Welcome to the Show! Fall in Love with Theatrical Stories

’Tis the season of the pageant, the play, the ballet, the show. What will your family see this year? Will you don your festive best for a night at A Christmas Carol or The Nutcracker? Will you hit up your community theaters to see A Krampus Carol, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever or It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play? Or best of all, will you join your friends at a community production at your school, university or church?

Theater is a story, sometimes straight out of a book, performed right in front of your eyes. You can see it, hear it, smell it, feel the air in the room, watch the orchestra members manipulate their instruments and experience it with an audience. When I go to the theater, I am fully present, taking it all in with wide eyes, feeling it in my bones — and so is your child.

Here at the library, we love helping your children fall in love with stories. Drama takes a story from text on a page to live and present action. When my daughter and I prepare to go to a show, first we’ll read the story and listen to the music. After the big night, we’ll read it again, then perform it ourselves in our living room. Talk about reading comprehension and retention? My girl’s never going to forget this story! She’s connected with it aurally, visually, orally, kinesthetically, creatively and emotionally.

Here are some books to connect your family with live dramatic performances, as well as to inspire your children to pursue their own creative aspirations.

Nutcracker Night by Mireille Messier and Gabrielle Grimard

This book gives you the sensory experience of a child at a performance of The Nutcracker. “Tick! Tick! Tick! goes the conductor. Hushhh! go the parents. Voof! go the velvet curtains.” There is so much to take in at a ballet!

The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffman, adapted by Janet Schulman, and illustrated by Renee Graef

There are many beautifully illustrated versions of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s The Nutcracker, but this is one of my favorites. The illustrations are charming and alive, the story thorough but succinct. Since this book is rather long for a picture book, I would read aloud a little bit over the course of a week, leading up to the big event, stretching my child’s attention span and building anticipation.

The Nutcracker: A Dancing Primer by Alison Oliver

Read this one with your very littles. Learn the names of the characters you’ll see on stage and what to call the dance moves they will make. Naturally, you will want to practice the moves yourself, prancing, marching and swirling around.

Drama and the arts call for total body involvement, the very way small children learn best. Creative fantasy play is how children process information. They naturally want to rehearse for mastery.

An Invitation to the Ballet by Charlotte Guillain and Helen Shoesmith

This book, produced by the English National Ballet, shows children the many features of a production, from the stage to the dressing room to the orchestra pit. When a child participates in a dramatic production, whether with dance or acting or music, they learn how their talents can benefit the team, which builds a positive self-concept and develops communication skills. They can take pride in a good work well done, giving their self-confidence a boost.

Theater takes a community. The audience, the actors or dancers, the musicians, the stagehands, coaches, and costume designers. Research shows that live productions promote civic and cultural involvement. Let your child be a part of something big, experience something fantastic with a group of people that could be both friends and strangers. Maybe they will want to contribute more.

Ella Sets the Stage by Carmela D’Amico

Does your child struggle with shyness? So does this little elephant, who wishes to be in the school talent show but believes she doesn’t have any talent. She then contributes in her way, making snacks, sewing costumes, catching monkeys (you’ll have to read it), until she earns her own applause. She learns how to accept the applause and take a bow.

Second Banana by Blair Thornburgh

Some children struggle with stage fright and self-confidence; others with teamwork and humility. In Second Banana, the kids in Ms. Miller’s class put on an annual nutrition pageant. This year, however, there is one extra student, and our main character gets stuck playing the role of Second Banana. She is quite determined there should only be one banana, and it should be her. With plenty of attitude and humor, she learns some empathy for her First Banana, and together they create a new show-stopping finale.

Find these books as well as some lovely titles by award-winning performers at tccl.bibliocommons.com/list/share/1335068800_br_storytime/2645130317_theater_and_the_performing_arts_for_kids

Now, let the show begin!