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Title: Stagestruck
Author: Tomie DePaola
Narrator: Eve Bianco
Format: Unabridged
Length: 8 mins
Language: English
Release date: 02-14-08
Publisher: Penguin Group USA and Audible
Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 3 votes
Genres: Kids, Ages 5-7
Publisher's Summary:
Tommy is so excited. His first grade class is putting on a play of Peter Rabbit and he's sure to get the starring role. But in his enthusiasm, Tommy talks too much in class, and so his teacher decides that he should play Mopsy instead - and Mopsy doesn't have any lines! Tommy is disappointed, but he decides to use what he has learned about "stage presence" in Miss Leah's tap dance class. By reacting to everything Peter does, Tommy ends up stealing the show. It's clear to everyone that he's stagestruck!
©2005 Tomie dePaola; (P)2008 Penguin
Members Reviews:
I DID NOT BUY THIS AND SOME HOW IT WAS ...
I DID NOT BUY THIS AND SOME HOW IT WAS PAID FOR ON MY CARD!!!
I
DID
NOT
PURCHASE
THIS
not as good as some
I normally love anything by Tomie dePaola. I felt that as usual, the illustrations were great. The story, however, was a little confusing to the children as I read it to them. Was the boy naughty? Was he making okay choices? Why was he so happy at the end after he had had to apologise for stealing the show? It made the students think that maybe it was okay to be a ham and steal someone else's thunder. Woops!
2 1/2 Not DePaulo's Best
When his teacher announces the kindergarteners are going to perform "Peter Rabbit" for the entire school, young, tousle-haired Tommy hopes he gets the lead. After all, he played John Alden in the Thanksgiving play and takes weekly tap dance lessons. However, Peter's excited and repeated classroom whispers annoy his teacher:
"Since you cannot pay attention, you will not play Peter Rabbit." (Ouch!)
"You will be Mopsy!" "But Mopsy is a girl bunny!" Tommy said.
(Double Ouch!) "Not in our play..."
Tommy seems to take ths setback professionally. He remembers that what his tapdance instructor told him: Onstage performers should react to what their fellow performers do. FOr example, if they do something funny, act like a member of the audience and laugh.
However, Tommy overdoes it during "Peter Rabbit." In veteran author/illustrator Tomie De Paola's acrylic illustrations, Tommy looks so surprised, sad, sick, etc. that he's basically just mugging for his young audience, and they eat it up. His teacher smilingly tells Tommy he's a ham; However, his mom informs him that he stole the show. He is to tell Johnny (who played Peter) and the teacher that he is sorry, and he does. He pauses and seems to agree. However, in a too-quick conclusion, Tommy remembers the audience's attention and applause, and he can hardly wait to get back onstage.
That's it? As portrayed in the book, Tommy's apologies seem perfunctory and with insufficient comprehension. His teacher is both too stern and too forgiving; she doesn't respond appropriately to Tommy's unintentional scene stealing. And Tommy, who's only five and did not act (it appears, anyway) maliciously, is treated punitively rather than with empathy and a focus on understanding. The story is too shallow, with one subplot about a shy girl in the play, and the adult "voice" (the "message") is confusing. Illustrations are pleasant and colorful, but, like the story, they lack complexity and dimension.
Stagestruck
Stagestruck is a fun little story. It get's the children thinking about ways we should and shouldn't act during school.
