Multicultural Plays for Children: Volume 1: Grades K-3 (Young Actor Series)
K-Gr 3--Scripts for 10 plays to be put on by or for primary-grade children, along with a valuable introduction featuring notes on how to go about using drama with young children and techniques for altering the plays for different groups and production conditions. Each script features background information on the story, rehearsal time, running time, cast size and gender, as well as appendixes for pronunciation of vocabulary, directions for construction of sets, props and costumes lists, and notes on the use of music and sound. The plays could well be used by secondary-school drama classes for performances for younger students as well as the younger children themselves. The selections were created from folktales from literary traditions (sources are cited in the bibliography). The Little Red Hen, Anansi, and Vasilisa appear, as well as variants of stories such as "The Bremen Town Musicians." The playwright has worked to keep these as authentic as possible. Vi Hilbert, an Upper Skagit elder, has written a preface attesting to the authenticity of the Skagit tale and to the value of drama for keeping storytelling traditions alive. This is a valuable collection for libraries doing programming with children, for children's collections, and for libraries in secondary schools with active drama programs.Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, LaramieCopyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc.