Theatre Review: The Magic Bookshop

We were thrilled to see The Magic Bookshop pop-up at the Ennis Book Festival earlier this month, where I had dragged the kids along to spread the Baby Book Club news. Produced by Monkeyshine Theatre, the performance is a 30-minute adventure through fairytale- land, bringing well-known characters to life and thwarting expectations with unexpected endings.

Booksellers Peter (James Jobson) and John (Nicholas Kavanagh) are crammed into a tiny booth, taking care of ‘new arrivals’, the poor unloved and bescribbled books that are so far gone they will have to be shredded. Work is not as much fun as breaktime, however, when Peter and John get to indulge their preferred practice of recycling old books; turning them into 3-D pop-up paper-cut-outs that they use to animate a variety of well-known stories.

Monkeyshine have great fun confounding traditional plots but they also draw attention to the traditional structures of fairytales, and their telling gave rise to many conversations withe the 4 year-old about what other stories might have matched their settings. Although the stage and props were small, the gestures were big, and the balance between that energy and the delicacy of the physical worlds they created was particularly stimulating.

The age guide the company give for The Magic Bookshop is 5. Both my boys are younger, but they still loved every minute of the 30-minute-long performance. The 4-year-old loved the storytelling; the two-year-old loved the animation of the performers. I, meanwhile, have a longstanding obsession with paper-cut-outs, and I was amazed by some of the skill in Jobson’s prop-making, many pieces of which I would house on my own bookshelves (wolf mask please) .

At the end of the performance, you are invited to give a book to the proprietors and choose another from their well-stocked shelves in exchange.

Such a delight that we will be heading along when it plays at our local theatre in Dun Laoghaire.

Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire, Sunday March 20th; Draíocht, Blanchardstown, Saturday March 26th. Siamsa Tíre, Tralee Saturday April 9th. The Dock, Carrick on Shannon, Thursday April 14th; The Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar, Saturday April 16th. Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Sunday April 17th.

 

CD Review: Singalong Songs From Glasses Island

 

Due to their parents’ intolerance of children’s techno, my boys have had to suffer my idiosyncratic renditions of popular children’s songs for far too long. We were delighted, then, to hear about The Speks, a 6-piece Irish trad band, who are giving traditional nursery rhymes the traditional Irish treatment. The sound is authentically Irish without being diddli-i and the musical instruments are refeshingly recognisable, giving rise to lots of chat here about fiddles, accordions, whistles etc.

The children’s favourites were Miss Molly (who we call Miss Polly) and Hey Diddle Diddle, which is spliced together with an Irish nursery rhyme they didn’t know called ‘Johnny Sat Down.’ Mine was Dilin O Deamhas, which I used to sing in three-part harmony in my school days. The CD is cannily pacakaged with inserts that tell the story of the band (a fictional comedy), and they have produced a nice little book to accompany the CD, which has sweet home-drawn illustrations. You can listen to most of the songs for free on their website, which also gives an insight into the history of the songs and their composition. Their live shows are hugely popular, and they can be seen in May 28th at Glor in Ennis, and on June 11th at the Town Hall Theatre in Galway.  We hope they make it East soon.

 

http://www.thespeks.com

TV or Not TV, That is the Question

Television is a constant source of conflict in our house. Unfortunately most of that conflict is between me and my husband, who aren’t on the same page when it comes to screen-time. He works in TV and grew up in front of it, playing toys while his older siblings watched their choice of films. TV barely features in my own childhood memories, meanwhile; I was always too busy playing on the street.

There are fairly strict parameters around TV time during the week, when I am boss. The 4 year-old watches @40 minutes, mostly after Montessori. The two year-old often, but not always, joins him; he is fairly choosy about what he likes.

The repetoire is also fairly rigid: a rotation of Puffin Rock, Dora The Explorer and Diego!, with the occassional dose of Max and Ruby if I am feeling generous. We will, very rarely, watch a Jackanory or some Barefoot songs after dinner, or a film if someone is sick.

At the weekend, however, the 4-year-old is constantly looking for TV. My husband is a lot more lenient and they will watch various iterations of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, old B-movies from the 60s, Countryfile, David Attenborough. Basically anything my husband fancies watching, the 4-year old is happy to join in.

To give credit where credit is due, my husband is a very active viewer. A cookery show is an oportunity to chat about spices. Time Team becomes a discussion about Ancient Rome, which is often followed up in their table-top games later. I understand the educational role that TV can play. I also appreciate it as an artistic medium (and hope to add some film reviews to the blog soon). But sometimes a Saturday might involve more than 2 hours of TV (rarely consecutive hours, but still). I feel it is too much for a 4-year-old and disasterously habit-forming. I also hate having to deal with the 4-year old’s tantrums when the TV goes off (something often initiated by me).

I would love to know what rules you have at your house when it comes to screen-time. And I would really really love some recommendations for high-quality kids programming, which seems thin on the ground.

 

Baby Book Club: Hoot Owl

“Everybody knows that owls are wise, but as well as being wise, they are Masters of Disguise.”

This picture-book by Sean Taylor,with vivid illustrations by Jean Jullien, has just been nominated for the 2016 Laugh Out Loud Book Awards, The Lollies. My older boy loves this comical tale about an Owl who will go to any lengths to find something to eat. He variously disguises himself as a sheep, a carrot, an ornamental birdbath, and, eventually, a waiter, the perfect way to catch a pizza, apparently.

It took me a while to appreciate the book’s not-so-subtle absurdity (I have a preference for prettiness and poetry over humour), but it is hard not to find the funny in an owl in a carrot costume. Kids who love pretending to be super-heroes will discover a new and original role model in Hoot Owl, and his catchphrase has become a popular refrain around our house.

Adventure Day: Dublinia

This week we went to Dublinia for Adventure Day, to experience Viking and Medieval life first-hand. We had been preparing for months by reading Chris Judge and Mark Wickham’s Brian and the Vikings and our Usbourne Norse Myth and Legends.  We have been searching far and wide for an accessible non-fiction guide, but they tend to be geared towards older children.

Dublinia is laid out over three floors. The entry level display focuses on Viking life, the first floor focuses on Medieval Dublin and the second floor houses a display about the science of archaeology. We also climbed the 100 steps of St Michael’s Tower, which gives a fine panoramic view of the city.

Most of the historical material is presented through interactive scenes. We got stuck inside a Viking hut for a while, the boys eating sandwiches on the bench the Vikings used for sleeping. There is a lot of historical text displayed on the walls, which was a bit off-putting for my illiterate pair, but much of it was also narrated.  There was good attention to sensory experience too, with displays that invited you to guess what goods were in the barrels at the Medieval port and a market stall was filled with scented spice drawers.

Highlights for Milo (4) were throwing balls at the prisoner in the pillory (above), feeling the weight of the Viking’s iron mail, and rubbing his name in futhark (below).  He was very disappointed by the fact that many of the repro artifacts (in particular the weapons) were glued down, so you couldn’t really interact with a lot of the displays. He was also disappointed that there was no “living history” aspect, like at Dalkey Castle. Although there is a daily costumed tour at 2.30, it was pretty busy the day we were there, and my two small boys and a crowd is never a great idea. Highlights for Solomon (2) were the ramps and the display on death and disease. Both were also very taken, as usual, by the gift-shop, and its array of wooden and plastic swords. 

Accessibility: This is a great family friendly museum, though ticket prices stack up once children are over 4 (Adults: €8.50, Children over 4: €5.50). We found it pretty busy, though we were there mid-week and off-peak, so that is definitely something to consider if you are planning a visit. There are good facilities for families, though you would not want to be in a hurry to use the toilets, as they are placed near the exit of the first floor, and there is no shortcut if you have a toddler emergency.

Dublinia host a Family First Saturday once a month, with historically themed workshops for children. They have just announced their new season, which includes storytelling and Viking Runes. http://www.dublinia.ie/category/events/

 

 

Adventure Day: The Foggy Dew at the RHA

We have been talking a lot about 1916 these days. The posters for the RTE series Rebellion that adorn Dublin buses at the moment have my four-year old aflutter with ideas for Rebel roleplay. In the battle-filed of our bedroom I am always the British, unless we are playing War of Independence, where the line between goodies and baddies depends on which side of the treaty you are on. We are all goodies or baddies, then, or ‘Mum, why were they fighting again?’

This week for Adventure Day, we started the first of our 1916 explorations at the RHA gallery. Mick O’Dea is a well-known painter of photo-realistic historical work, and he has drawn inspiration from 1916 before. So I was expecting some large-scale paintings of city battles, which I could chat about with the boys. And, indeed there are 4 monumental canvases, lining each side of the huge upstairs gallery. However, I wasn’t expecting the amazing sculptural work that accompanies the exhibit: cardboard soldiers suspended from the ceiling and an enormous embodiement of Britannia charging across the floor. My boys were mesmerised by the scale and the visual effect of the falling soldiers in the gallery’s dim light, which spin slightly as you move around them.

On the way out we were offered a few nicely-produced children’s sheets, which give a small bit of context for the exhibition and a prompt (and space) for drawing something of your own. It reminded me that it is always good to ask if they have any material for children as you enter/leave a gallery. Kids are, after all, scavengers. Even if they are of limited use for your particular child, they are good mementos.

On the way home, the four-year old asked if we could to make our own version of the exhibition, which given my limited capabilities will be a challenge. But it felt like a victory for form. He is always happy to look at a painting, but he has very limited interest in being a creator yet. He proclaimed O’Dea’s exhibition “a really good craft.”

*(To take the Toddler Tour of the RHA see my earlier post).

Baby Book Club: A Visit to the Library

I had a voracious appetite for books as a child and my mother would bring us to our local library, which was just around the corner from my primary school, several times a week. (I also had a voracious appetite for junk food, and the reading incentive campaign sponsored by the local McDonalds – !!! – kept me focused on finishing the entire Enid Blyton catalogue over the course of a single summer.)

My favourite thing about the library was the fact that I got to choose my own books, and I regularly came home with books my mother deemed ‘trash’: early Judy Blumes, Point Horrors, The Babysitter Club, The Bobsy Twins. It was the library. I had my own reader’s card. It was my choice.

I love to watch my boys interact with books the library (once they have stopped trying to move the attractive furniture of course). My four-year-old regularly goes shelf-hunting and comes back with something entirely inappropriate (a fantasy novel about vampires for 10 year-olds for example), and my two year-old inevitably toddles up with a book we have at home, but some of our favourite books have been chosen by them on our weekly visits to the library.

(The New Kid by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick)

We currently have 2 copies of Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick’s The New Kid on loan, which I would never have picked up for them myself, while we recently bought our own copies of Rebecca Cobb’s Paper Dolls and Aunt Amelia because we had renewed our library copies so many times it was embarrassing. Of course, the boys often present a book-bundle full of what I would call ‘trash’ – namely Star Wars comics – which I pretend to check out but sneakily slip back onto the bookshelves. Still, if they want to read cereal packets, I should proably just let them, it was how my own love for reading was confirmed.

 

Adventure Day: Dalkey Castle

Thursdays are Adventure Days at our house: my older boy bunks off montessori and we go and do something cultural or outdoorsy. Last Thursday we were supposed to climb Kiliney Hill but it was pouring rain so we decided to head to Dalkey Castle and Heritage Centre. It was a perfect day for it, as the place was deserted, and the staff were only delighted to welcome us into the castle, and to tailor their brilliant Living History tour to our young demographic.

We skipped the introductory video and were brought straight to the graveyard where the Cheevers’ archer, Rupert, told us that the family were preparing a feast to celebrate King Henry VIIIs birthday. He showed us the tools and weapons common in 15th-century castle life, and let theweapons-enthusiast hold his longbow; a knee-high highlight for him.

Rupert then brought us upstairs to the castle’s living quarters, where he talked us through the various vittels of the day, laying special emphasis on gory details and offering us a tase of pig’s head and ears. After showing us the bathroom facilities in the garderobe, he left us in the capable hands of Lady Catherine, who told us all about how to get ready for the party (which involved a lot of drinking of pee) and took us up to the battlements to take in the view (of mist and fog).

Our version of the tour was considerably less than that of a regular visitor (my older boy kept asking where the other characters that featured on the posters were), but in scale and duration it was perfect for our small group. The actors’ improvisation worked brilliantly for our crew, who thoroughly enjoyed the role-play aspect, fervently agreeing that, yes, their castles too had sheep intestines instead of glass in the windows.

Facilities:

The gift shop was an enormous hit with the children, and they spent a good 20 minutes trying on helmets and engaging in swordplay, which the generous staff thankfully tolerated.

There are changing facilities in the disabled toilets, but the castle is a castle, and not buggy friendly.

There is no cafe on site, but the castle sits on Dalkey’s main street, and the Tramyard next door is large enough to accomodate buggies, with a big outdoor space, if it isn’t raining, where kids can wander.

Admission:

Adult entry is €8.50; children €6.50; family of 4 €25. Children under 4 are free.

 

Baby Book Club: The Princess and the Pony

The Princess and the Pony

By Kate Beaton

Walker Books

My two boyish boys loved this story, which gently needles the gender sterotypes that shape our children from their earliest engagements with other people. It is the story of Princess Pinecone, the smallest warrior in a kingdom of warriors and how she overcomes her frustration with being treated differently than her fellow fighting peers. “Most warriors get fantastic birthday presents. Shields, amulets, helmets with horns on them. Things to win battles with. Things that make them feel like champions.  Princess Pinecone got a lot of cosy sweaters. Warriors do not need cosy sweaters.”

It turns out warriors DO need cosy sweaters, even the fiercest warriors in the Kingdom, who reveal their soft sides when confonted with Princess Pinecone’s unbearably cute pony (another proper gift for a princess) at the annual tournament.

Beaton’s book is very funny and the spread of cuddly sweater-clad warriors at the end really fired our imagination as we thought up of fiercest warrior names to contrast against the rainbow and teddy themed jumpers. I, personally, could have done without the fart jokes, but my two year-old and four year-old did not complain.

A winner of a book for 2.5 plus, and an inspiration for little boys and girls to defy the social standards set for them.

 

Baby Book Club: The Snow Beast

The Snow Beast

By Chris Judge

Andersen Press

The Lonely Beast, Chris Judge’s debut, was the first book my son chose for himself at our local book shop. He was 18 months and he was drawn to the fuzzy black shape of the eponymous beast with his bright pinprick eyes. We  followed the adventures of the Beast as he travelled to the city to find some fellow beasts, and, in Judge’s second book, The Brave Beast, we saw the Beast take on an unknown enemy who was terrorising a nearby island. Though my son is now 4, he and his younger brother still love the books, and we were really excited at the prosepct of The Snow Beast.

The Snow Beast follows the formula set in the earlier books by sending the Beast on a journey, in this case across a snow-covered landscape. The dastardly Snow Beast  appears stealthily, a white mirror of the Beast camoflagued in the snow, and we had fun spotting his shape on the various pages. The plot – some missing tools – is a bit weak, but the Snow Beast’s iceberg mansion is a winner. We were delighted to get a second glimpse inside in the party scene on the final page.

The Snow Beast is a nice seasonal supplement to Judge’s first two books, but if you haven’t met the Beast before I would recommend starting with the earlier installments.