5 Childrens Books About Acting
With Dramatic Play being such an integral part of early childhood development, it only makes sense to also teach little ones how this form of play can one day become an exciting career choice!
Here are a few book suggestions to inspire your budding young thespians.
Lights on Broadway: A Theatrical Tour from A to Z by Harriet Ziefert
Tony Award winner and Broadway icon, Brian Stokes Mitchell, brings star power to this Broadway treasury. With entries such as "audition," "box office," "marquee," and "understudy," kids will discover Broadway from A to Z.
With an introduction by Mitchell, quotes from famous Broadway performers, and theater facts and trivia, fans of all ages will delight in this compendium.
Rifka Takes a Bow by Betty Rosenburg Perlov
Rifka's parents are actors in the Yiddish Theater in New York, but one day Rifka finds herself center stage in a special role! A slice of immigrant life on New York's Second Avenue, this is a unique book about a vanished time and a place – the Yiddish theater in the early 20th century―made real through the telling of the true life story of the 96-year-old author as a little girl.
Moses Sees a Play by Isaac Millman
Actors from the Little Theatre of the Deaf are coming to Moses' school, and Moses and his classmates are going to see a play! A class from another school joins them, and Moses is introduced to Manuel, who has just moved to the United States. Manuel doesn't know English or sign language yet. Moses, being deaf, knows how hard it can be when no one understands you, so he tries communicating with Manuel using body gestures, while also teaching him some simple signs.
This delightful book about Moses incorporates clear and colorful pictures, written English, and American Sign Language (ASL). Detailed diagrams of the signs are included so that readers can learn along with Manuel.
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Grace loves stories, whether they're from books, movies, or the kind her grandmother tells. So when she gets a chance to play a part in Peter Pan, she knows exactly who she wants to be. Remarkable watercolor illustrations give full expression to Grace's high-flying imagination.
Stagestruck by Tomie dePaola
Tommy is so excited. His first-grade class is putting on a play about Peter Rabbit, and he’s sure to get the starring role. But in his enthusiasm, Tommy talks too much in class, so his teacher decides that he should play Mopsy instead—and Mopsy doesn’t have any lines! Tommy is disappointed until he gets an idea. If he can’t be the star, he can still get the audience’s attention by reacting to everything Peter Rabbit does. But how will Tommy’s mother and teacher react to his performance?
