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Escenario de Polichinela

Book Descrip­tion

This over­size anthol­ogy, with vibrant and orig­i­nal illus­tra­tions, includes three plays that young chil­dren will delight in read­ing and acting.

The vibrant and delight­ful illus­tra­tions com­ple­ment the story of the plays while also offer sug­ges­tions on how they can be staged and rep­re­sented. The three plays included are:

In the Eng­lish Book
Christ­mas Presents

In the Span­ish book
Rega­los de Navidad
an orig­i­nal play by Alma Flor Ada which shows that things are not always what they seem to be, and that some­times tricks and pranks can have unsus­pected consequences

Charlotte’s Bicy­cle

La bici­cleta de Carlota
an orig­i­nal play by F. Isabel Campoy

Goldie Hen

Gallinita Dorada
a play­ful retelling, in verse, of the tra­di­tional tale by Alma Flor Ada


 AUTHOR’S NOTE

Theatre has been a joyful passion in my life. I was part of every play my school put together during my elementary years, and later in High School, I also begun writing. One of my plays The Museum, was chosen to be performed at the important theatrical event of our class graduation. Theatre was a way of life for me that accompanied me to College.

Because of my experience with theatre, and how important it was in giving me a voice, breaking the barriers of shyness, and encouraging me to speak in public; ensur­ing that chil­dren have access to read and act in plays has always been one of my basic goals. Even if it is done with great sim­plic­ity, act­ing in a play can have very pos­i­tive results.

I am con­vinced that one is bet­ter able to teach some­thing one has enjoyed doing. And just as Alma Flor Ada and I empha­size, in our courses in Authors in the Class­room, that teach­ers who cre­ate their own books will be bet­ter able to get their stu­dents to become authors, I believe that encour­ag­ing teach­ers to do the­atre and expe­ri­enc­ing the rich­ness of the process would bet­ter allow them to incor­po­rate plays in their reg­u­lar teaching.