things they do together. Fly Guy responds with variations of "Buzz," which is all he can say. So we act a few things out: playing chase, hide and seek, and eating snacks.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrImlDNR_QalTHOE52kNhkEmKCNIOVNTo3s59GDm8Ol8A6X_8Hlcdh2V7R0zuCTMs9iLqRwlGIkLlBfavNQjacNYpl3idoHzYQBtDNBj5Eq2uFaURQYhohaKftOI0PzhScaCF2hDaJe5v/s1600/A+Pet+for+Fly+Guy+-+octopus+in+bag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrImlDNR_QalTHOE52kNhkEmKCNIOVNTo3s59GDm8Ol8A6X_8Hlcdh2V7R0zuCTMs9iLqRwlGIkLlBfavNQjacNYpl3idoHzYQBtDNBj5Eq2uFaURQYhohaKftOI0PzhScaCF2hDaJe5v/s200/A+Pet+for+Fly+Guy+-+octopus+in+bag.jpg" width="193" /></a></div>
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In the next part, Buzz tells Fly Guy about all the great pets kids have. We had three bags with puppets in them and asked one volunteer to come up and show the audience their pet. This was a good simple way to do the child volunteer thing, because we could pick them in the middle of the story, and the thing they had to do, pull puppet out of bag and show audience, was simple and cute. Then we sat that first one down and chose another. We used a Monkey, Porcupine, and Octopus, but any three unusual/silly animals for pets would do. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmtxf5VEn3YCDRR0QNEvYNjmuz_uokvV_b-d5zKSSN9Aue0Fqok0SC0WSYvQJ9G20iJjGj3Tc5kfp7Q8nq_5Ztebo6xadPH_7WbJBwiPmywvj16RafUcjg_kfalVCfvOCnmau1jWr0JcHY/s1600/A+Pet+for+Fly+Guy+-+cat+at+pet+shop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmtxf5VEn3YCDRR0QNEvYNjmuz_uokvV_b-d5zKSSN9Aue0Fqok0SC0WSYvQJ9G20iJjGj3Tc5kfp7Q8nq_5Ztebo6xadPH_7WbJBwiPmywvj16RafUcjg_kfalVCfvOCnmau1jWr0JcHY/s320/A+Pet+for+Fly+Guy+-+cat+at+pet+shop.jpg" width="320" /></a>The next phase is a visit to the Pet Shop, where Buzz tries to choose a good pet for Fly Guy. We just had our backdrop with a Pet Shop sign and I went behind it and came out with a new pet each time. We used Cat, Dog, and Frog; substitutes could work, but they should be pretty typical pets this time. Each time the pet interacts with Fly Guy in a bad way: Dog licks, Cat pounces, Frog chases. We tried to keep plenty of movement going on, and Fly Guy responded with appropriately toned buzz-y noises each time. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZftRmDmhzEdPsJ9j9hhxatqcSDbbK1O2SCK93vHmRrSXz-FWdbI2xEyh6_lbjHOgelpnYhjFxaieZtgA06jEYjd5yg8FYT-PbrdFWWTFVhoM2zybStOp51d6Vo1X9_WXPvurUCGoOIeA/s1600/A+Pet+for+Fly+Guy+-+fly+and+spider.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZftRmDmhzEdPsJ9j9hhxatqcSDbbK1O2SCK93vHmRrSXz-FWdbI2xEyh6_lbjHOgelpnYhjFxaieZtgA06jEYjd5yg8FYT-PbrdFWWTFVhoM2zybStOp51d6Vo1X9_WXPvurUCGoOIeA/s320/A+Pet+for+Fly+Guy+-+fly+and+spider.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The final set of puppets are ones that Fly Guy chooses when they visit the Park. We used another backdrop with a tree in front for the park. For these, Sheila took Fly Guy behind the backdrop, then Fly Guy popped out on top with a pet. Our choices were Chipmunk (too loud), Worm (too slimy), and Spider (too scary).</div>
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For the conclusion, it's just Buzz and Fly Guy again, and this time Fly Guy decides that Buzz will be the perfect pet for him. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLGyWmvOBVSlJh5J3B5pjuDXwjFPNyc9IzzYj2Kp6_BIcqyq8l_gOXst7P3GWXcfeDyTTeh8mpXZ3Vu3OCjRcIIl09UEPGj6ACQUPojTkyvVR2SzLB1gJcLYa5QuAhGjBFZmUM6YSf6fll/s1600/A+Pet+for+Fly+Guy+-+non+fiction+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLGyWmvOBVSlJh5J3B5pjuDXwjFPNyc9IzzYj2Kp6_BIcqyq8l_gOXst7P3GWXcfeDyTTeh8mpXZ3Vu3OCjRcIIl09UEPGj6ACQUPojTkyvVR2SzLB1gJcLYa5QuAhGjBFZmUM6YSf6fll/s200/A+Pet+for+Fly+Guy+-+non+fiction+cover.jpg" width="132" /></a>You don't really need the two backdrops to do this, and using two puppets per section instead of three would work okay too. I'm pretty sure this will also work as a one-person story with puppets, and hope to try that soon.... <br />
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Finally getting to use a "Fly Guy" book in Family Storytime gave us the opportunity to promote other books with F. G. and Buzz, since we always have two tables full of books available for check out. And with Fly Guy we could promote not just the early readers, but also the non-fiction "Fly Guy Presents" series, which at least some of our picture-book crowd hadn't heard of yet...</div>
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stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-84506215332992019842015-11-22T21:56:00.000-08:002015-11-22T21:56:05.882-08:00Dark Stairs, Mice, a Monster, and Music<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH4PRMS3iNvMbaZokNv-rC4Oezo5w1ZeFRgfR2ZenxBQvLB1-Hi6c1tdY3Pe_hziJcEIevLc0QDOdkUQk-Vd_t3f-11BCUwty9WMLK9MF53O1xB2NdESi473_8GN6qQFXFCH7Fzhm5WdRv/s1600/Dark+at+the+Top+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH4PRMS3iNvMbaZokNv-rC4Oezo5w1ZeFRgfR2ZenxBQvLB1-Hi6c1tdY3Pe_hziJcEIevLc0QDOdkUQk-Vd_t3f-11BCUwty9WMLK9MF53O1xB2NdESi473_8GN6qQFXFCH7Fzhm5WdRv/s320/Dark+at+the+Top+-+cover.jpg" width="225" /></a><b>Book: <i>The Dark at the Top of the Stairs </i>by Sam McBratney, Illustrated by Ivan Bates</b><br />
Puppets: None<br />
Props: None<br />
Technology: Projector and Scans; Music and Sound Effects in PowerPoint<br />
Presenters: Two or more<br />
Audience: Family Storytime<br />
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For our annual "Slightly Spooky Storyime" we decided to try <i>The Dark at the Top of the Stairs </i> (the Sam McBratney picture book, not the William Inge play), . It's been one my favorites suspenseful/funny read alouds for a long time, but we thought it could make a good Act-Out with Scans. It would have been okay, but then Brad added some just right music bits and it really came together. We did it with six(!) people on our big Halloween event, and the rest of the week Terri and I were joined by the newest member of our team, Deborah Gitlitz (our new bilingual outreach librarian, and also an excellent storyteller). It can also work fine with two people, though.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtya3R15awZN1zAxfiU7rzeipNQmG1GPsDyakrEbFUxJcpX8MgX1k5Xv2BHaFdDjABoXU0IHBgqpAN-OjTTiBg_u5PKR0RIHAIbDiKmPS60Bwx_vdjiseXz0UXSVvzuBWEV10AUfr1RCaw/s1600/Dark+at+the+Top+-+all+stairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtya3R15awZN1zAxfiU7rzeipNQmG1GPsDyakrEbFUxJcpX8MgX1k5Xv2BHaFdDjABoXU0IHBgqpAN-OjTTiBg_u5PKR0RIHAIbDiKmPS60Bwx_vdjiseXz0UXSVvzuBWEV10AUfr1RCaw/s320/Dark+at+the+Top+-+all+stairs.jpg" width="182" /></a> In the book, an old Mouse takes three eager/scared Little Mice slowly up the dark stairs in the cellar, where a monster supposedly awaits. We edited and ad-libbed a bit, but tried to keep a lot of McBratney's excellent storyteller's voice in there. For example, I always love the line where the Old Mouse agrees to bring the mice up the stairs, speaking "as if he knew that sooner or later all young mice will try to see the dark at the top of the stairs." I'm not big on messages in storytime, but it's a nice little nudge to the grown-ups to let their kids do scary things once in a while. <br />
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Before they go, the Old Mouse tries to talk them into going to the meadow or swinging on the grass. The music Brad chose for this opening was "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RM7cQCC4sU">Morning Song</a>" from Rossini's William Tell Orchestra, which gives it a nice, light, carefree mood. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPz-PPRHQZ5QIQfe4JVyDsIefdqjmYxoyztDJUj2d3QenE68dLpAMV8HmThZ2mDAe5o_sAiDsdH93uSdg2vgiWv8UZcSm23-BHycdG5DFCv6W8m6eOfKj_MyVxEEaVp8arll-84n2itAA/s1600/Dark+at+the+Top+-+near+the+top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPz-PPRHQZ5QIQfe4JVyDsIefdqjmYxoyztDJUj2d3QenE68dLpAMV8HmThZ2mDAe5o_sAiDsdH93uSdg2vgiWv8UZcSm23-BHycdG5DFCv6W8m6eOfKj_MyVxEEaVp8arll-84n2itAA/s320/Dark+at+the+Top+-+near+the+top.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><br />When the story moves into the cellar, the music switches to "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Grieg, which is just the right amount quiet and mysterious. We only used the kind of tiptoe-y part at the beginning, not the big ending. It's always neat to see how much of an impact a well chosen piece of music can make. <br />
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I was the Old Mouse, and also narrated. Deborah and Terri were Cobb and Berry-Berry....we axed Hazel in the three-person version. We scanned illustrations of the stairs, and tiptoed around in front of it to kind of simulate going up the stairs. Each new page-turn / scanned image brings the mice further up the stairs. And with each section there's a new bit of dialogue as they get more scared:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7MLgSwm7JUahj6UmMvQljdK-lc2dYxLqtT-irGWxPhHZJ53AsrVm1GRI8SwNOKlZNZBXnCWz3UCXA12hJi9QCobm2xYooFiz5RRuSYi0rHROGBzzAr9ypbOvtNtJHfGHhyphenhyphenh_0UY3aAlF/s1600/Dark+at+the+Top+of+the+Stairs+-+going+up+stairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7MLgSwm7JUahj6UmMvQljdK-lc2dYxLqtT-irGWxPhHZJ53AsrVm1GRI8SwNOKlZNZBXnCWz3UCXA12hJi9QCobm2xYooFiz5RRuSYi0rHROGBzzAr9ypbOvtNtJHfGHhyphenhyphenh_0UY3aAlF/s320/Dark+at+the+Top+of+the+Stairs+-+going+up+stairs.jpg" width="320" /></a>We didn't do any costumes or anything to make us look like mice...we counted on the story and the images to convey that. And as the story progressed, we didn't really try to act out ascending stairs. We wanted to stay facing the audience, or sideways at least. So we just sort of crept in place, making sure to stay on the sides of the screen, without blocking it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVJoQp9zEWQhzsEyAMxvouM2C34QxP3n-7-LFwSK63v1zr7cUvFOqOd-wjB1LDGW5dl1wVoTUbSO9WoSxFKKHKP_ibIH6WT9OJpGEps1kJY_Tqou0YzTh_wwj6irWlgjGBQGFKhqSAIbF/s1600/Dark+at+the+Top+-+cat+half+covered.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVJoQp9zEWQhzsEyAMxvouM2C34QxP3n-7-LFwSK63v1zr7cUvFOqOd-wjB1LDGW5dl1wVoTUbSO9WoSxFKKHKP_ibIH6WT9OJpGEps1kJY_Tqou0YzTh_wwj6irWlgjGBQGFKhqSAIbF/s320/Dark+at+the+Top+-+cat+half+covered.jpg" width="320" /></a>The pace of the story works really well with a mostly preschool age audience. The scariness the mice show is kind of real, but also kind of self-generated, so the audience is tense, but not really really scared. When they get close to the stop of the stairs, with the mice bickering and getting excited, the Narrator can build up to the climax with a louder, more ominous voice: "And then....Something Happened." At the same time, the music abruptly stops. The door opens and the monster is finally revealed. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBDl5Rordjn8piToaukft3C1tNLZe0w3LzNz1PRrGmIVIhNXWGfMEfqJVO_-Nmr6DGILbz0Qytr6fIehoJUG734aExumDkCttpAyUhD4aI7N-SZ2y7JJecGt2bK1FWEg6MkcLXouTvw-l/s1600/Dark+at+the+Top+of+the+Stairs+-+run+from+cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBDl5Rordjn8piToaukft3C1tNLZe0w3LzNz1PRrGmIVIhNXWGfMEfqJVO_-Nmr6DGILbz0Qytr6fIehoJUG734aExumDkCttpAyUhD4aI7N-SZ2y7JJecGt2bK1FWEg6MkcLXouTvw-l/s320/Dark+at+the+Top+of+the+Stairs+-+run+from+cat.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />For the "monster," which of course is a cat, we put a black box over the image in the PowerPoint slide, then animated it so it slowly rose to reveal the Cat. Another click added a "Meow" word balloon, plus a sound effect of a real cat's meow.<br />
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<br />At which point all of us mice kind of ran around in a tizzy for a while and then finally flopped onto the floor "in a jumble and a heap." <br />
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The tale has a very satisfying ending, as the Old Mouse asks the Small Mice where they would like to go the next day and "none of them mentioned the Dark at the Top of the Stairs."<br />
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With our "Slightly Spooky Stories," we usually like to get the kids just a little bit scared, but then have them able to say after the story is over: "I wasn't <i>really </i>scared....even though they probably were." This story seemed to hit that pretty well.... <br />
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<br />stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-29094493896429136112015-11-15T21:20:00.000-08:002015-11-15T21:20:04.113-08:00Fox's Sack with Puppets<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHltvPmEeuOKCqKigyoPS9WVWw-_mN4cAbGXjgBfActRb-yF42KOBEBjn7UgWYKVbqcxo7x1qdAhnGbM6gPIWJu_JPBPOUxTVnzHDTBUMkE-1Gn4HmdyO-63B4XXB9g2C2jGhfKBt7hV8/s1600/Whats+in+Foxs+Sack+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHltvPmEeuOKCqKigyoPS9WVWw-_mN4cAbGXjgBfActRb-yF42KOBEBjn7UgWYKVbqcxo7x1qdAhnGbM6gPIWJu_JPBPOUxTVnzHDTBUMkE-1Gn4HmdyO-63B4XXB9g2C2jGhfKBt7hV8/s1600/Whats+in+Foxs+Sack+-+cover.jpg" /></a><b>Book: <i>What's in Fox's Sack?</i> by Paul Galdone</b><br />
Puppets: Fox, Bee, Rooster, Pig, Child, Dog; 4 people optional<br />
Props: Sack (pillow slip works fine)<br />
Presenters: One<br />
Audience: Family Storytime (older too)<br />
Video: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzuSddXFncI">How to Tell <i>What's in Fox's Sack? </i>with Puppets</a><br />
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Here's one of the first stories I ever told with puppets. It has a repetitive pattern that's easy to learn (and for the audience to follow), and that pattern builds and twists a bit at the end to make a very satisfying story. When I tell it with puppets I like to it as narrator, as well as doing the puppet characters. So I'll describe Fox catching a bee, then show him doing that. I tell how he "walked and walked and came to a house...." And later it's "off he went, trot, trot, trot, to Squintum's house." I think it's because I first presented as a book and an oral tale, and I just really like Galdone's language.<br />
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Fox proceeds to meet four different ladies, and asks each one not to look in his sack while he goes to visit his friend Squintum. I usually don't use puppets at all for the ladies, I just kind of play them myself, interacting with Fox in character, promising not to look, then opening the sack after all. I've done it with four people puppets (I don't have four ladies, so two ladies, two men), but I don't feel it adds that much, and any time I can simplify the prop and puppet handling I usually do. <br />
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The strong pattern of the story invites some good interaction with the audience. They'll often join in when Fox says "Don't look in my sack!" And you can play up their involvement as the Lady by asking them: "....should I look in his sack?" (response is typically split evenly between "yes" and "no."). <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaeSYeEL0JDdqWtMKpwu8DRjwTExYKir4xwu6s6UZrBZw7dkgJoLADdScNvk4GEsPwm0QL7f4mOS-G9rMjUSogKR6o6OdW1LlpGFSuPO6QhGjVAyVTfuGcxofbLqnP0N00_vo8MdJ-4IjV/s1600/Whats+in+Foxs+Sack+-+pig+and+rooster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaeSYeEL0JDdqWtMKpwu8DRjwTExYKir4xwu6s6UZrBZw7dkgJoLADdScNvk4GEsPwm0QL7f4mOS-G9rMjUSogKR6o6OdW1LlpGFSuPO6QhGjVAyVTfuGcxofbLqnP0N00_vo8MdJ-4IjV/s320/Whats+in+Foxs+Sack+-+pig+and+rooster.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
The heart of the story is the narrative and dialogue, rather than action, but there are moments where puppet movement can really help: When each Lady pulls the animal out of the sack when Fox returns and kind of gets in the Lady's face when he says "Oh ho! So you <i>did </i>look in my sack!;" And short simple chases when one animal chases the previous one away. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikGwCpOZLXDy4LJpgUiQ9s6toi1Gefl5cs9gjD67Efl3dmqPwT4T9DFyJ3GYW-OiiUz1Lxwm-xj-1BKt9Rxzh-srkjXutwhc7Ua04XPvDQCpiBLajyvKv_U61GTXh-TUAHiR12t0vpgXN/s1600/Whats+in+Foxs+Sack+-+fox+and+child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikGwCpOZLXDy4LJpgUiQ9s6toi1Gefl5cs9gjD67Efl3dmqPwT4T9DFyJ3GYW-OiiUz1Lxwm-xj-1BKt9Rxzh-srkjXutwhc7Ua04XPvDQCpiBLajyvKv_U61GTXh-TUAHiR12t0vpgXN/s320/Whats+in+Foxs+Sack+-+fox+and+child.jpg" width="320" /></a>It's always fun to watch the audience's reactions shift towards the end. They've kind of settled into the easy pattern of Fox getting a new animal in his sack each time, but when they realize it's a <i>Child </i>who will be in there, they're not quite so relaxed. And that brief bit of tension drops once they realize that the last Lady is putting her Dog into the sack to fool Fox. <br />
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You can see a video sample of this story on my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzuSddXFncI">Youtube Storytelling with Puppets page.</a> It's a tale that also works great with a puppet stage. When I do it that way, I drop the narration part, so Fox and the Ladies describe what they're doing as the story proceeds. With a stage, you can have some fun with the interactions between the animals, extending the chase scenes, having Rooster hide from Pig a few times, for example. <br />
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The excellent Paul Galdone version of this tale is out of print and goes for $140+ new on amazon, but Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has brought several of P. G.'s folktales back into print in the past few years and I keep hoping they'll add this one. And <i>The Monkey and the Crocodile</i>....and <i>The Magic Porridge Pot</i>....okay, let's just say: all Paul Galdone folktales should be back in print...in hardcover. stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-78350652545967201322015-11-08T22:35:00.003-08:002015-11-08T22:35:59.416-08:00The Lion and the Mouse with surf music, Bach, and the Brothers JohnsonBook: <i>The Lion and the Mouse </i>by Jerry Pinkney <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0JBRo55mPjHFZ1PbZv7cCsw7fhTzc1AQPMa4i6OLqlag6EwBLSBcJnx6EG6hasnEfUqFjFhyVycTcb3GxrKywLTbGCeOMUpOnQ71ca-iEerlj5mV5Z7_mb2EnWNUeKBDLfwxC5bmSH5M/s1600/Lion+and+the+Mouse+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0JBRo55mPjHFZ1PbZv7cCsw7fhTzc1AQPMa4i6OLqlag6EwBLSBcJnx6EG6hasnEfUqFjFhyVycTcb3GxrKywLTbGCeOMUpOnQ71ca-iEerlj5mV5Z7_mb2EnWNUeKBDLfwxC5bmSH5M/s320/Lion+and+the+Mouse+-+cover.jpg" width="320" /></a>Puppets: none</div>
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Technology: Projector with scanned illustrations + music clips</div>
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Audience: Family Storytime (mostly age 3-7)</div>
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Presenters: one</div>
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Jerry Pinkney's version of <i>The Lion and the Mouse</i> has so much potential in storytime settings and we've used it with several variations. We scan the images to project so they can be seen in our large storytimes. We've done it with barebones narration and simple perscussion to give it rhythm. Another time we had a local string quartet provide live musical accompaniment. For our most recent version I went back to one of my favorites standbys: pop music of the 50s, 60s and 70s. I picked six intrumentals from that time period, and put short clips of each to capture, as well as I could, the mood of the story.</div>
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For the first part, where day is breaking and we see the lons on the savanah and the mouse waking up, I used 1976's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7duwcG6TQxs">Tomorrow" by the Brothers Johnson</a> (they're best known for "Strawberry Letter #23," "I'll Be Good to You," and "Get the Funk Out Ma Face," but their album cuts were nice too). I skipped the intro bit (0:00 - 0:22) and went to about 1:11. It ends on the page where Mouse first hears the Owl. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfR-eVLjBFs_CwaBZUiw1nYk_14jQkBg2aQ4JZcu6yazZ9yTMxaO2UEih1A2mvsy8BFEJwFaf5rd1Y069dY7g835qdxcAjgJhRi8bp5chzbj2d0uBxFoUq7KFlBLF03bXkRtAZuR8srCE/s1600/Lion+and+the+Mouse+-+mouse+at+morning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfR-eVLjBFs_CwaBZUiw1nYk_14jQkBg2aQ4JZcu6yazZ9yTMxaO2UEih1A2mvsy8BFEJwFaf5rd1Y069dY7g835qdxcAjgJhRi8bp5chzbj2d0uBxFoUq7KFlBLF03bXkRtAZuR8srCE/s400/Lion+and+the+Mouse+-+mouse+at+morning.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then Mouse gets chased by the owl, so you need something a little faster. The first 46 seconds of 1963's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omG-hZfN6zk">"Pipeline" by the Chantays</a> fit nicely, even though a mouse running on a savanah is about as far as surfers as you can get. The clip has a nice little mini-fade that we timed to match when Mouse is on Lion's mane, but doesn't realize it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2CKilydAlqMa2__E4FexPAYtsc-8As8Zvbzy5a08unyNtSG4BuDc3cUQfQ6haReXNcyUbykX0Q5ng8pLS4SJTj5a7npxqeflF6BsGuFAYPZsQqEbGy-R6W-VZriW3neJ5JsSf8SazDVl/s1600/Lion+and+the+Mouse+-+mouse+on+fur+-+pipeline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2CKilydAlqMa2__E4FexPAYtsc-8As8Zvbzy5a08unyNtSG4BuDc3cUQfQ6haReXNcyUbykX0Q5ng8pLS4SJTj5a7npxqeflF6BsGuFAYPZsQqEbGy-R6W-VZriW3neJ5JsSf8SazDVl/s400/Lion+and+the+Mouse+-+mouse+on+fur+-+pipeline.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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To catch the big moment when Lion rises up and grabs Mouse, we went with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXyeb8ND89M">"Out of Limits" by the Marketts, </a>from 1963. It starts with a cool "Twilight Zone"-ish piece that's seems just right. (A little too just-right for Rod Serling, creator of "The Twillight Zone," who sued the Marketts for copying it). We had this one fade out at about the 0:55 mark. In the book, that's where Mouse has been released and Lion strides off triumphantly.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinYJvEq5RAFPUobiI19bOp_9n-nXyLKYPqe0mLNlyBklDXxSb8UetFG3cqN9ovsYXnTh6hM8aXXr0DA-CjWbi3JwT-MNvMHC1aTVk1PULwjp9tKy5N9ZnNkb1RgO5iCvxnXONzxazW4blB/s1600/Lion+and+the+Mouse+-+mouse+in+paw+-+out+of+limits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinYJvEq5RAFPUobiI19bOp_9n-nXyLKYPqe0mLNlyBklDXxSb8UetFG3cqN9ovsYXnTh6hM8aXXr0DA-CjWbi3JwT-MNvMHC1aTVk1PULwjp9tKy5N9ZnNkb1RgO5iCvxnXONzxazW4blB/s400/Lion+and+the+Mouse+-+mouse+in+paw+-+out+of+limits.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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When the illustrations shift to the Hunters, we went with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=296wS9ome4M">"Peter Gunn" by Duane Eddy</a> from 1959. It was the theme from a detective show that ran from 1958-1961...the music on the show was done by Henry Mancini, but we went with Duane Eddy instead. It has a great guitar opening to announce the Hunters, then a saxophone that's just right for bad guys. The first 0:55 worked about right, starting with the Hunters' jeep and ending with Lion suspended in the net.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizXkEjZ2qMu27Y7kozkJiv80dxPjRVWiTD95pIzV9JfewTY5cXkgnCpP5gzzrOlVAEvKOkr3mB-Qjf0RAks_lYDecgdzX34CbD0gHmtvFHPUaGGWVt4Bh4WkSK4lHFYtf1T7lhIutKvZHG/s1600/Lion+and+the+Mouse+-+lion+in+net+-+peter+gunn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizXkEjZ2qMu27Y7kozkJiv80dxPjRVWiTD95pIzV9JfewTY5cXkgnCpP5gzzrOlVAEvKOkr3mB-Qjf0RAks_lYDecgdzX34CbD0gHmtvFHPUaGGWVt4Bh4WkSK4lHFYtf1T7lhIutKvZHG/s400/Lion+and+the+Mouse+-+lion+in+net+-+peter+gunn.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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For the rescue, we played <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olkscmmRxpQ">"Walk Don't Run" by the Ventures</a> from 1960, (often considered the first major hit in the surf music genre). A nice drum opening transitions to the mouse neatly, then the guitar part runs through Mouse's chewing of the ropes, and has a nice break at 1:05 to match the final thread. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8GSBp9mnbjOtvXk-oo2RHfafvSK82vYmnzUmrTbgGT6CABQ5oVBraAlkfh-WA91Ja1QO09rpDyc9a6gslE13x3vjG-goRlr_mE-0sgc7fOENfftfw95jFwcaVzUX77XG7JFK1spK6rFN/s1600/Lion+and+the+Mouse+-+mouse+chewing+-+walk+dont+run.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8GSBp9mnbjOtvXk-oo2RHfafvSK82vYmnzUmrTbgGT6CABQ5oVBraAlkfh-WA91Ja1QO09rpDyc9a6gslE13x3vjG-goRlr_mE-0sgc7fOENfftfw95jFwcaVzUX77XG7JFK1spK6rFN/s400/Lion+and+the+Mouse+-+mouse+chewing+-+walk+dont+run.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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When Lion is finally free, we jump forward to 1972 for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ekQ1RTmzBc">"Joy" by Apollo 100 </a>(or you could say we're going back to the 1700's, since this was inspired by a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach). We skipped the first 0:24 and faded out at about the 1:09 point. This has a different sound than the early 60s stuff in the middle, but it seems appropriately triumphant, and it fades as the two families walk off across the endpages. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QY4pNHbPGNvWT405oRh7s3WSs9D20lS273iB3u0d9q-FmAUbZ6HSPv8Yf7BIe0hOS9G8uhTLnOyPPvUnVF0CfSZeBTQJc7s24AwXTuVNBC9rEFYLyarAIzeQVNTNICqdtOAya_GA_DF0/s1600/Lion+and+the+Mouse+-+last+page+-+joy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QY4pNHbPGNvWT405oRh7s3WSs9D20lS273iB3u0d9q-FmAUbZ6HSPv8Yf7BIe0hOS9G8uhTLnOyPPvUnVF0CfSZeBTQJc7s24AwXTuVNBC9rEFYLyarAIzeQVNTNICqdtOAya_GA_DF0/s400/Lion+and+the+Mouse+-+last+page+-+joy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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With a music/scan version like this, it can take some time to get it all together. Messing around with songs, downloading them into your PowerPoint file, and getting the timings and the fading to work pretty well takes some time. But after you get it right (or as close to right as I ever strive for), the actual presentation is just introducing the book and clicking on "run slide show." When we played it in Storytime, the music really did help pace the story, but it didn't interfere so much that the kids weren't following the visuals. So the book was still the main focus...but if a few families leave storytime with a bit of the Ventures or Bach rattling around in their head, I'm okay with that. </div>
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stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-47797698527415030582015-11-01T10:09:00.002-08:002015-11-01T10:09:20.028-08:00The Hat with Clothesline<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rNmyKHFqf7qvN0FTWjTKj2E9N7FuXqtj3U_8VDp0P5aF4dyNbkMtg7Ocm2QRUJNPJ-AYe0CnVe7MeogLHHMecU8AlVAbE3kzCHUEPA0YmywMxO3ucyDovVHY1jI-4DXYuZt13fU07nmc/s1600/The+Hat+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rNmyKHFqf7qvN0FTWjTKj2E9N7FuXqtj3U_8VDp0P5aF4dyNbkMtg7Ocm2QRUJNPJ-AYe0CnVe7MeogLHHMecU8AlVAbE3kzCHUEPA0YmywMxO3ucyDovVHY1jI-4DXYuZt13fU07nmc/s200/The+Hat+-+cover.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Book: <i>The Hat </i>by Jan Brett</b><br />
<b> </b>Puppets: None<br />
Props: Character Signs, Various Articles of Clothing, Clothesline<br />
Presenters: 2, plus child volunteers (could be 1 plus kids)<br />
Audience: Family Storytime (mostly 3-7)<br />
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Brad and I chose to use Jan Brett's <i>The Hat </i>for a "clothing" themed Family Storytime. <a href="http://www.janbrett.com/index.html"> Jan Brett's website </a>has a bunch of great resources for teachers and storytellers, including neat and <a href="http://janbrett.com/the_hat_play.htm">simple printouts for the animals from <i>The Hat</i>. </a> They're designed for reader's theater, but we used them in a slightly different way. We printed out one of each, laminated, and strung some yarn through for the kids to wear. Then we strung a clothesline across the stage. We just tied string to two our our backdrops, but I'm sure there are other ways to work that out.<br />
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The story is pretty simple, and we simplified it a bit more to make it work with child volunteers. Each of the kids got an animal sign and stood beneath the empty clotheline. Brad narrated while I managed kids and clothes. One by one, I pull each piece of clothing out of a basket and hang one above each animal. Then Brad describes how the sock blew off an fell on Hedgehog. And I unclip the sock and place it on Hedgehog/Child's head. <br />
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Then it moves to the other animals seeing Hedgehog's cool "hat," and wanting one for themselves. And one by one, the animals spot the clothes above them and I put each one on their head. We considered not revealing the clothes until it was time for each child to "wear" it....keeping the shirt in the basket, for example, until it was that animal's turn for a hat. It actually was much more fun to have all of the clothes in sight from the start, though. You could watch it all dawn on the audience in different stages, as they anticipated that each child would soon have a silly hat. The child volunteers went through the same process, as they put the pieces together and realized what they were each about to wear. Of course, leaving the underwear for last build up the suspense even more. I really wish we'd taken a photo of the kids, before the "hats" and after, but I think you can imagine it.<br />
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The story ends with me coming to take down the clothes, spotting the silly looking animals, and collecting the pieces one by one. This is one of those stories where the props and the kids really make it work. Though Brad and I split up the narration and child/prop management, those could easily be done by one person. So all you really need is a clothesline, a color printer, and some cute kids. stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-58930886385028779302015-10-25T21:25:00.002-07:002015-10-25T21:25:19.635-07:00A Pirate Puppet Swallows Stuff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4GaD1H3RUQGTRRcwPpJGf3c-wx-JcO_qVnxQfCsT7zrkYiueOHTsDL_XUugggc2PqcNboqkXyeuDE3P8317Vt_KQBczsZ_4fJucjYZIFZekYrez1v-W0i7VcsoxeejJNfqIkXcJKlfPMk/s1600/I+Know+an+Old+Pirate+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4GaD1H3RUQGTRRcwPpJGf3c-wx-JcO_qVnxQfCsT7zrkYiueOHTsDL_XUugggc2PqcNboqkXyeuDE3P8317Vt_KQBczsZ_4fJucjYZIFZekYrez1v-W0i7VcsoxeejJNfqIkXcJKlfPMk/s200/I+Know+an+Old+Pirate+-+cover.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Book: <i>There Was an Old Pirate Who Swallowed a Fish </i>by Jennifer Ward, Illustrated by Steve Gray</b><br />
Puppets: Pirate<br />
Props: Fish, Parrot, Map, Sail, Boat, Mast, Bubbles (or substitutes)<br />
Audience: Family Storytime (mostly ages 3-6)<br />
Presenters: two<br />
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For a pirate-themed Family Storytime Sheila and I decided to do this reworking of "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" using puppets, props, and a puppet stage. Sheila was in front of the stage managing props and leading the song. I was behind with a pirate puppet. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGB5WNJKWRMGei_TTiIcIdaFehdYmXiJ0hlmr5-_QiwW4icCN_j9wG0y08hMAsYii7ZiU2F0_HXRRvWFC8sfOwsgQ8Kb9Xp5muOV6tQ6AM_XvhBEIxc7BFQi1y2XNgy2xm9MiQkLCdJ7-h/s1600/I+Know+an+Old+Pirate+-+stage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGB5WNJKWRMGei_TTiIcIdaFehdYmXiJ0hlmr5-_QiwW4icCN_j9wG0y08hMAsYii7ZiU2F0_HXRRvWFC8sfOwsgQ8Kb9Xp5muOV6tQ6AM_XvhBEIxc7BFQi1y2XNgy2xm9MiQkLCdJ7-h/s200/I+Know+an+Old+Pirate+-+stage.jpg" width="200" /></a>We adapted the book a bit, reducing the number of items that the Pirate swallows and playing around with the rhymes a bit. We started out with all of the props velcroed to the side of the stage, which worked well: they were handy for Sheila to grab, plus it led the audience to anticipate what would be next. We sort of traded off with the telling/singing of the story. I would start off with "I am an old pirate, I swallowed a.....Fish!" Then Sheila takes the Fish, holds it above the pirate puppet, and slowly lowers it into the puppet's mouth. The pirate turns to face away from the audience so that it kind of looks like he's really swallowing it.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJ-my4weQfLKhr5nu35YpZA7GCczWgejXRMEFQ609WUGPEZd5JEqmiIgatZnzIb4jPEzmcEASOfqdVrcXBYPyZw10vGdbKWPQrbFX2rMPXMnRBd9B_4W1x1NklxAD24VgtVoguLY3FBc5/s1600/I+Know+an+Old+Pirate+-+mast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJ-my4weQfLKhr5nu35YpZA7GCczWgejXRMEFQ609WUGPEZd5JEqmiIgatZnzIb4jPEzmcEASOfqdVrcXBYPyZw10vGdbKWPQrbFX2rMPXMnRBd9B_4W1x1NklxAD24VgtVoguLY3FBc5/s200/I+Know+an+Old+Pirate+-+mast.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
Sheila then leads the audience through the cumulative part: "He swallowed the Sail right after the Parrot / He swallowed the Parrot right after the Fish...." As the Pirate I joined in each time it got to the refrain of "Arrgh and blimey, that Fish was Slimy!" and then again with the final line of "Yo ho ho, Watch his belly grow!" <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-I8NyjWLnUZ9enTw3hluHgg6v2OEVMY5zSQD80iXh8-vipoot8aPixfWMkIFBkUJqrtEGGY4yZ8c4sV7N-8gKHLAqaOA2tyc7UrDeivkj2GtVMlqcXCfeq1wQ20fZrYQdaAdEEOD0tVs/s1600/I+Know+an+Old+Pirate+-+mast+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-I8NyjWLnUZ9enTw3hluHgg6v2OEVMY5zSQD80iXh8-vipoot8aPixfWMkIFBkUJqrtEGGY4yZ8c4sV7N-8gKHLAqaOA2tyc7UrDeivkj2GtVMlqcXCfeq1wQ20fZrYQdaAdEEOD0tVs/s200/I+Know+an+Old+Pirate+-+mast+2.jpg" width="200" /></a>We didn't worry too much about having perfectly matched props. The Map was a rolled up drawn paper map; the Sail was fabric that Sheila decorated. The Mast was a fun one, because it was so long. In the book, the Boat is an actual pirate ship, but our simple plastic toy boat worked fine. As Sheila put the props down the Pirate's throat (or pretended too) I would catch them with my off hand so they wouldn't crash to the ground. Or at least I mostly did: I missed the boat once and it was pretty loud. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29RaESJi8elXLJpS1VPyupZMSdrcHeN3JjKHchLU573mdWyAEl1BI_hdXH5kWzLS6BLGpPgxQbkKkdol3wRHhKMYijnWwoZxATjhE4ktVd7PUD6D5wNx5vSR63QnLPlgr7ccre6EDTlmg/s1600/I+Know+an+Old+Pirate+-+props.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29RaESJi8elXLJpS1VPyupZMSdrcHeN3JjKHchLU573mdWyAEl1BI_hdXH5kWzLS6BLGpPgxQbkKkdol3wRHhKMYijnWwoZxATjhE4ktVd7PUD6D5wNx5vSR63QnLPlgr7ccre6EDTlmg/s320/I+Know+an+Old+Pirate+-+props.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
At the end of the story, the Pirate sinks to the bottom of the sea. So I sang that verse and slowly brought the Pirate out of sight and turned on the bubble machine from behind the stage. It always seems to be tricky to get the timing of a bubble machine just right. Sometimes they start up right away, sometimes it takes a bit. But for the most part this effect worked well and the kids got the idea. We also had a bubble sound effect that started with the click of a PowerPoint slide. Well, two out of four times it started...not sure why it didn't work the other times. <br />
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It's nice to add effects like that, but also good to not make them crucial to the success of the story. We can live with the bubbles being a bit late, but the Pirate puppet, the props, and the telling are what really make it work, and we were four for four with getting those mostly right. <br />
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We originally thought of doing this as an act-out, with one of us as the pirate stuffing the props into an over-sized shirt, but in the end I think the puppet stage version worked more neatly than the people version would have. <br />
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stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-46893445142154521652015-10-18T18:21:00.000-07:002015-10-18T18:23:29.108-07:00Lo-Jack and pirate puns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWSDXzgdJ63r2KdirCh6tHsr79FZ3RtmfAiL4Ta8L7fIo63YZ5qqc4DBn92aM7O-M0ROGlre-T9zefSlE_kBAv7f_iQuLnCTQnqSXD0tAzEumGXf6W_Sy6QylVKR-J33_MIHAWS1MV0Z1/s1600/Lo-Jack+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWSDXzgdJ63r2KdirCh6tHsr79FZ3RtmfAiL4Ta8L7fIo63YZ5qqc4DBn92aM7O-M0ROGlre-T9zefSlE_kBAv7f_iQuLnCTQnqSXD0tAzEumGXf6W_Sy6QylVKR-J33_MIHAWS1MV0Z1/s200/Lo-Jack+-+cover.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<b>Book: Lo-Jack and the Pirates </b>by William Hooks, Illustrated by Tricia Tusa<br />
<b>Puppets</b>: none<br />
<b>Props</b>: Pirate Costumes, Two Paper Eyes, Yo-Yo, Santa Hat, Squeaky Hammer (or similar), Flagon, Toast<br />
<b>Presenters: two</b><br />
<b>Video: </b><a href="https://youtu.be/PL53KqDQoaQ">short sample excerpt</a><br />
<b>Audience</b>: Family Storytime<br />
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We do a Pirate-themed Family Storytime every year, but it's been a Terri/Brad presentation for several years. This time Sheila and I took a turn, and I thought back to my first pirate event, which was probably 20 years ago, and a book that's out of print now but was one of the few pirate early readers on the shelves back then. <i>Lo-Jack and the Pirates </i>is sort of like Amelia Bedelia: Lo-Jack is hijacked to be a pirate's cabin boy and gets everything wrong. The book is great for 1st and 2nd graders, but younger kids miss some of the puns, so we simplified a bit for our mostly-preschool audiences and acted it out with a few props.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbbRPr-YSaQB38z6zQ9jtTphmofEbqIo9Tx2xVjQEwt-I6-JR71IgChTUWiaw63PX6GTNcWXiHFobZrU5nJX_5bcQuKLco57FbhbwPMJzdrcjtE3JTvKmldOFlxxh_GSU_3I7wc0-oU1T/s1600/Lo-Jack+-+Toasting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbbRPr-YSaQB38z6zQ9jtTphmofEbqIo9Tx2xVjQEwt-I6-JR71IgChTUWiaw63PX6GTNcWXiHFobZrU5nJX_5bcQuKLco57FbhbwPMJzdrcjtE3JTvKmldOFlxxh_GSU_3I7wc0-oU1T/s320/Lo-Jack+-+Toasting.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
I was Captain Grimm, and basically I try to teach Lo-Jack some pirate stuff and she gets it wrong:<br />
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Pirate lingo: "Pirates say aye-aye!": Lo-Jack holds two goofy looking cut out "eyes." Get it? Most of the kids did, though not all.<br />
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Pirate songs: "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me": Lo-Jack gets a yo-yo and sings "Yo yo, yo yo, a pirate likes to play." Then gets a Santa hat and it's: "Ho ho, ho ho, a pirate Santa Claus."<br />
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Pirate jobs: "You can be a look out and shout "ahoy" when you see land.: Lo-Jack steps on a stool, looks at the audience and shouts "a boy!" while pointing at one of the kids.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VbF02-7eWUI2Yxp8Hf98ImcprjAtalU1Az3KgkUpa4qi0LY5bLq87okm8G3J40r5e9KxgXeH6co-rghj9kVsaNptZfZPWYd1OZIlX0K7vr77Wj8-St2pgHhG-HhHFUEm_6JamBSCUoe2/s1600/Lo-Jack+-+Props.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VbF02-7eWUI2Yxp8Hf98ImcprjAtalU1Az3KgkUpa4qi0LY5bLq87okm8G3J40r5e9KxgXeH6co-rghj9kVsaNptZfZPWYd1OZIlX0K7vr77Wj8-St2pgHhG-HhHFUEm_6JamBSCUoe2/s200/Lo-Jack+-+Props.jpg" width="200" /></a>And of course with each mistake Captain Grimm gets more impatient. When he says "Blow me down!", Lo-Jack tries to blow him over; Captain G. says he's too small to blow down a mighty pirate, so Lo-Jack grabs a squeaky hammer and bops him. When the Captain says it's time to Loot and Pillage the people in the audience, Lo-Jack convinces him that they are nice people and they shouldn't do that.<br />
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So Captain Grimm turns nice and the story ends with C. G. proposing a Toast to Lo-Jack, which is when Lo-Jack grabs a couple of pieces of toast. <br />
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The humor really worked just fine for the audience. For those who maybe didn't get the verbal humor, there was enough going on visually with the props and people that it was still funny. Like maybe a three year old doesn't register that Lo-Jack got "yo ho" mixed up with "yo yo" because they sound the same, but knows that pirates don't play with yo yos, and that's pretty funny anyway.<br />
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<b><a href="https://youtu.be/PL53KqDQoaQ">Click here</a></b> for a short, not-well-edited video clip we did as a sample.<br />
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<br />stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-58257125210665668572015-10-12T21:58:00.003-07:002015-10-12T21:59:52.058-07:00The Chocolate Chip Ghost (and other colors)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRcV5ChtQ7arOuow-aPQ2bH9DyXGHPvLZCRvO_ZiPrbc_ffdEGfM45CV1rTxO9Sz4kzp4AGTiknUfbdKYliFlTuM3mXgkTETpGWAPEZVJWVgmiih0Mtps_f1W1aZELQYoU_Svw7yGx65C7/s1600/Chocolate+Chip+Ghost+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRcV5ChtQ7arOuow-aPQ2bH9DyXGHPvLZCRvO_ZiPrbc_ffdEGfM45CV1rTxO9Sz4kzp4AGTiknUfbdKYliFlTuM3mXgkTETpGWAPEZVJWVgmiih0Mtps_f1W1aZELQYoU_Svw7yGx65C7/s320/Chocolate+Chip+Ghost+-+cover.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Story: <i>The Chocolate Chip Ghost </i>by Meighan Piefer & Phyllis French</b><br />
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Props: Felt Ghosts + Felt Board; colored food props or pictures (optional)</div>
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Presenters: one</div>
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Audience: Toddler, Preschool</div>
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I keep trying to get back to this blog, and my motivation this time is to get in a good Halloween story before the holiday happens. This a favorite among pre-school teachers and librarians, but not everyone knows it. I've pretty sure that I've never actually seen the book: I learned it as a felt board story from someone years ago. I don't do many stories with felt, mostly because I'm so completely unskilled at scissors, patterns, and just general crafty creativity. But these shapes are even simple enough for me. You just cut out five small ghosts and one big one. I made the big one into a simple flat puppet, but it works fine as just a felt shape. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDtcOTlpJPlqt8W5QvZhhIL5XeP3unOiGIfiARwWgEP4B9MVvYOmL-R7SoPkgEAAtnBCIlFYcMSC_s1L_RCvf8VF-A2ppyh6FOUcZegcjOJ1pXIgBT603hM9OyQi6YJvRGAKnkETweTD5/s1600/Chocolate+Chip+Ghost+-+5+white+%252B+mom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDtcOTlpJPlqt8W5QvZhhIL5XeP3unOiGIfiARwWgEP4B9MVvYOmL-R7SoPkgEAAtnBCIlFYcMSC_s1L_RCvf8VF-A2ppyh6FOUcZegcjOJ1pXIgBT603hM9OyQi6YJvRGAKnkETweTD5/s200/Chocolate+Chip+Ghost+-+5+white+%252B+mom.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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Then you tell the story, which is basically this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQQTsea7-srOv5ScHev679Oa2qCUuVtTWj7-rP6t7hSKPjKRTFSsFyck3sSpwzoRbgVcjQCcBQz0EqEsm-0sYEHrCC-awg3YDa9HS8uKDhoFugU0cWroKtTja-c68HaEbseIbWme9xdaXa/s1600/Chocolate+Chip+Ghost+-+4+white+%252B+1+red.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQQTsea7-srOv5ScHev679Oa2qCUuVtTWj7-rP6t7hSKPjKRTFSsFyck3sSpwzoRbgVcjQCcBQz0EqEsm-0sYEHrCC-awg3YDa9HS8uKDhoFugU0cWroKtTja-c68HaEbseIbWme9xdaXa/s200/Chocolate+Chip+Ghost+-+4+white+%252B+1+red.jpg" width="200" /></a>Mother Ghost goes to the store to get some food. She tells her five little ghosts not to have anything but milk when she's gone. One by one, each ghost goes to the fridge and gets something that's <i>not </i>milk, but something with a distinct color. Ghost one gets a tomato. [pick her up and bring her behind the felt board; show the tomato]. And when she came back, she was......red! [switch white ghost for red ghost and put that one back on the board]. <br />
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Then then next three ghosts do the same thing, with different colors and different fruits or vegetables. Play food or real food both work fine.<br />
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That simple anticipation and guessing game, where the kids guess what the ghost will eat and what color she'll turn to, along with the satisfying visual image of that brightly colored ghost, works just great. Similar in effect to doing<a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2011/02/shoe-shopping-for-pete-cat.html"> <i>Pete the Cat: I Love My Red Shoes </i>with colored shoes</a>. </div>
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Then there's a neat twist at the end, when the last little ghost finds the refrigerator empty, so she looks in the freezer. I usually let the kids know that she found some ice cream, ask them to guess what flavor, then show the decorated ghost and they all get that it was chocolate chip ice cream. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMHl0PlIW31FN-2beth4ihayKUwqNWr-WW9azFMeWuRW87SEzinfZo0GHlQPYYCB_zXDxN8ZIpg8_ks01bK1c_rrvcSORBF94bNESbuJ42Cw6ij-kidXbcQzEH2_UXpscyEmtvII4Uu_p/s1600/Chocolate+Chip+Ghost+-+5+colors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMHl0PlIW31FN-2beth4ihayKUwqNWr-WW9azFMeWuRW87SEzinfZo0GHlQPYYCB_zXDxN8ZIpg8_ks01bK1c_rrvcSORBF94bNESbuJ42Cw6ij-kidXbcQzEH2_UXpscyEmtvII4Uu_p/s200/Chocolate+Chip+Ghost+-+5+colors.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoiZ5XYTEQI5jG9DwO2srBr6MWsrwENFWmcVqx6ayYsi4ZCEfFg9oN3jBtOO-hXqXOBcOxHM8zEC4FIlo8TAv685BdiZWsQxH8CrPrBe5POQVZQfdTwWQetn5KXpfJi4LFfNgGidYwEl49/s1600/Chocolate+Chip+Ghost+-+ice+cream+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoiZ5XYTEQI5jG9DwO2srBr6MWsrwENFWmcVqx6ayYsi4ZCEfFg9oN3jBtOO-hXqXOBcOxHM8zEC4FIlo8TAv685BdiZWsQxH8CrPrBe5POQVZQfdTwWQetn5KXpfJi4LFfNgGidYwEl49/s200/Chocolate+Chip+Ghost+-+ice+cream+picture.jpg" width="200" /></a>For the food props, you can use real food, toy food, or if you don't have either, just print out a picture. Actually pictures might work even better because you can stick them to the board, though I've never tried it that way. <br />
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The humor and surprises in this story are right on target for two and three year olds, but it's also engaging enough for ones and surprisingly fascinating to four and five year olds as well. And for toddlers it's has just the right level of Halloweenishness, with the least scary ghosts ever. </div>
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stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-37523723840823274462015-07-05T21:18:00.000-07:002015-07-05T21:18:18.748-07:00From Head to Toe with Puppets, Spanish, and ParticipationBook: <b><i>From Head to Toe </i>by Eric Carle</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgmUnRmXyPT6OTQuYEwXtPCAANx0Sp1kVjpGVsfzCCUYUB2_UQk4_gs1xjONB_G_f6aMKXT0wb4RVB-TK1MbvHdnYSHSrbWuvwfc4pg1OnUIeRj4LW1Ihy4C_4jGNTaiat5B16_9CbAjm/s1600/From+Head+to+Toe+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgmUnRmXyPT6OTQuYEwXtPCAANx0Sp1kVjpGVsfzCCUYUB2_UQk4_gs1xjONB_G_f6aMKXT0wb4RVB-TK1MbvHdnYSHSrbWuvwfc4pg1OnUIeRj4LW1Ihy4C_4jGNTaiat5B16_9CbAjm/s320/From+Head+to+Toe+-+cover.jpg" width="242" /></a>Puppets: Giraffe, Gorilla, Monkey, Horse, Crocodile, and/or a few others</div>
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Props: Animal Signs in Spanish (optional)</div>
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Presenters: Two (though it works fine with one)</div>
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Audience: Family Storytime (mostly 3-6 year olds)</div>
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We try to slip in bilingual stories from time to time during our Family Storytime, and Eric Carle books seem to work especially well for this. <i>From Head to Toe </i>is an especially fun one because it also gets the kids up and doing stuff. <br />
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For our two-person version, Sheila led the kids in trying to do the stuff that the animals do, while I provided the animal examples with puppets from behind a backdrop.<br />
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First the animal appears above the backdrop, and names itself: "I am a Crocodile." Then I hold up a sign with the word in Spanish, while Sheila says the word in Spanish and prompts them to repeat it. <br />
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Then I say what I can do: "And I can wriggle my hips." And the puppet wriggles as well as a puppet can, which isn't that well, but good enough. Meanwhile, Sheila demonstrates that for the audience, prompting them to do the same. And that's the pattern we follow for all of the animals. I played around a bit with the puppets, having them peek out from different spots before they're entrance, but tried not to overdo that because it can get too distracting. <br />
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And that's really all there is to it. Once you've got the signs made, the puppets in order, and an audience, you're all set. We did make a few adjustments to the animals in the book. We skipped Buffalo and Camel, partly because we just needed to shorten the whole thing, but also: we don't have those puppets. We don't have a Donkey either, but liked that movement (kids put hands on the floor and kick feet out....yes, kind of wild, and we had to give the "don't kick your neighbor" warning, but it was fun), so we substituted a Horse. <br />
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There are many variations to this approach. You can do it just this way, without the Spanish words, and it works fine. And if you're puppets don't exactly match the animals in the book, you can substitute freely, as we did, and still be true to the story. You can also do it as a one-person story, which I've done many times in solo storytimes. With that approach, I have to rely on the puppets and the words to show the kids what their actions should be, which goes okay, but it's even better when you have that second person to demonstrate the human way to move like those animals. Oh, and I have to make sure I don't forget: You can read the book, show the pictures, have the kids do the moves, and it's also excellent.<br />
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stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-86520721134438161362015-05-31T22:32:00.004-07:002015-05-31T22:32:43.595-07:00Jumanji Puppet Show<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_evdUBLm2OYYoaVZUAvOGzCrzAstNmGpczihmYc_w33Fl-tawyPk6eBGpw3Oj0pC-lx4m5OAIrb3I0fnJHc48kc5-jkL-qEpveh7xOKCjxo839hOb4QdsLVByPlYOQB7ZeUVdtradKsCL/s1600/Jumanji+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_evdUBLm2OYYoaVZUAvOGzCrzAstNmGpczihmYc_w33Fl-tawyPk6eBGpw3Oj0pC-lx4m5OAIrb3I0fnJHc48kc5-jkL-qEpveh7xOKCjxo839hOb4QdsLVByPlYOQB7ZeUVdtradKsCL/s1600/Jumanji+-+cover.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Book: <i>Jumanji </i>by Chris Van Allsburg</b><br />
Puppets: Boy, Girl, Monkey(s), Lion(s), Snake(s), Shark(s)<br />
Props: Squirt Bottle, Storm Sounds (optional), Fog Machine (optional), Dice, Game Board (printed and taped to cardboard)<br />
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<i>Jumanji </i>is such an excellent book that I hesitated a bit before doing it as a puppet show, knowing I'd have to change it a bunch. But I justify it to myself by saying it's way closer than the movie version, and by using the usual standby: kids will check out a bunch of copies of the book. So we did the puppet show for our "K-2 Book Adventure" program on "Award Winners." (a separate post will summarize the program). When I did this show years ago it was a solo show, but we had three people this time (Sheila, Terri, and I) and it was much easier. I played Judy and Peter, the two kids. Terri and Sheila were on either side of me and each had one of each animal puppet. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggs-P8T_d97doiHTZhhpgoFnGD8S0Cq_upSfyIdHgB5gyvPGc8U3S5cl_Qq-MGgRo4k4O_4i62vHYwWhRrjNyP1Scxlvn8WEv650S0t_7hMwrpc_VcMkJ86zx2aHkKGUTr8Rdat6LfSRtW/s1600/Jumanji+-+board+game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggs-P8T_d97doiHTZhhpgoFnGD8S0Cq_upSfyIdHgB5gyvPGc8U3S5cl_Qq-MGgRo4k4O_4i62vHYwWhRrjNyP1Scxlvn8WEv650S0t_7hMwrpc_VcMkJ86zx2aHkKGUTr8Rdat6LfSRtW/s1600/Jumanji+-+board+game.jpg" width="320" /></a>The first change from the book was to jump right into the two kids playing the game. No trip to the park and finding the game. So they're bored at home, discover the game, read the rules, and we're off. As a puppet show, it's the appearance of the animals and other dangers that are the key. So when one child rolls the die and reads "Lions attack, go back two spaces," Sheila's Lion appears behind Peter on the right, he turns and a chase ensues. They lose that Lion, head back the other way, and Terri's Lion appears on the left, and a chase ensues. And that's the basic pattern.<br />
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The next roll leads to "Monkeys pull hair." I know, in the book it's "monkeys steal food," but that was too complicated. And having a Monkey pull a girl puppet across the stage by the hair is a pretty funny visual. When it's "Monsoon season," Terri and Sheila made storm noises with our thunder tube and squirted the audience with water. Then we did "Python," which was more chasing. And finished with "lost in fog," which was added because we got to use our fog machine. Terri held it up right below the puppets and it was a quite effective surprise for the audience. We did not include the rhinoceros stampede or the lost guide, partly because it had to be a fairly quick show and partly because they would have been harder to manage (once again artistic integrity is trumped by time and convenience)...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojMnQ8qAj9xbdjaGwE1KwjYh2FIIx4bpZzxDDaom-9UmVkuPgvywDzmYhyphenhyphenbW2MRkqAZf33rS_LJ0N2A-rO4QuNSNbonUmTgfkRaP96Xvs1fZSIbvs2Bh5OIKWZflCF6qJjE5b4ucRgc8W/s1600/Jumanji+-+snakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojMnQ8qAj9xbdjaGwE1KwjYh2FIIx4bpZzxDDaom-9UmVkuPgvywDzmYhyphenhyphenbW2MRkqAZf33rS_LJ0N2A-rO4QuNSNbonUmTgfkRaP96Xvs1fZSIbvs2Bh5OIKWZflCF6qJjE5b4ucRgc8W/s1600/Jumanji+-+snakes.jpg" width="320" /></a>When Judy finally reaches the end, we stretched out the action by having her forget to shout "Jumanji." So the game isn't ended and all the animals (or as many as Terri and Sheila could put out there) converge on the kids until she remembers. And when she says it, all the animal puppets instantly disappear. <br />
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Since the kids never go to the park in this version, we had to drop the excellent book ending where they return the game to the park and watch two other kids walk off with it (we learn about their game in <i>Zathura</i>). So we added a basic joke to end it up: The kids decide to play a safe, harmless game like "Go Fish," and when one of them says "what could possibly be scary about "Go Fish?"....two Shark puppets appear and chase them. <br />
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The show was a big hit with the K-2 audience, proving once again that there's nothing like a chase or two to make a puppet show work. It's one that could be done pretty easily with two people...you'd just have to have animal puppets coming from one side only. And you just need a bit of pre-choreographing of the chase scenes to make it work, then there's plenty of room for improvising if you feel like it. The fog machine is not really needed (though we enjoyed using it). As for the Game Board, we just printed an image of the actual board game which came out when the movie did and taped it to cardboard. Actually a very good board game....my own kids played it for hours at a time when they were younger.stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-54698344551640872012015-05-16T15:13:00.001-07:002015-05-16T15:13:11.330-07:00The Biggest Thing with Cardboard and Felt<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYGGUQ46HhaboV3mXTkdT62THi9yWX2hOitwFdobi9PmunGPh384OWuCyFeBOsQDp-gPhgQHkol6QBhxs8QPymvUoXmTu0hasHro4EV4MCzyzhb8zzyf40k_Hj-FzTwLCAjFij5lrWTspO/s1600/Biggest+Thing+in+the+Ocean+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYGGUQ46HhaboV3mXTkdT62THi9yWX2hOitwFdobi9PmunGPh384OWuCyFeBOsQDp-gPhgQHkol6QBhxs8QPymvUoXmTu0hasHro4EV4MCzyzhb8zzyf40k_Hj-FzTwLCAjFij5lrWTspO/s1600/Biggest+Thing+in+the+Ocean+-+cover.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>Book: <i>The Biggest Thing in the Ocean </i>by Kevin Sherry</b><br />
Puppets: A few sea animals, including a shark<br />
Props: A big cut-out squid<br />
Presenters: 2<br />
Technology: Projector with a ouple slides<br />
Audience: Family Storytime (mostly 3-6 year olds)<br />
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One of the many benefits of doing two-person storytimes is that you get to do stories that you never would have thought of yourself. In this case, Sheila and Terri developed the story, Brad came up with a couple of additional enhancements later, and by the time I got a turn at a recent Family Storytime, all I had to do was walk around behind a piece of cardboard.<br />
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I've used <i>The Biggest Thing in the Ocean </i>as a read aloud and it works great. Sheila and Terri worked out a cool way to act it out with kids. Sheila created a big giant squid, using cardboard and blue stuff which looks like felt, but is actually called something like headliner fabric or cartop. "It was easy," she says, but I don't think it would have been for someone as craft-clueless as me. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6gCzVKy3krmPTH-x8LzCBWXA-EJtAKqBVqsGqORr5pL5slfK_pH7l38WyXjU4pn19OWBPGO8jswrgCJBgVwotYxhkbqR9Fq8XedZ2ZtsM1E0WonfVKhj0VsfqnoqC30_QH0P4ILSLmWF/s1600/Biggest+Thing+-+ocean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6gCzVKy3krmPTH-x8LzCBWXA-EJtAKqBVqsGqORr5pL5slfK_pH7l38WyXjU4pn19OWBPGO8jswrgCJBgVwotYxhkbqR9Fq8XedZ2ZtsM1E0WonfVKhj0VsfqnoqC30_QH0P4ILSLmWF/s1600/Biggest+Thing+-+ocean.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYbCGox0jZipZC6w8HYEhOuHh1LX6KPP-TgwJ_uhvG6yCy4cX-xRdTmd2OltLogw2sNBcLdwppUEKLD0S5Fx1231EBwK9M6FxKkgarYFLZwWlSi5PuTKZHzwDbi1skG9MNNC3c0MiA3a1/s1600/Biggest+Thing+in+the+Ocean+-+squid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYbCGox0jZipZC6w8HYEhOuHh1LX6KPP-TgwJ_uhvG6yCy4cX-xRdTmd2OltLogw2sNBcLdwppUEKLD0S5Fx1231EBwK9M6FxKkgarYFLZwWlSi5PuTKZHzwDbi1skG9MNNC3c0MiA3a1/s1600/Biggest+Thing+in+the+Ocean+-+squid.jpg" width="238" /></a> The squid works kind of like a giant puppet or mask. You just hold it up in front of you and walk around, and you're a squid. You can even have the words written on the back! The story's pretty simple. As Squid, I just brag about how I'm "the biggest thing in the ocean." On the screen behind me we projected a silent video of moving ocean water, which was a nice touch....but it would work fine without that too. Then Terri enters with a Starfish puppet. I brag that I'm bigger than a starfish, and Terri attaches the puppet to the squid. The puppets all have velcro and stick easily. And this whole thing could be done with felt figures instead of puppets just as well.. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfx96CWPT_uRMkcjMPk4zgQMzBg9TQQvJvRWtToEDosT2tPUq3Eub_T49r5W4rzbN0FWpk5ZwliXgtWgTkuVnRzs688fR31BWDNzd6oIKYrzhJpVatveIkRIK3elqkp1kK7b-jDU8OHbGV/s1600/Biggest+Thing+in+the+Ocean+-+squid+++fish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfx96CWPT_uRMkcjMPk4zgQMzBg9TQQvJvRWtToEDosT2tPUq3Eub_T49r5W4rzbN0FWpk5ZwliXgtWgTkuVnRzs688fR31BWDNzd6oIKYrzhJpVatveIkRIK3elqkp1kK7b-jDU8OHbGV/s1600/Biggest+Thing+in+the+Ocean+-+squid+++fish.jpg" width="229" /></a>So now there's a Starfish on the Squid. I was a little worried that the kids would think the Squid <i>ate </i>the Starfish, but it's pretty clear that it's there just to show the comparative size. Now that Terri has shown what to do, she guides four kids from the audience to come up, one at a time, and do the same thing with puppets they had been given. So I say: "I'm even bigger than a Blue Fish. Is there a Blue Fish out there?" And the child with the Blue Fish comes up and attaches it to the Squid. Earlier we had tried having the kids walk across stage with their puppets in front of the Squid, but it was hard for them to figure out where to go. Another time the kids stayed seated and held up their animals while the Squid came up to them. That didn't work great either, since the kids usually forgot to hold up their animals and the rest of the audience couldn't see. Then Brad had the idea of having the kids attach the sea creatures, and that did the trick. Sometimes it just takes us a few tries before we get it right. Soon the Squid has plenty of animals to prove how big he is:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHlrw9ZRUpA49ZQS5bQvKv3V300m1MYg0LLCgeaWmGTs6GMZdygtkCIvjQkbDHZg7q7b-_r22DxjbA8Cw6134g9sf9LYbP6cZu1FLg2vs0R5MtrISiuOj0wXncdznpkoXRNnfH-l4yj2M/s1600/Biggest+Thing+in+the+Ocean+-+squid+++all.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHlrw9ZRUpA49ZQS5bQvKv3V300m1MYg0LLCgeaWmGTs6GMZdygtkCIvjQkbDHZg7q7b-_r22DxjbA8Cw6134g9sf9LYbP6cZu1FLg2vs0R5MtrISiuOj0wXncdznpkoXRNnfH-l4yj2M/s1600/Biggest+Thing+in+the+Ocean+-+squid+++all.jpg" width="186" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnyPj_sY1Iizzi8fAQm6bHubI5M1tXvkNprCEhzrgMBm_s-cvo47GI9Au8TmypvPl16A4rb5byr4DrMAl-Y-FWY-C8eHb_aSCKcBTdc3a-W5yf5NFuYILEr5e5_s_F5aLpgKe9mK8wXpw/s1600/Biggest+Thing+in+the+Ocean+-+shark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnyPj_sY1Iizzi8fAQm6bHubI5M1tXvkNprCEhzrgMBm_s-cvo47GI9Au8TmypvPl16A4rb5byr4DrMAl-Y-FWY-C8eHb_aSCKcBTdc3a-W5yf5NFuYILEr5e5_s_F5aLpgKe9mK8wXpw/s1600/Biggest+Thing+in+the+Ocean+-+shark.jpg" width="200" /></a>Then he says something like: "I'm even bigger than a Shark, although I'm glad I don't see any sharks around here. They're smaller than me, but they're scary." Terri, meanwhile, has a Shark puppet on her hand and we have a little hide-and-seek-followed-by-chase scene, which adds some action to the tale.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVtVRuWOcxwXaWKS9D-T9Ax52fkdccGLt62nMhFwx5KLx_RQ5lDIriC7K86sNbkOBILixh9IFck1ULvPSZwndVWoqw_OoMY_jOBqibMRFK7pXnWTqcsTbHzNbTmo5BfQCdo0i4J7MGS3Tc/s1600/Biggest+Thing+-+whale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVtVRuWOcxwXaWKS9D-T9Ax52fkdccGLt62nMhFwx5KLx_RQ5lDIriC7K86sNbkOBILixh9IFck1ULvPSZwndVWoqw_OoMY_jOBqibMRFK7pXnWTqcsTbHzNbTmo5BfQCdo0i4J7MGS3Tc/s1600/Biggest+Thing+-+whale.jpg" width="200" /></a>For the conclusion, the Squid brags one more time about being the biggest thing in the ocean...then the Whale appears. We used the screen for the Whale, with the image moving slowly across the screen while the Squid retreats just in front of the jaws, then gets swallowed, as I move it out of sight behind a backdrop with the Squid. So imagine the blue Squid in front of a screen, then the whale above slowly moving across the screen from right to left, towards the Squid, and as it reaches the edge of the screen, the Squid moves in front of the open mouth as if being swallowed. <br />
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He realizes where he is, admits that he's smaller than the Whale, and delivers the concluding line: "I'm the biggest thing in this whale!"<br />
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The interaction between Squid and screen actually works very nicely, and the kids all seem to get the joke at the end, or at least as well as they do with the book....</div>
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<br />stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-34770141466175063002015-05-02T20:51:00.005-07:002015-05-02T20:51:53.325-07:00I Elephant, 1 Piggie, 2 Birds, 3 People<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY6yYOm0MicUjeAn-mrv1u4abWElS9V9kKnVKJFxBgmSiSaZWuCwKMWUiy-9eqZc5ofCRro78A_ikp2txT-MOuczhWeYugPbWJPX3CciCoyCiSUWznWnz4gBWUuS_oHJRiSDt1Il73mO8-/s1600/There+Is+a+Bird+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY6yYOm0MicUjeAn-mrv1u4abWElS9V9kKnVKJFxBgmSiSaZWuCwKMWUiy-9eqZc5ofCRro78A_ikp2txT-MOuczhWeYugPbWJPX3CciCoyCiSUWznWnz4gBWUuS_oHJRiSDt1Il73mO8-/s320/There+Is+a+Bird+-+cover.jpg" width="226" /></a><b>Book: <i>There Is a Bird on Your Head </i> by Mo Willems</b><br />
Puppets: Two Birds<br />
Props: Nest, Egg, Baby Birds (3), Elephant Hat (or similar), Piggie Hat (or similar)<br />
Presenters: 3<br />
Audience: K-2, Preschool<br />
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It's been nine(!) months since I posted on this blog, but I haven't really quit. The usual suspects are to blame: procrastination,<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38IOzYJn_YotNb9oxhhjB0kgtuYQylTMAIyktr-NB56HW-T8efw8uXS8eeDs99GXJqd-MjG5WTezks3hpj9PHgyfOUmXQ4GGZ9FvpdSEoAt0RHs89UZI5rJZmRv2sNJQiP9GFH4Pc8WYg/s1600/Scrabble-Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38IOzYJn_YotNb9oxhhjB0kgtuYQylTMAIyktr-NB56HW-T8efw8uXS8eeDs99GXJqd-MjG5WTezks3hpj9PHgyfOUmXQ4GGZ9FvpdSEoAt0RHs89UZI5rJZmRv2sNJQiP9GFH4Pc8WYg/s1600/Scrabble-Logo.png" /></a>laziness, and their various relatives, but I choose to put the blame on computer Scrabble, which, as it happens, I purchased for $2.99 just a week or two after my last blog entry, and I'm afraid that's too close to be mere coincidence. It's not like I'm addicted, and really I can quit any time I want, it's just that I choose not to. So for now my plan is to get back to blog entries with an unambitious (but attainable) two times a month, and as for Scrabble....well I don't think anyone needs to know how many Scrabble games I play in a month. <br />
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I'll jump back into it with yet another Elephant & Piggie. We did <i>There Is a Bird on Your Head </i>for a K-2 Book Adventure program on "Award Winners" (it won the 2008 <a href="http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/geiselaward/geiselawardpastwinners">Geisel Medal</a>) and the repeated it for Family Storytime. We acted it out with me as Gerald and Sheila as Piggie (as usual, but one of these days we're going to switch roles, challenging stereotypes of gender and height, just for fun) and Terri with the Bird puppets. <br />
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<br /><br /> Sheila and I sat, while Terri moved the first Bird onto my head. She didn't talk for the birds, but gave little chirping whistles that were just right. As usual with a Mo Willems, we stuck to the word from the book very closely. When Gerald first learns there's a bird on his head, I jump off the chair and run away, while Terri takes the first Bird behind our backdrop. Then I return and she comes back with two birds. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbGAh7aYL5rtfS4fo0uhuxwzYNsuZ8PT0oDwkT99pOEEneJeY1QPTtXGo1bHSrplHGhDDa1fO5jsZyYpwzm3u64ChMyDqHEBUIf0Xhoe1s-vC82iT-pBCWOP9FDBrKItEFgp9pLn_pQbkx/s1600/There+Is+a+Bird+-+two+birds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbGAh7aYL5rtfS4fo0uhuxwzYNsuZ8PT0oDwkT99pOEEneJeY1QPTtXGo1bHSrplHGhDDa1fO5jsZyYpwzm3u64ChMyDqHEBUIf0Xhoe1s-vC82iT-pBCWOP9FDBrKItEFgp9pLn_pQbkx/s320/There+Is+a+Bird+-+two+birds.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><br /><br />Then there's a progression as the birds go to work, while Gerald gets increasingly worried about what's going on up there. They bring out a Nest. Then an Egg. Then Chicks. In the book it's three eggs, and although we do have three plastic eggs, its too hard for a puppeteer to manage them along with two birds and a nest. So Terri showed one egg, and Sheila stood up, looked into the Nest, and counted three. We <i>do </i>have three baby birds. Actually they're three finger puppets connected to that nest (it's a Folkmanis nest that they don't make any more but you can find it on ebay and elsewhere). So Terri kind of pulled them up so the audience could see them peeking out. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZX_YkbuHEee9L2U4g5eFjkMgK9D6wzDSHpEy9vHoymlfsXCXU4GFwF29gtk7Ihpd349WVMvBE22Vm2gWvwh0RYfMlQgXYy3XphIbT9Lv4oR8KrUUqrvvCH3QYkWZcvgXWiOjO5pyj3SKW/s1600/There+Is+a+Bird+-+nest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZX_YkbuHEee9L2U4g5eFjkMgK9D6wzDSHpEy9vHoymlfsXCXU4GFwF29gtk7Ihpd349WVMvBE22Vm2gWvwh0RYfMlQgXYy3XphIbT9Lv4oR8KrUUqrvvCH3QYkWZcvgXWiOjO5pyj3SKW/s200/There+Is+a+Bird+-+nest.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />As with most Elephant and Piggie's, you have to take your time with the dialogue and don't really need to overdo it. The characters and pace is so strong that the kids totally get what's going on and why it's funny. Piggie finally suggests that Gerald simply ask the birds to leave, then Sheila exits. The birds do leave, as Terri follows her behind the backdrop.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlwXQYhef3s7fJvixrhNPsThejkVSUS1sRRrNMV1hR_4_BuU6TBpCT9V_IGaQaiFNhbqZHBt1h8PhxJnqhBudSXV1J4WSkkHsifCc_27233mkjmZ3bFa5B-qRx9WaEFHmLgosZdD64QGEf/s1600/There+Is+a+Bird+-+piggie+and+birds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlwXQYhef3s7fJvixrhNPsThejkVSUS1sRRrNMV1hR_4_BuU6TBpCT9V_IGaQaiFNhbqZHBt1h8PhxJnqhBudSXV1J4WSkkHsifCc_27233mkjmZ3bFa5B-qRx9WaEFHmLgosZdD64QGEf/s320/There+Is+a+Bird+-+piggie+and+birds.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
That sets up the finale, where Gerald calls Piggie back to thank her for the suggestion, and she re-enters with both birds on <i>her </i>head. The visual effect of her showing up with the birds works well, but Terri had the good idea to add one more line. In the book, Piggie closes the book with "you are welcome," and her perturbed look tells readers all they need to know. Sheila's perturbed look is equally effective, but she also says: "Gerald.....is there a bird on <i>my </i>head?" which circles back to the opening line and makes it clear that this is the end. Okay, so we messed with Mo's words just a little bit, but the transition from page to act-out sometimes just needs a bit of that, even with a perfect book....<br />
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<br />stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-32079600428207019342014-11-09T21:23:00.002-08:002014-11-09T21:23:39.623-08:00Monkey with a Pen<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0X5Hw1Sk7aXF0MSon73gTxeZLxnMPxdkNNEn51vjsK_UwUaEkAoVc05W7Msgpagduk52eEt_IvjdDLLRJPzEOM1jqMGpo11kSXY6SysIdnchDpw-fnKHHw1jj1re-fmze__LtIcul5KC/s1600/Monkey+Face+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0X5Hw1Sk7aXF0MSon73gTxeZLxnMPxdkNNEn51vjsK_UwUaEkAoVc05W7Msgpagduk52eEt_IvjdDLLRJPzEOM1jqMGpo11kSXY6SysIdnchDpw-fnKHHw1jj1re-fmze__LtIcul5KC/s1600/Monkey+Face+-+cover.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a><b>Book: </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Monkey Face </i><b>by Frank Asch (aka </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Bread and Honey</i><b>)</b><br />
Puppets: Monkey (with pen-holding ability) Owl, Alligator, Rabbit, Elephant, Lion, Giraffe, Another Bear (optional)<br />
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Props: Whiteboard and pen (or clipboard, paper, and pen)<br />
Presenters: One<br />
Audience: Family Storytime (mostly 3-7)<br />
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I've fallen way behind on posts here. One reason is that I'm doing fewer new stories lately. It's great to create new stuff, but so much more efficient to retell things and just tweak a little bit, and the job requires extra efficiency lately. I've also been busy preparing and teaching an online course on Storytelling with Puppets (Winter session starts January 5th; <a href="http://www.ala.org/alsc/storytelling-puppets">details are here</a>). So my new goal is a post every two weeks...<br />
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I've never really gotten into Draw and Tell stories, partly because the stories that go with them usually aren't very interesting to me. And also because I don't draw very well. But Frank Asch's <i>Monkey Face </i>is perfect, because the story is great and you're not <i>supposed </i>to draw well. <br />
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In the book, Monkey draws a simple picture of his mother. As he walks home he meets different animals one after another. Each animal gives him a suggestion to improve it, so Monkey takes out his pen and adds a bit. That part about "he meets different animals one after another" almost always means: Puppets! The "taking out his pen" part is a bit harder, but my Monkey puppet has very workable hands, and after all, the pictures don't have to be that good. <br />
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I use a standing white board that I can get behind to do the drawings. Sometimes I have an easel, other times (like in the photos below) I just hold it on my lap and lean it against me while I retrieve puppets. I have Monkey draw the first picture with his pen, then stand back and look at it. <br />
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I don't want to move the drawing surface, so the "walking home" part happens from narration: "Monkey walked home with his picture, and on the way he met......Owl!" At this point I reach behind the whiteboard with my left hand and Owl pops out above the board. Owl likes the picture, but makes a suggestion: "You made the eyes too small." <br />
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So monkey gets his pen and enlarges the eyes. Before he starts to draw, I make sure to have examine Owl's eyes for a moment, to clue the kids in on why he's going to draw these eyes so big:<br />
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Once he's done, Owl praises the new version ("Fine work!") and Monkey goes on. With each new animal he meets, he "improves" the drawing, with the adjustment always matching a prominent feature of the animal: Alligator = big sharp teeth; Rabbit = long ears; Elephant = long nose; Lion = mane; Giraffe = long neck. So the drawing gets sillier and sillier. You could substitute puppets if needed, as long as the sub has a notable feature that can easily be added on to the drawing. By the time he meets Giraffe, it looks pretty crazy.<br />
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Asch always has a nice way with language. In this book each animal always thinks the picture is great ("I love it!"). And after Monkey shows them the new version they add more praise: "Unforgettable!" "Much better!" and the like. I don't always match the book exactly but do try to use interesting vocabulary for each animal.<br />
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When Monkey finally gets home he shows it to his Mother. You could use another Monkey puppet for Mother, but I usually skip that and just speak as Mother. When Monkey asks: "Do you like it?" Mother steps back, looks at it, and thinks for a minute. I believe the kids are always thinking that she's going to say something disparaging or at least act surprised, but instead it's the perfect parent answer: "I love it!" "Just the way it is?" says Monkey. "Just the way it is." And she hangs it on the refrigerator. (Which I can't do because the drawing is on a board, but everyone gets the idea). <br />
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There are many different ways to tell this one. It works great without puppets, just using a pen and paper. That's where I first learned it, from Bonnie Janssen of Alameda County Library. I've also told it using the Monkey puppet, but with paper on a clipboard instead of a whiteboard. This is kind of fun because you can draw without the kids seeing, then reveal the drawing all at once. But also it's one more thing to handle. Or, you can do it <i>with </i>the Monkey puppets, but <i>without </i>all of the other puppets. The fun there is that kids sort of ponder along with you as they imaging that Owl or Elephant and anticipate what the picture will look like. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6lqHSX2mwvS4olIJ0SK4qlRf70HmeZSjavSDBC89V-FhNr2qLFlo8omW4MvwqqhBqMBi7t7PldQngAQqebNSK4vKJYTd_BapDXGfw6_PupxFC2e7aPHtEKvx8GSXraGqO3pkwYGxl8P_/s1600/Monkey+Face+-+bread+and+honey+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6lqHSX2mwvS4olIJ0SK4qlRf70HmeZSjavSDBC89V-FhNr2qLFlo8omW4MvwqqhBqMBi7t7PldQngAQqebNSK4vKJYTd_BapDXGfw6_PupxFC2e7aPHtEKvx8GSXraGqO3pkwYGxl8P_/s1600/Monkey+Face+-+bread+and+honey+cover.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></a><i>Monkey Face </i>is an old (1977) out-of-print book; Asch actually retold it as <i>Bread and Honey </i>in 1981 and it looks that version is being reissued in March 2015! <i>B and H </i>changes the monkey to a bear (I think it's <i>the </i>bear from <i>Happy Birthday Moon</i>) and adds a little more back-story to the beginning and end. The original also uses more interesting vocabulary. When Giraffe sees the now long-necked picture she says "Perfect" in <i>B & H</i>; in <i>Monkey Face </i>her line is: "How elevating!" (Which I enjoy, though the kids probably don't get). So I still think the original is stronger for storytelling. Plus none of my puppet Bears can hold a pen as well as my Monkey.stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-89480000010867490672014-08-31T10:06:00.000-07:002014-08-31T10:06:48.191-07:00Funny Food + Scott Joplin<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNyu3yirVLagSy_hVXa5Mfevk1QlzwITMIvIa80LWVTQKPCNB7AhZ0PiNCz090OgNhKiDPrYIHi6_9tstIf_C-ph_j99vLDyDzmKX72AjVC29Yc2c3rW4saVQt5eA7plCyAB-Wv9SXXvJz/s1600/Food+Play+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNyu3yirVLagSy_hVXa5Mfevk1QlzwITMIvIa80LWVTQKPCNB7AhZ0PiNCz090OgNhKiDPrYIHi6_9tstIf_C-ph_j99vLDyDzmKX72AjVC29Yc2c3rW4saVQt5eA7plCyAB-Wv9SXXvJz/s1600/Food+Play+-+cover.jpg" height="320" width="278" /></a><b>Book: <i>Food Play </i>by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers</b><br />
Puppets: none<br />
Props: Selected images from the books, scanned, printed, and laminated<br />
Presenters: one<br />
Audience: Toddler Time (1's and 2's)<br />
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Saxton Freymann & Joost Elfers have done a bunch of books with photographs of fruits and vegetables put together to look like people, animals, and other stuff. They're really amazingly creative and kids love to look at them. We've used them more than once for our <a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2012/01/k-2-book-adventure-program-summary-food.html">"Food in Fact and Fiction" K-2 Book Adventures</a> program, putting scanned photos into a slide show that we ran with musical accompaniment. <br />
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Later, we used an adapted version of that in Family Storytime. I decided to give it a try in Toddler Time, but there's just one thing: we never, ever do anything in Toddler Time that puts the pages of a book on the screen. Although I've really enjoyed our creative uses of the screen with stories for older kids, we're not going there with 1's and 2's. Also, our Toddler Time crowd is small enough (20-25 kids, but they're little) to see pictures pretty well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHcBRSbfGkHnatxPeo4lU91nQ9QneNSqvMipvyfCgKHWUUXypKECJ0_hE-tboV_MQQymCigZe8PxEqS5ueVwlG9wI32h4NjvRbOHyzfuWdZPPDCqJSm5oHriXWKEzfph300q9h3gOfOljh/s1600/Food+Play+-+artichoke+bird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHcBRSbfGkHnatxPeo4lU91nQ9QneNSqvMipvyfCgKHWUUXypKECJ0_hE-tboV_MQQymCigZe8PxEqS5ueVwlG9wI32h4NjvRbOHyzfuWdZPPDCqJSm5oHriXWKEzfph300q9h3gOfOljh/s1600/Food+Play+-+artichoke+bird.jpg" height="320" width="224" /></a></div>
So my first thought was to play the music and use the book, just doing page turns. That didn't work too well, though, because most of the pages have at least two separate images. Which is great for a book, but in a group presentation you want to be able to focus on one photo at a time. So I decided to enlarge and print out individual pictures, cropping where needed, and show one piece of funny food at a time. For our earlier presentation, we selected images from a variety of books, but this time I stuck to just one book, <i>Food Play</i>, which actually consists of pictures from several of the other titles, kind of like a "Greatest Hits" collection.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_hBWm2gpykuM2HFnchYiAcbQvBs-nGxzAwFpqjEYzZzmlBeK8QG229DLUy4w4SNQJHhMUNRYkGaMazGFzBLUAtORh0seTsPvdy7POganMBpyiwryoSRpiXl7IgDmvkkqX-YmLg5jM3h_/s1600/Food+Play+-+onions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_hBWm2gpykuM2HFnchYiAcbQvBs-nGxzAwFpqjEYzZzmlBeK8QG229DLUy4w4SNQJHhMUNRYkGaMazGFzBLUAtORh0seTsPvdy7POganMBpyiwryoSRpiXl7IgDmvkkqX-YmLg5jM3h_/s1600/Food+Play+-+onions.jpg" height="320" width="227" /></a>In our slide show, we utilized three pieces of music, but for Toddlers I stuck with one: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5Pmqgaj-Gk">Marvin Hamlisch's recording of Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer"</a> (aka the Theme from <i>The Sting</i>). It's an instrumental that has just the right bit of playfulness. It also has a strong pattern, so you get very strong end-of-line cues on where to do your page turns. Or in this case, page switches. The music adds a lot to the experience, and I'm sure there are other tunes that would also work. I actually did go to the trouble of "transcribing" the music, so I could organize the images neatly. I don't know anything about music, so my transcription was just a line by line list of sounds, using a "d" for some reason:<br />
d d d D d D d D / d d D d d D d d D<br />
It made sense to me anyway, and did help my planning some, so if anyone wants to try the story and would like the line by line, let me know and I can send it. I'd also be glad to list the photos I used, but it's also fun to just pick out your favorites.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7kC90HfqIeZb7ctNMSpn6qdpQ7CW-Eabrj_shkDVJuGYQ4eX94GJrpOJOBkfoIXPriK5CVm3ICfwBfe8jk2ifCmlAWbiQBI0f4O7_OT9JKFfffQMKNebKVjC_DTyWcEYozCxNlLCYUBX/s1600/Food+Play+-+pear+helicopter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7kC90HfqIeZb7ctNMSpn6qdpQ7CW-Eabrj_shkDVJuGYQ4eX94GJrpOJOBkfoIXPriK5CVm3ICfwBfe8jk2ifCmlAWbiQBI0f4O7_OT9JKFfffQMKNebKVjC_DTyWcEYozCxNlLCYUBX/s1600/Food+Play+-+pear+helicopter.jpg" height="237" width="320" /></a>The song divides neatly into 6 sections, and I picked 4 illustrations for each section, grouping them into similar themes for each section: Faces, Animals, People, Vehicles, More Animals, and Faces again to end. With the slide show, we used more illustrations, switching them faster, because clicking for a new slide is seamless. Also, the toddlers really need more time to absorb what they're seeing. So doing 4 per section means that I held each one up for about 4 or 5 seconds.<br />
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I thought about putting the images on sticks to make them easier to handle, but just using two hands worked fine. And even though "holding up a picture" sounds simple, Terri pointed out that there should be rhythm and sameness to the appearance of each picture. So I picked up the picture from the stool on my right, slowly panned it from left to right, then slowly went back right to left, and picked up the next one. That regularity meant the kids could focus on the images without having to work to track where the picture will be. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KhMohiKwOZGJpFjn9LTTP5N0DhsNBJawyzlwk3NzwPEEz-AsWH3bD5UybpYBQIJCZKqSByuQeSIZlg4w5npf7jb0CD6UlSgXzJgeBDgn14eyL5YMSfilJtP_dGPE6bkAMkaHpt97el1l/s1600/Food+Play+-+cherry+ants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KhMohiKwOZGJpFjn9LTTP5N0DhsNBJawyzlwk3NzwPEEz-AsWH3bD5UybpYBQIJCZKqSByuQeSIZlg4w5npf7jb0CD6UlSgXzJgeBDgn14eyL5YMSfilJtP_dGPE6bkAMkaHpt97el1l/s1600/Food+Play+-+cherry+ants.jpg" height="266" width="320" /></a>This is one where all the work is in the prep. Choosing the illustrations, scanning, printing, and laminating, and practicing to the music. You really want the transitions from one picture to the next to match the rhythm of the music....it could work without that, but it's better with. And then once it's time to tell it, you just put on the music and flip from one picture to the next. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nFLnoG6KRwGdWD9zBEu0mV4gcvpulDBhRYXW45n_kZEm4yfq8OGKBvBx1Zr3g8Eyt5uRz0R7umIfTTW467Qem7L7RQiwPgfsbhOSh5fdrZk90BYbQb96_HfPSVYgcR7gPDcMOgPA_LCN/s1600/Food+Play+-+orange+lemon+kiss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nFLnoG6KRwGdWD9zBEu0mV4gcvpulDBhRYXW45n_kZEm4yfq8OGKBvBx1Zr3g8Eyt5uRz0R7umIfTTW467Qem7L7RQiwPgfsbhOSh5fdrZk90BYbQb96_HfPSVYgcR7gPDcMOgPA_LCN/s1600/Food+Play+-+orange+lemon+kiss.jpg" height="192" width="320" /></a><br />
The toddlers really enjoyed it, but I'm sure it was on a different level than the preschool or K-2 groups did. The older kids see bananas that look like giraffes and are amazed at the cleverness; toddlers just see giraffes that look kind of silly...and that's okay. Identifying the fruits is more of a lap activity, and since so many of the Freymann/Jelffers books I had available checked out, I'm sure some of that happens later at home. <br />
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A couple weeks later I did this same version for a Family Storytime at the Hillsboro Library, where I'm a sub and do a Sunday Storytime a couple times per month. We don't have the screen and projector set-up there, so using the pictures and my ipod worked just fine. The things I was sure to do for Toddlers (fewer pictures, move them slowly and regularly) were equally useful for a mostly 4 and up group, so I really didn't need to change a thing for the older crowd.<br />
<br />stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-49762246794800010322014-08-17T17:22:00.002-07:002014-08-17T17:22:27.085-07:00Tap the Magic Tree on the Screen<div>
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<b>Book: <i>Tap the Magic Tree </i>by Christie Matheson</b><br />
Puppets: None<br />
Props: None<br />
Technology: Scanned Images and Projector<br />
Presenters: One or two<br />
Audience: Family Storytime (mostly 3-7 year olds)<br />
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Making books interactive by directly involving readers in the action can be pretty cool: <i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2014/03/there-are-cats-in-this-puppet-show.html">There Are Cats in This Book</a> </i>and <i>Press Here </i>are two of the best examples from recent years. <i>Tap the Magic Tree </i>takes that interactivity used so effectively in <i>Press Here </i>and fits it into a pleasing book about a year in the life of a tree. For Family Storytime, we scanned the images, adjusted the placement of the words a bit, and used the PowerPoint click to work as a "page turn."<br />
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The book opens with a bare-limbed tree.<br />
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Readers are told to do different things (like "tap it once"), and when the page turns, we see the effect. Since we don't want 80 kids rushing up and touching the projection screen, we ask them to tap in the air. When they do, we click on the PowerPoint remote to bring up the next image, which shows that a green leaf has been added:<br />
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In putting the PowerPoint together, we scanned the images and lined them up so that the tree was placed in the same spot for each image. That way, it would look like the same tree, just with the added item (like the leaf above). For the first scan (above), we covered up the text. Then another click makes the text appear: <br />
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In the book, the words are sometimes on a facing blank page, so we re-typed all of the words to make them appear alongside the image of the tree. By doing the text as a second step, instead of simultaneous to the illustration, we could guide the audience's attention properly. First they see the visual change on the screen. Then the text appears with the instructions that will lead to the next change. <br />
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As the year progresses, the tree changes, and so do the things we ask the kids to do to make it change:<br />
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When the tree is full of autumn leaves (above), we all "blow!" and the leaves fall off as we click:</div>
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Then we get the whole audience clapping to bring....:<br />
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The only other adjustment we made from the book was to put a colored frame around each image. Borderless works just fine in the book, but we needed frames to make the pictures distinct against our big white screen. I thought it would be cool to match the color of the frames to a dominant color from the illustration on that page, but I think next time we'll use just one color for the frame so that the change in the illustrations is the <i>only </i>change the audience sees. <br />
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It's a nice simple book to scan and tell, but with a very effective impact. Our scanned PowerPoint presentation is really not different at all from the way we would read it to a smaller group. I used the book version with my Toddler Time group and it was equally effective, but the scanning allows us to share it with much larger groups. <br />
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stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-67350364376521423212014-08-10T17:30:00.000-07:002014-08-10T17:30:38.860-07:00Online Course on Storytelling with Puppets<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDW-YCwumoIJjx9rWhVcNzmTFsAstKXBUMaRuwy6aOb4KRYuxecyyOdh_VuX1mbCaEoEIeRevi0wGVUMC-ZJUqByUFsLtvlkY_fehcLf1ipOSqkiPuj-ueUMeTF5ydIuDMD_H9CybVnZkG/s1600/ALSC+Online+Ed+Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDW-YCwumoIJjx9rWhVcNzmTFsAstKXBUMaRuwy6aOb4KRYuxecyyOdh_VuX1mbCaEoEIeRevi0wGVUMC-ZJUqByUFsLtvlkY_fehcLf1ipOSqkiPuj-ueUMeTF5ydIuDMD_H9CybVnZkG/s1600/ALSC+Online+Ed+Logo.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>If you're interested in learning more about the puppetry side of this blog, this fall I'm teaching an online course called "Storytelling with Puppets" through the ALSC Online Education Program. <br />
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Details about the course are <a href="http://www.ala.org/alsc/storytelling-puppets">here</a>. <br />
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The four-week course starts on the week of September 8th, but you can register now. You register by going to the <a href="http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=oloc&Template=/Conference/ConferenceList.cfm&ConferenceTypeCode=L">ALA Online Course Registration Page</a>.<br />
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It's a "Moodle" course which is run asychroniously, which means you don't have to login to class on certain dates and times, just go through the assignments and participate in forums when it works for you.<br />
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This is the first time I'm teaching the class, but I think it will be fun. The three main elements will be watching videos of storytelling with puppets, trying out some stories on your own, and sharing what you think and learn online. The "trying out some stories on your own" part is very flexible. You do have to tell in front of an audience, but that audience can be a co-worker, spouse, your own kids....anyone as long as they can give you a bit of feedback. I'm hoping it will be useful to beginners and people who have already spent way too many hours with puppets on their hands.<br />
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If you have any questions or want to know more about the course, contact me at sengelfried@yahoo.com or add a comment below. <br />
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<br />stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-35836002314115238122014-08-09T18:52:00.000-07:002014-08-09T18:52:05.213-07:00Three Wishes Acted Out<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO3mChkGoqZIcnJLkylMuZ0hz8PtU-CT3znuSsHeyvuNf5_rNM4cq1vvTaPR2UI9LKFEAuo_FZ3JF4rLzACNfslVY0nwdIufS7auVFXD_qXfrdXLXl7Fmnji9PKzaIyd2H76iBbuojh4Pf/s1600/Three+Wishes+-+cover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO3mChkGoqZIcnJLkylMuZ0hz8PtU-CT3znuSsHeyvuNf5_rNM4cq1vvTaPR2UI9LKFEAuo_FZ3JF4rLzACNfslVY0nwdIufS7auVFXD_qXfrdXLXl7Fmnji9PKzaIyd2H76iBbuojh4Pf/s1600/Three+Wishes+-+cover.JPG" height="320" width="246" /></a><b>Story: <i>The Three Wishes </i>by Margot Zemach </b>(also other versions)<br />
Puppets: Wizard/Elf<br />
Props: Axe, Tree, Sausage<br />
Presenters: Two<br />
Techonology: Sound effects - music, magic, spring, burp (optional)<br />
Audience: Family Storytime (mostly ages 3-6)<br />
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I did <i>The Three Wishes </i>once as a puppet show long ago, when I was just starting. As I remember, I had technical difficulties with the sausage-on-the-nose-of-puppet, so I never tried it again. I think by now I could work out those problems, but for a recent Preschool Stories and Science session, we did it as a two-person Act Out, and that was much easier. Sheila and Terri developed the story, but when Sheila missed a day unexpectedly, I got to step in.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0v2WrGmzVCDL5K7CS_6hCSBwom99tvNVLBib5OAHLTOzcULBKtdhj3byl5SVrb54btWk-51IeGt2fTb_8PZF_YUPc3SSGtfA1HXFHhJzf6A2VHQPn5c3EekcqQNYq2hYH-xJp1BOtG0z/s1600/Three+Wishes+-+axe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0v2WrGmzVCDL5K7CS_6hCSBwom99tvNVLBib5OAHLTOzcULBKtdhj3byl5SVrb54btWk-51IeGt2fTb_8PZF_YUPc3SSGtfA1HXFHhJzf6A2VHQPn5c3EekcqQNYq2hYH-xJp1BOtG0z/s1600/Three+Wishes+-+axe.JPG" height="200" width="148" /></a>Like many folktales, sticking to the bare bones of the story works best with a mostly-preschool audience...and the bare bones are the best parts anyway. Sheila found a nice <a href="http://soundbible.com/528-Accordion.html">accordion music</a> clip to use in the beginning. It has a nice folktalish feel. As the Woodcutter, I grabbed my ax and narrated myself into the woods to chop down a tree. Terri was behind our big tree (which we use for so many stories....if you want to make one big cutout prop to help with a lot of different acted out stories, definitely consider a tree). As the Elf, she spoke from behind the tree a couple times just as I was about to chop. Then the puppet popped up and explained that if the Woodcutter spared his home, he would grant three wishes. Sheila added a nice <a href="http://soundbible.com/2030-Daydreaming.html">magical entrance sound effect</a> to play when the Elf entered and exited. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIpJuW7wzaDLF9HHvInZBAfkuME-gLG1oI0QuOEvCEIkOewDBnZMs94yJvQN3bqGv-FokV8B50ng4sDZQRVOJH2-8i230iD-SzWoEYB-Gltw7lkBinz6HUIbKfSa18PxyutITgHwTp81bN/s1600/Three+Wishes+-+tree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIpJuW7wzaDLF9HHvInZBAfkuME-gLG1oI0QuOEvCEIkOewDBnZMs94yJvQN3bqGv-FokV8B50ng4sDZQRVOJH2-8i230iD-SzWoEYB-Gltw7lkBinz6HUIbKfSa18PxyutITgHwTp81bN/s1600/Three+Wishes+-+tree.JPG" height="236" width="320" /></a><br />
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As I walked away from the tree and back home, Terri walked inconspicuously from behind the tree to behind the home, kind of pretending to be sneaking when it was obvious that everyone could see her. When you don't have trap doors and underground passages (maybe next year's budget?) for seamless transitions, it's fun to let the audience in on it and have them laugh along with you. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiulWJfdnRjkhoy6bHYRJoqblodWWbh1_spETq5FfNv8IVHtcgBUCi0H7RCzdJBmt26rN4SabIv3dokBT3fmRAkpnvob7mTDv-5H0I15Hn4ibzKii2Bx6Blz3RZ7k0tX7fmzNntIBziHgY6/s1600/Three+Wishes+-+sausage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiulWJfdnRjkhoy6bHYRJoqblodWWbh1_spETq5FfNv8IVHtcgBUCi0H7RCzdJBmt26rN4SabIv3dokBT3fmRAkpnvob7mTDv-5H0I15Hn4ibzKii2Bx6Blz3RZ7k0tX7fmzNntIBziHgY6/s1600/Three+Wishes+-+sausage.JPG" height="400" width="296" /></a>Once home, the Woodcutter is hungry, so I wished for a sausage. From behind the screen, Terri tossed the sausage over the top. It's just a construction paper creation, attached to a fishing line so she could control the landing onto the table. Sheila had added a <a href="http://soundbible.com/266-Boing-Cartoonish.html">spring-y sound effect</a> for the sausage's appearance. Then Terri came out as the Wife, and we went through the back and forth argument about wasted wishes. When she wishes it was stuck to my nose, we click on the sound effect again and up comes the sausage. To attach the sausage to my nose, I just held it there: technical difficulties solved. Our argument continues as the Wife tries to pull the sausage off of the Woodcutter's nose, with some funny tug-of-war/back-and-forth movements, then she picks up that ax and nearly chops it off. <br />
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In the end, of course, they use the third wish to remove the sausage, and at least have a nice meal to show for it all. We pretend to eat the sausage, the accordion music comes back, and we finish with a final sound effect of a <a href="http://soundbible.com/1579-Belch.html">loud burp</a>. That one is optional, but it did get some laughs. <br />
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<br />stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-70488862699739271122014-08-02T23:27:00.000-07:002014-08-02T23:27:12.539-07:00More For Bear, But a Few Less Rhymes<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizV3FnVBf-pSdVHN7McShjcKSKWj4QDonVcRDWrf6IB1w3mbdCFWno43b8M0JYOdH_n5cqluFWYdYZR6PuvCa-uSheCwbqYwA3N3kl1SK013OFfyv2sw7IR9g_MGSIoRGSC_L31z9uUAFK/s1600/Bear+Wants+More+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizV3FnVBf-pSdVHN7McShjcKSKWj4QDonVcRDWrf6IB1w3mbdCFWno43b8M0JYOdH_n5cqluFWYdYZR6PuvCa-uSheCwbqYwA3N3kl1SK013OFfyv2sw7IR9g_MGSIoRGSC_L31z9uUAFK/s1600/Bear+Wants+More+-+cover.jpg" height="240" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><b>Book: <i>Bear Wants More </i>by Karma Wilson</b></div>
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Puppets: Bear, Mouse, Rabbit, Raccoon, Chipmunk (forest animal substitutions ok, except for Bear)</div>
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Props: Grass, Berries, Carrots, Fish, Net (or Fishing Pole), Basket of More Food</div>
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Presenters: One</div>
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Audience: Toddler Time (1 and 2 year olds)</div>
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When I decided to try adapting <i>Bear Wants More </i>into a puppet story for Toddler Time, I knew I’d
have to make some pretty big changes. As
a picture book it works great, and Karma Wilson does a better than average job
of writing rhymes that really flow easily when you read them. My problem was, I wasn’t going to read them,
I was going to memorize them, and my memory’s not all that good. So I cut some lines out, simplified some
others, and tried not to mangle the author’s flow too much. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_sVvraxkjBKZLGhzZ1Huq2v174kyofEkteUh0ALBYJiWO87bmXD75ZbnOweqdoE2V3U1bKLJDqVV8PZrmA7sLS6FgUjMCtfEmeZBAbEkHzhRhlJ5k_MXoEqBtEZrgwjWLbeh4hSAGt2Mj/s1600/Bear+Wants+More+-+mouse+sharing+with+bear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_sVvraxkjBKZLGhzZ1Huq2v174kyofEkteUh0ALBYJiWO87bmXD75ZbnOweqdoE2V3U1bKLJDqVV8PZrmA7sLS6FgUjMCtfEmeZBAbEkHzhRhlJ5k_MXoEqBtEZrgwjWLbeh4hSAGt2Mj/s1600/Bear+Wants+More+-+mouse+sharing+with+bear.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
Here’s a section from the book: “Mouse scampers by with his acorn pail. /
“Come along,” Mouse squeaks, “to Strawberry Vale!” / So up Mouse hops onto
Bear’s big back. / They tromp through the woods for a fresh fruit snack.” With pictures from the book and a leisurely storytelling
pace, the rich language (“scampers… tromp…”), alliteration (“fresh
fruit….Bear’s big back…”) and specificity (Strawberry Vale) all work
great. <br />
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With puppets and toddlers,
though, I strip it down to the bare bones:
“Mouse scampers by and he’s feeling quite merry / ‘Come along, Bear,
let’s find some berries!” No Zolotow
Award for that, but it supports the interaction of the puppets, shortens it enough for me to remember, and retains a passable rhyme. Then we skip straight to: "The berries are sweet / And they eat, eat, eat!" With puppets and a young group,
it works better when the words are direct and simple, even if it means losing
some of the poetry and flair. I made similar
adjustments to other sections, keeping to the original whenever I could.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO5YcmkmFWapI-1sYCoE_hUfR2rUNu03J6VJwrPTTqXv1BIEPT_nnsWZTzRBn27pU5xP775GK9zdJ_BpxAtpXBSeF2tewqSxCMgh81LTCa3WzNQz2peqsHX2Pessle5I6hQpuZPsq91r75/s1600/Bear+Wants+More+-+bear+in+bag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO5YcmkmFWapI-1sYCoE_hUfR2rUNu03J6VJwrPTTqXv1BIEPT_nnsWZTzRBn27pU5xP775GK9zdJ_BpxAtpXBSeF2tewqSxCMgh81LTCa3WzNQz2peqsHX2Pessle5I6hQpuZPsq91r75/s1600/Bear+Wants+More+-+bear+in+bag.jpg" height="320" width="310" /></a>The puppetry part also required a bit of adjusting. The story starts and ends with Bear's den, and I couldn't work that out until I
decided to use my puppet bag for the den.
So I pop Bear out of the den in the beginning (“A bear wakes up very
hungry and thin!”). He nibbles on grass
“till the last blade is gone…” Then I
hesitate so the audience will start to join in on the repeated refrain: “But the bear wants more!” </div>
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Then Bear meets three friends (I use Mouse, Rabbit, and substitute Raccoon for
Badger). Each one invites Bear to join
them for food (Berries, Carrots (instead of clover), and Fish), and each time
“Bear wants more!” (with the audience joining in). I was a little rushed that morning and forgot to bring my little fish. I used my goldfish and you'd think that would be okay, but it's just a little too cute, and the other one just looks more...edible. You can see from the photo that you'd much rather have Bear nibbling on the little guy than the pretty (and large) goldfish. The little one looks more like food than a character, at least to toddlers. They still have plenty of time to learn that meat comes from animals and then promptly become vegetarians (at least that's how it worked with my own kids) </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht879W943fwuDFPp6Ztb9Hm78RKFUQH-MCAhFK7d3gabl4dnc5Tq705FPlNZrYEo15gEDV78Jx6UAxdK9SU_azxgfCfnL11ur7X3ecUTD8z7SkwbuZKPMjpRTIOLsyXjv9eCV_cUJd7Xr_/s1600/Bear+Wants+More+-+fishes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht879W943fwuDFPp6Ztb9Hm78RKFUQH-MCAhFK7d3gabl4dnc5Tq705FPlNZrYEo15gEDV78Jx6UAxdK9SU_azxgfCfnL11ur7X3ecUTD8z7SkwbuZKPMjpRTIOLsyXjv9eCV_cUJd7Xr_/s1600/Bear+Wants+More+-+fishes.jpg" height="103" width="200" /></a><br />
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In the book, several of Bear’s friends prepare a surprise
party for Bear while he’s gone. I
trimmed that to just one (Chipmunk) and simplified the party description: “She gathers a lot of Bear’s best things to
eat / So when he gets back he’ll be in for a treat.” Then Chipmunk puts the food the bag, and I close the zipper
a bit. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvqcb6H-ZmWNlNTMeofr5Le58LCE9FwGdEA2MOKyH9K5V2BVNDJiRNdUbCPKrBFNOF22yr0iaweBKvGsJSOE_2QP6tiOz9R4Ipj2HeYfHN-7NA0QgaNFolpmc_EPNZpMMNfXiQIICg1IB/s1600/Bear+Wants+More+-+chipmunk+with+bag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvqcb6H-ZmWNlNTMeofr5Le58LCE9FwGdEA2MOKyH9K5V2BVNDJiRNdUbCPKrBFNOF22yr0iaweBKvGsJSOE_2QP6tiOz9R4Ipj2HeYfHN-7NA0QgaNFolpmc_EPNZpMMNfXiQIICg1IB/s1600/Bear+Wants+More+-+chipmunk+with+bag.jpg" height="270" width="320" /></a><br />
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When Bear returns, the words describe that he’s grown
bigger: “Bear is so big…that he can’t fit in!” And with the zipper more closed, the kids can see that he really can’t
fit, and finally gets stuck. The visual image isn't all that convincing, but the story is so clean and direct that they all got the idea. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBnq5yabvlfohNgwb2VfOaxUiTaek3HWKKY2N0I9tEUSozFfvPNvrgXEiE8j66mF3a8JXc5kgRBVsJ980vFgtIC7PHl_k38aPdpefAUvotsEKLSiahppqXx3iXq2sXuLMn76xZZQyMuAz/s1600/Bear+Wants+More+-+mouse+pulling+bear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBnq5yabvlfohNgwb2VfOaxUiTaek3HWKKY2N0I9tEUSozFfvPNvrgXEiE8j66mF3a8JXc5kgRBVsJ980vFgtIC7PHl_k38aPdpefAUvotsEKLSiahppqXx3iXq2sXuLMn76xZZQyMuAz/s1600/Bear+Wants+More+-+mouse+pulling+bear.jpg" height="310" width="320" /></a></div>
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In the book, Badger pries Bear out with a stick, but
since I can’t show the inside of the den/bag, I have Mouse pull him out, which
is a nice visual puppetry piece. When he pops out Mouse flings him into a flip in the air then he lands on the bag. The
ending matches the book: Bear eats all
of the party food (which I drop into the bag when he's done) so his friends just sniff at the
empty basket while snoring Bear is “full, full, full…but…his friends want
more!” <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><br />
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For that final bit I just grab whichever two puppets are nearest and have them shake their heads atop the sleeping bear. </div>
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stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-86603720465317776362014-07-20T20:10:00.003-07:002014-07-20T20:32:42.591-07:00King Bidgood with Kids, Bubbles, and Sound Effects<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3pWX_9AB_ZR3Tuz0q6Qu1f00nB8QxebdAGs1Tad-GP0T2n_Iu_tgB4hrIhopO0R5BL_jpn_rl98WPE1PRmT8U0oCLir9idgfnNqfDeMT8YODNy9DOa5hYvePCsRzm-gvDPYtSkqZZTjAA/s1600/King+Bidgood+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3pWX_9AB_ZR3Tuz0q6Qu1f00nB8QxebdAGs1Tad-GP0T2n_Iu_tgB4hrIhopO0R5BL_jpn_rl98WPE1PRmT8U0oCLir9idgfnNqfDeMT8YODNy9DOa5hYvePCsRzm-gvDPYtSkqZZTjAA/s1600/King+Bidgood+-+cover.jpg" height="320" width="268" /></a><b>Book: <i>King Bidgood's in the Bathtub </i> by Audrey Wood; Illustrated by Don Wood</b></div>
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Puppets: None</div>
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Props: Hats and Stuff for King, Queen, Princess, Jester, and Page; Bath toys; Something kind of like a Bath; </div>
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Technology: Sound effects: Fanfare, Tub Filling, Tub Draining, "The Hustle" (or similarly infectious dance hit from the disco era). </div>
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Presenters: Two, plus four child volunteers</div>
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Audience: Preschool Storytime (mostly ages 3-6)</div>
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I post infrequently during summer because I don't typically do many new stories, but I got a chance to try one recently. Our summer Storytime is actually "Preschool Stories & Science," where we do just one story, plus a science demonstration and hands-on craft and science tables. This is usually done by Sheila and Terri, but Shannon and I filled in for them this week. We don't choose stories based on their science content, but it's nice when they have something in common with the activities. This week the kids did bubbles and <a href="http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/magic-sand.html">magic sand</a>, so: a bathtub story!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFiQBf4bY1dxPCfqqMPUi28uFS1SqTPdWhHX1l-h-1JbLxNjLsC8L0fdNggUfQlK4MZ-vIPPMSxr_aytK84ckbsHKANJ6Kw64HSZglBD7MDaUHkJokaMw4xsaruUS03_KudsD2jZUPHzyg/s1600/King+Bidgood+-+tub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFiQBf4bY1dxPCfqqMPUi28uFS1SqTPdWhHX1l-h-1JbLxNjLsC8L0fdNggUfQlK4MZ-vIPPMSxr_aytK84ckbsHKANJ6Kw64HSZglBD7MDaUHkJokaMw4xsaruUS03_KudsD2jZUPHzyg/s1600/King+Bidgood+-+tub.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a>King Bidgood has always been a favorite of mine, but the pictures aren't meant to carry to a storytime audience. So we decided to act it out with some child volunteers and a few sound effects from <a href="http://freesound.com/">FreeSound.com</a>. For a tub, we just found some strips of styrofoam we had around for some reason, clipped them together, and put a sign on it. It was the right height for kids to look over and easy to move in and out of, since it was three-sided with an open back. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZV0OR0K8kg2hTtnERTL8NqPDz0Td_ReOKLyeexio0fuoWpOCsoxJfUOaRXENh6VypeX_2DszLC0AJUzmD_5syNlBXMfMSUo2SyqOl6dq1PjP4FW8-8o1nxHT1xdQebDouhVuLWA7hxYM/s1600/King+Bidgood+-hats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZV0OR0K8kg2hTtnERTL8NqPDz0Td_ReOKLyeexio0fuoWpOCsoxJfUOaRXENh6VypeX_2DszLC0AJUzmD_5syNlBXMfMSUo2SyqOl6dq1PjP4FW8-8o1nxHT1xdQebDouhVuLWA7hxYM/s1600/King+Bidgood+-hats.jpg" height="297" width="320" /></a><br />
We did change the characters around a bit to match our props and preferences. Shannon was in the tub, so it became "Queen" Bidgood. We kept the Knight from the book, but the Queen who lunches became a King (two Queens wouldn't make sense), the Duke who fishes became a Jester (we have a Jester hat; we don't know what a Duke hat looks like), and the Duchess became a Princess (see Duke-to-Jester explanation). As the Page, I called up the four child volunteers and gave them each a hat and a thing to carry while Shannon as Queen B was behind the backdrop gathering her bath stuff. <br />
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We had our sound effects loaded onto a PowerPoint file, so a click played a short "<a href="https://www.freesound.org/people/bone666138/sounds/198874/">Fanfare</a>" to announce the Queen's entrance. Shannon showed the kids her bath toys, sang a bit of "Rubber Duckie," and got into the bath. Another click played a "<a href="https://www.freesound.org/people/swiftoid/sounds/184303/">Tub Filling With Water</a>" sound effect, while Shannon flipped on a bubble machine. This looked and sounded good enough that several kids stood up to peek into the tub to see the water. Nothing like an audience with a rich imagination.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKWO5O91FGd7H7l0eOoc1-PqJf9X7RfFOlVGYrmcjyRGbm7qAFeogfPmkfCQDMgCBTX5AaeuCzwFOzZr3g3Lsn4DNgIxuDYo8qhTfahXS3fxqGMr1JC8lxnLV0JOFaMumOLa7AUYJbuUH/s1600/King+Bidgood+-+stuff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKWO5O91FGd7H7l0eOoc1-PqJf9X7RfFOlVGYrmcjyRGbm7qAFeogfPmkfCQDMgCBTX5AaeuCzwFOzZr3g3Lsn4DNgIxuDYo8qhTfahXS3fxqGMr1JC8lxnLV0JOFaMumOLa7AUYJbuUH/s1600/King+Bidgood+-+stuff.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then we got into the story. We adjusted the words a bit to make it all dialogue. So "Help, help, said the Page when the sun came up" becomes "Help, help, it's morning and the sun's come up..." I asked the audience to join in with the "Queen Bidgood's in the bathtub and she won't get out!" refrain. Then when I say "Who knows what to do?" we click the Fanfare music again and the Knight/child gets to say his only line: "I do!" Then I fill in the rest, adapting from the book again: "...said the Knight when the sun came up" becomes "It's the Knight! And the sun's come up." And the I say the next line too, to the Queen: "Get out! It's time to battle." That line is said by the Knight in the book, but having the storyteller as Page do more lines and guide the action works well. The kids just have to hit their "I do!" line (and about 3 out of 4 usually do) and look cute. The rhythm of the text is really important to the story, so we tried to hold true to that.</div>
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The knight goes into the tub, setting up Shannon's line as Queen Bidgood: "Come in, come in, with a boom, boom, boom. (rather than "'Come in,' said the King...") Today, we battle: in the Tub!" Then Shannon pulls out two fish shaped squirt guns and she and the Knight squirt each other, and the audience.</div>
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After that, the pattern repeats. We used the same Fanfare sound effect to announce each new person, and that worked well to solidify the pattern. King comes in with a loaf of bread and Queen Bidgood shows corn and grapes (or whatever food props we had in there). Jester brings a net and Queen Bidgood has one two, plus fish puppets she's caught in them. When we planned this I pictured all the kids in the increasingly crowded tub joining in each activity, but that was just a little too much for them to manage, and it was fine to just have the new tub arrival do the actions. With the Princess, it's "Dance in the tub!" and our sound effect is a clip from "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj23_nDFSfE&feature=kp">The Hustle</a>" by Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony (summer of '75....seems like only yesterday). <br />
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For the ending, in which the Page pulls the plug, we added one more sound effect: <a href="https://www.freesound.org/people/swiftoid/sounds/184304/">Tub Draining</a>, and Shannon led all of the kids out of the tub. Although it's a perfect ending on the page, we seemed to need something a little more definitive to close it out. So we tried: And that's the story of <i>Queen Bidgood's in the Bathtub</i>....she finally got out!" <br />
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We didn't quite get the whole story, but here's a rough excerpt video of <i>Queen B: </i></div>
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stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-24068019025637993692014-06-01T10:57:00.000-07:002014-06-01T10:59:40.599-07:00Storm is Coming with Puppets and Weather<div>
<b>Book: <i>Storm is Coming </i>by Heather Tekavec, Illustrated by Margaret Spengler</b><br />
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Puppets: Dog, Cat, Cow, Duck; + Puppet Stage</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5IB5hmOwr7h_ID8EWD_xNyjUXRvFVs5G3qWTJIvnswDPOr9fbyJhoBYhgVhg_j828Saqk18voLeYOSDPzXRId44XWlerwSDGWhRwMrTh524LpHUYHNUFADQ09n87ke80jHlUQUAkvdt6_/s1600/Storm+is+Coming+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5IB5hmOwr7h_ID8EWD_xNyjUXRvFVs5G3qWTJIvnswDPOr9fbyJhoBYhgVhg_j828Saqk18voLeYOSDPzXRId44XWlerwSDGWhRwMrTh524LpHUYHNUFADQ09n87ke80jHlUQUAkvdt6_/s1600/Storm+is+Coming+-+cover.jpg" /></a>Props: Farmer's Hat; Thunder Stick (or something else thunder-y); Microphone (if available); Squirt Bottle</div>
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Presenters: 2 plus one Parent to manage lights</div>
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Audience: Family Storytime (mostly ages 3-7)</div>
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In <i>Storm is Coming</i>, a farmer warns the animals that a storm is on the way. They think "Storm" is an actual person, and worry that he will be mean and scary. When lightning, thunder, and other storm elements come, though, they think those will all help them avoid meeting Storm. I have to admit, this is not a book that I would have read and said: Puppet Show!" even though I'm always on the lookout, but Brad and Terri developed this a while ago and worked it out nicely. The pattern of misunderstood weather elements, a cast of farm animals, and a few simple sound and light effects make it work.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRicNcA62mRJO9LWyW3PUOSCEXK5jSI9o4RriCmpABQCrSCQAMN83_XZqeadG4ROkz186r49AaL0AsB5vwYVtgLWKsczT35DRI4mZS6Y6yVylgm_ZyYWzmZKU9BVWDdJo-zqGI0cQANzJC/s1600/Storm+is+Coming+-+duck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRicNcA62mRJO9LWyW3PUOSCEXK5jSI9o4RriCmpABQCrSCQAMN83_XZqeadG4ROkz186r49AaL0AsB5vwYVtgLWKsczT35DRI4mZS6Y6yVylgm_ZyYWzmZKU9BVWDdJo-zqGI0cQANzJC/s1600/Storm+is+Coming+-+duck.jpg" height="200" width="145" /></a></div>
Brad and I did it for Family Storytime a few weeks ago. Brad handled three puppets: Cat, Dog, and Cow, while I was Farmer and Duck, plus managed the weather effects. Farmer is actually just me in front of the stage to start and end the story. He could also be a puppet, but it seemed to work better to have him outside of the space where main story takes place. To manage the three puppets, Brad would sit Cat on stage off and on, since Cat sleeps through most of the storm. We also used a parent volunteer for each session to manage the lights. We picked her out beforehand and gave her a highlighted script so she would know when to switch them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8HX0jZmvCMeezjnrAUuhPLXSdLErOhR_LiRM3XHSjAKxrVmUIEwh4bcdqKfO3XDY7qZFEHKo-z0Irys9wjRH860JuDhvcTuxNTP5gBtROFy4a8Lazb8aoae7T6aw1Qtcgci78-eVLU-O/s1600/Storm+is+Coming+-+thunder+stick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8HX0jZmvCMeezjnrAUuhPLXSdLErOhR_LiRM3XHSjAKxrVmUIEwh4bcdqKfO3XDY7qZFEHKo-z0Irys9wjRH860JuDhvcTuxNTP5gBtROFy4a8Lazb8aoae7T6aw1Qtcgci78-eVLU-O/s1600/Storm+is+Coming+-+thunder+stick.jpg" height="158" width="200" /></a></div>
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After Farmer warns the animals, Dog sends Duck to look for signs of the storm. Duck goes to the top side of the stage, calls out "No storm! No storm!" and then describes what he <i>does </i>see: "But the sky is getting darker!" The parent then turns off the lights. The kids in the audience know (we hope) that this means the storm <i>is </i> coming and the animals are just confused. But the animals on stage decide that the dark skies will help them hide from Storm. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5CmK4cdL4i2KhvRGctQAQqfubJYHT6XKmH6U9w5xg9l9dJJO__xBlll4HxOTE5cCMdPn2UHkYmdqhp9tvPedzS63eIhlgG2epwg8hn0SRSqpEI6L9Cm1ImgoNUeOy3CodRvf6Oc2VX1c/s1600/Storm+is+Coming+-+squirt+bottle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5CmK4cdL4i2KhvRGctQAQqfubJYHT6XKmH6U9w5xg9l9dJJO__xBlll4HxOTE5cCMdPn2UHkYmdqhp9tvPedzS63eIhlgG2epwg8hn0SRSqpEI6L9Cm1ImgoNUeOy3CodRvf6Oc2VX1c/s1600/Storm+is+Coming+-+squirt+bottle.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
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This pattern continues, and if the kids don't get it the first time through, they soon catch on. Duck hears thunder; I shake a thunder stick; Dog and Cow are glad that Storm won't be able to hear them. Those misunderstandings continue as Duck sees lightning (parent flashes lights on and off), feels raindrops (I squirt audience with water bottle), and feels wind (blowing/whistling into microphone). Finally Duck sees that it's light again (parent flicks lights back on) and all of the animals conclude that Storm never came at all. </div>
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As a stage puppet show, there's not a lot of movement among the puppets, but the structure works very neatly. The focus moves from the Dog/Cow/Cat trio, up to the Duck, then to the weather surprise that comes (rain, lightning, etc.). Then it's back to Dog/Cow/Cat and the pattern continues with the humor building gradually. Those regular shifts of attention give the show a strong pace and just enough variety. I always want to throw in a chase or have one guy hit another guy with a squeaky hammer, but it's good for me to remember that it's really all about good stories.... </div>
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stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554116047568654792.post-12224896976227945832014-05-25T19:48:00.001-07:002014-05-25T19:52:50.494-07:00We Are in a Book on a Screen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4LziHgOvcdtl82TvZPVP-gc-I92vhHpM-FF0uIi_BQ4ATs85LMCHHSOWZpgH39zM281hJC5W4clz3GNEkZkIeTCiWMrMjOfBV0nc83whGZi-ltuO-vkrG52vyD7Vj7nOWimznr2SK-_fZ/s1600/We+Are+in+a+Book+-+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4LziHgOvcdtl82TvZPVP-gc-I92vhHpM-FF0uIi_BQ4ATs85LMCHHSOWZpgH39zM281hJC5W4clz3GNEkZkIeTCiWMrMjOfBV0nc83whGZi-ltuO-vkrG52vyD7Vj7nOWimznr2SK-_fZ/s1600/We+Are+in+a+Book+-+cover.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Book: <i>We Are in a Book! </i>by Mo Willems</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Puppets: None</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Props: Elephant hat, Piggie ears (or similar)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Technology: Scanned word bubbles and projector</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Presenters: Two</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Audience: K-2</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We've done plenty of Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie stories at our library, both as two-person act-outs and as one-person puppet stories (including </span><i style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-simplest-elephant-piggie-for-puppets.html">I Am Going,</a> <a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-long-crazy-elephant-and-piggie-story.html">I Broke My Trunk</a>, <a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2013/11/elephant-and-froggie-aka-piggie.html">I'm a Frog</a></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, </span><i style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2013/07/elephant-piggie-suitcases-umbrellas-more.html">Let's Go for a Drive</a>, </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">and </span><i style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2011/01/elephant-and-piggie-minimal-adaptation.html">Watch Me Throw the Ball</a></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">). But I always just dismissed my favorite E & P book, </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">We Are in a Book</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, as not suitable for Storytime. Then I learned that Rick Samuelson of Washington County Cooperative Library System (Rick can be seen in WCCLS's excellent </span><i style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.wccls.org/rhymes">Fingerplay Fun</a> </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Youtube </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">pages) had adapted it as a stage puppet show (neatly re-titled as "We Are in a Puppet Show"). I never got to see Rick's show, but it got me thinking again about the book, and finally Sheila and I got a chance to do it for one of our K-2 Book Adventure programs.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Using PowerPoint and our Projector and Screen was the key. We made a series of slides to replicate the book. Each slide has a frame, with a page number down on the bottom right. And clicks make the word bubbles appear. So all we had to do was read from the word bubbles. Which actually isn't that easy, because they're behind you, but a quick glance was all we needed. (Sure, memorizing would have been even better, but sometimes there's just not time for that). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">When the book begins, E and P are just on the page, not realizing they are in a book:</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Then Gerald looks out at the audience and tells Piggie that they are being watched. We had some fun with that, stepping away from the screen and towards the audience, then back against the screen, trying to match the great scene in the book where Piggie looks out at the readers:</span><br />
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<br /><br />Then we realize we're in a book:</div>
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After that, the two have fun by getting the readers to say "banana." This was the one part I wasn't sure would work. I wondered if the kids would read <i>all </i>of the word bubbles out loud, so that when "banana" appeared on the screen the joke wouldn't work so well. But it was fine. A couple kids were reading aloud most of the way, but when Sheila/Piggie introduced the plan and said "Here I go...," and the word "BANANA" appeared in a word bubble, everyone said it. As Gerald says: "so funny!"</div>
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Then things take a different meta-turn when Piggie realizes the book will end. In the book, Piggie appears to peel back the bottom right-hand pages to find out what the last page number is. That worked fine in our version: Sheila peeked behind the bottom corner of the screen, where the page numbers would be if it were a book. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzar1-xLGe3DecOv05IO0odtVRegzwO31chfQuUoVxWdHF-QZXxI2qluiT5xZYGwEriORrbX_on80ghmPWHTrphkQQM3H5HPiJZLplE4Z8KdN_Q3_vkzPfu6QgccGhty1pAF4hwXNK3VE5/s1600/We+Are+in+a+Book+-+i+will+look.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzar1-xLGe3DecOv05IO0odtVRegzwO31chfQuUoVxWdHF-QZXxI2qluiT5xZYGwEriORrbX_on80ghmPWHTrphkQQM3H5HPiJZLplE4Z8KdN_Q3_vkzPfu6QgccGhty1pAF4hwXNK3VE5/s1600/We+Are+in+a+Book+-+i+will+look.jpg" height="400" width="357" /></a></div>
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Then Gerald starts fretting about the book ending too fast as each page turns: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEGA8WVhheq25riIHqxHM0P5OUCYdznBmJUsBOuJ2xW6Y3YSnM91wa0uCB1PinLhc1ycFxAWGTQHGIz2vPkqjHPZSCxEvyZ_nL5X8YgrgWVzn2WtlsLxwIkWGyMJ7OPQk-xabTRXcotwEQ/s1600/We+Are+in+a+Book+-+eek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEGA8WVhheq25riIHqxHM0P5OUCYdznBmJUsBOuJ2xW6Y3YSnM91wa0uCB1PinLhc1ycFxAWGTQHGIz2vPkqjHPZSCxEvyZ_nL5X8YgrgWVzn2WtlsLxwIkWGyMJ7OPQk-xabTRXcotwEQ/s1600/We+Are+in+a+Book+-+eek.jpg" height="375" width="400" /></a></div>
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And here's how the real corresponding page looks:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHcnan7kvOXNyCqUiTzJQEEgc9Ov9UCfQJ9XziNup4OrFJrN8kxvjffsqFT1X4io5Stx0uI69bJxk00i3KosX4jxB7Iqb4YxhZHwxgICRq6xcfMOxModWkIf3Xh0IbJWxqMlU4oySYrf-i/s1600/We+Are+in+a+Book+-+page+47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHcnan7kvOXNyCqUiTzJQEEgc9Ov9UCfQJ9XziNup4OrFJrN8kxvjffsqFT1X4io5Stx0uI69bJxk00i3KosX4jxB7Iqb4YxhZHwxgICRq6xcfMOxModWkIf3Xh0IbJWxqMlU4oySYrf-i/s1600/We+Are+in+a+Book+-+page+47.jpg" height="400" width="302" /></a></div>
It all finally ends with Piggie's fine idea of having Gerald ask the kids to "read us again." Which fit neatly into our program, since with our K-2 Book Adventure events we always have multiple copies of the books we feature, and the kids really did go check those out. And read them, we hope.</div>
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The only problem with this way of doing the story is that we couldn't use it when we went out to schools to promote the event, as we do each month. We really needed the word bubbles and mock-page for this one. No problem, though: we just substituted another E & P: <i><a href="http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/2013/11/elephant-and-froggie-aka-piggie.html">I'm a Frog</a></i>, and you don't need anything for that (though pig ears and elephant hat do help).</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As for <i>We Are in a Book, </i>in the </span><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/03/mo_willems_meditation_on_death_.html" style="font-family: inherit;">Slate Book Review</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, David Plotz says that this book "is arguably the most disturbing book published in America since </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">The Road</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">." Sheila and I talked about it, though, and we decided that it's challenging enough to adapt Mo Willems....we'll pass on Cormac McCarthy for now. </span></div>
stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07660797580710274234noreply@blogger.com2