Full Text:

Wild Things and Witches.. Books Come Alive At Head O'Meadow

(with photos)

BY MICHELE HOGAN

Books came to life in an animated performance by actress/dancer, Andrea Wright

of Books Alive! at Head O' Meadow School last Thursday.

The first book the children heard was Heckedy Peg by Audrey Wood. The children

giggled as Mrs Wright's gentle face and relaxed demeanor shifted to that of a

wicked witch. Her face contorted and body hunched over into a tense

distasteful pose. Then in a crackling voice she described how she would soon

be eating the little children she had transformed into food.

The children's mother (also Mrs Wright) was distraught to come home and find

her lovely children missing. And she had just been to town to buy each one the

gift they wanted most.

She searched, and found clues that the witch had been there. Bravely she

headed off to the witches place get her children back.

The witch offered the mother her children back, if she could recognize them.

Otherwise the witch would eat them. The mother looked, but saw only seven

dishes of food in place of her seven children. How could she ever guess who

was who?

Then she remembered the gifts she had bought for each child. The butter on the

table must be the child who had asked her to buy bread! She got it right. Now

who would have asked for a pen knife? One by one she named each of her

children, and got them all back. "Mom's a hero!" exclaimed Mrs Wright.

Lively renditions of Where the Wild Things Are , by Maurice Sendak; Horton

Hatches the Egg , by Dr Seuss, Dear Zoo, by Rod Campbell and poetry from Where

the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein were also appreciated by the assembled

young readers.

At the end of Horton Hatches the Egg , Mrs Wright spoke about Horton's loyalty

and patience in waiting for an egg to hatch. She said "This time, Daddy was

the hero. Beautiful symmetry. You'll learn about that later."

This program which sparked the enthusiasm of young readers throughout the

crowd, was sponsored by the HOM cultural arts committee of the HOM PTA.