Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Two Amphibians
For those of you out there old enough to have gone through the reading-of-the-bedtime story routine, you'll probably recall those nights when you absolutely dreaded the ritual. In a sleepless driven stupor, you unwittingly handed over control of reading matter choice to your child. What were you thinking? The full Berenstein Bears encyclopedia of dreck! "The Lonely Puppy" or "The Unhappy Puppy" or some other Golden book that you were hoping had fallen apart with previous nights' forays into children's schlock literature. These books were almost as bad as the painfully sweet tv programs you were so judiciously keeping your kids from.
Remember when you were raking leafs together in a pile that one autumn? Thought you'd pulled a fast one by chucking some of these books onto the burning leaf pyre. Hah! Your progeny sensed an imbalance in their little world, raced out to the pile, and grabbed their books just before the flames licked their covers. That look that they gave you still haunts your soul. It was your own version of Kristallnacht and YOU were the Nazi!
Luckily, your genes and those of your spouse started to kick in by the time your kids were 4. A bedtime story became synonymous with a Frog & Toad story. Your child nestled into bed and you squeezed in (well...at that time your girth was minimized by all that lack of sleep and plentitude of exercise) close, so both of you could see the green and brown tinted illustrations while you read another Arnold Lobel story about those two good friends, Frog & Toad.
Lobel's books were that rare thing. They appealed to and held the fascination of an incredibly wide age range. They were (and still are) funny, philosophical, and true, without being saccharine or cloying. And, above all else, they dealt with friendship and its joys, bumps, & bruises such that both parent & child understood this relationship thing.
Recently, my family had a chance to see Arnold Lobel's characters come to life on stage. A good friend, (Musical Director of the play) Charlie Gilbert, was intimately involved with the production and performance of a musical based on Mr. Lobel's books in Philly.
The Arden Theatre, sight of the performance, is a gorgeous 360 main performance stage theater. The theater allows for an ingenious stage setting for the play; enough to solidify Frog's and Toad's houses without eliminating imaginative viewing by the kids attending. The cast of actors numbered 5, with multiple roles assumed by the 3 supporting actors. Songs were successfully concocted from the text of various Lobel stories; you left humming a few with "Cookies, Cookies, Cookies" lodged as an earworm that, I think, will be in my noggin for a while. There was a break midway through the performance. Sodas and cookies were served. Care to take a wild guess after which song the break was scheduled? Kids were dragging their parents at banzai speed toward the treat-laden tables. The parents just hummed "Cookies..." as they cheerfully handed over the green stuff.
The audience was a 50-50 mix of kids and adults. The quiet of the children during the play indicated the hold that the musical had on them. The parents were a bit more talkative.
"They're doing the story about "The Letter"."
"Hey! The "Leaf Raking" story!
"The Sledding Story! Wow!"
Shusshing an adult when their son is sitting next to them is a bit awkward...
"A year with Frog & Toad" will be appearing at the Arden Theatre in Philly, through Jan. 30th. Don't worry if you're going there without a child in tow. There'll be quite a few adults there to keep you company. They may even be willing to share some of their Kleenex.
For those of you out there old enough to have gone through the reading-of-the-bedtime story routine, you'll probably recall those nights when you absolutely dreaded the ritual. In a sleepless driven stupor, you unwittingly handed over control of reading matter choice to your child. What were you thinking? The full Berenstein Bears encyclopedia of dreck! "The Lonely Puppy" or "The Unhappy Puppy" or some other Golden book that you were hoping had fallen apart with previous nights' forays into children's schlock literature. These books were almost as bad as the painfully sweet tv programs you were so judiciously keeping your kids from.
Remember when you were raking leafs together in a pile that one autumn? Thought you'd pulled a fast one by chucking some of these books onto the burning leaf pyre. Hah! Your progeny sensed an imbalance in their little world, raced out to the pile, and grabbed their books just before the flames licked their covers. That look that they gave you still haunts your soul. It was your own version of Kristallnacht and YOU were the Nazi!
Luckily, your genes and those of your spouse started to kick in by the time your kids were 4. A bedtime story became synonymous with a Frog & Toad story. Your child nestled into bed and you squeezed in (well...at that time your girth was minimized by all that lack of sleep and plentitude of exercise) close, so both of you could see the green and brown tinted illustrations while you read another Arnold Lobel story about those two good friends, Frog & Toad.
Lobel's books were that rare thing. They appealed to and held the fascination of an incredibly wide age range. They were (and still are) funny, philosophical, and true, without being saccharine or cloying. And, above all else, they dealt with friendship and its joys, bumps, & bruises such that both parent & child understood this relationship thing.
Recently, my family had a chance to see Arnold Lobel's characters come to life on stage. A good friend, (Musical Director of the play) Charlie Gilbert, was intimately involved with the production and performance of a musical based on Mr. Lobel's books in Philly.
The Arden Theatre, sight of the performance, is a gorgeous 360 main performance stage theater. The theater allows for an ingenious stage setting for the play; enough to solidify Frog's and Toad's houses without eliminating imaginative viewing by the kids attending. The cast of actors numbered 5, with multiple roles assumed by the 3 supporting actors. Songs were successfully concocted from the text of various Lobel stories; you left humming a few with "Cookies, Cookies, Cookies" lodged as an earworm that, I think, will be in my noggin for a while. There was a break midway through the performance. Sodas and cookies were served. Care to take a wild guess after which song the break was scheduled? Kids were dragging their parents at banzai speed toward the treat-laden tables. The parents just hummed "Cookies..." as they cheerfully handed over the green stuff.
The audience was a 50-50 mix of kids and adults. The quiet of the children during the play indicated the hold that the musical had on them. The parents were a bit more talkative.
"They're doing the story about "The Letter"."
"Hey! The "Leaf Raking" story!
"The Sledding Story! Wow!"
Shusshing an adult when their son is sitting next to them is a bit awkward...
"A year with Frog & Toad" will be appearing at the Arden Theatre in Philly, through Jan. 30th. Don't worry if you're going there without a child in tow. There'll be quite a few adults there to keep you company. They may even be willing to share some of their Kleenex.
Comments:
<< Home Verging on Pertinence Just some more disposable thoughts clogging up the hinterlands
Let's see... we read The Pokey Little Puppy, Are You My Mother?, and Cinderella, over and over and over and over...
Each child also had her favorite video. I bet I have seen the Wizard of Oz 50 times in a single year when baby daughter was a tyke.
Pattie
Each child also had her favorite video. I bet I have seen the Wizard of Oz 50 times in a single year when baby daughter was a tyke.
Pattie
# opined by 
: 9:32 PM, January 12, 2005
: 9:32 PM, January 12, 2005
My youngest daughter is now reading Frog & Toad, and you can see two enormous concepts hitting home, thanks to Lobel's quiet genius: 1) reading skills are improving because 2) the stories draw the reader in with gradual, compelling character development. My youngest, like her sister before her, is realizing that disappearing into a book is fun. Bravo, Frog & Toad!
The "Frog & Toad" series is a treasure. We love those books. Reading them is well worth the sore throat I usually suffer after doing Toad's voice.
-- Outer Life
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-- Outer Life
# opined by : 12:01 PM, January 19, 2005
: 12:01 PM, January 19, 2005 << Home Verging on Pertinence Just some more disposable thoughts clogging up the hinterlands
