A couple of weeks ago I took Zoe to see a fun little puppet show called “The Flying Tortoise” at a local library.
Initially I had reservations since she’s still young and wasn’t going to go. Eventually I agreed with Cheryl and said why the heck not. Besides, any excuse to go to the library is a good one.
I was surprised that Zoe enjoyed the show. The puppeteers were all dressed in blue, including blue hoods. These matched a blue background that they could blend into, so you could focus more on the puppets. I was surprised mostly because she wasn’t scared of this setup, which is like nothing she had ever seen before (and very little that I have.)
I won’t go into too much detail about the story, except that it was an African folk tale that explained why the tortoise’s shell looks like it does (with a few morals tossed in on the way.) There was some audience participation also: the audience was encouraged to make some bird noises whenever the puppeteers made a certain sound (this was what scared Zoe the most.)
My biggest criticism with the play was the volume of the speakers, which I thought was way too loud for a children’s show. You see this a lot at family events and I wish it was something that the people in charge paid more attention to.
At any rate, it just goes to show that you should always take advantage of opportunities to take your kid out to see new things whenever you can. Especially when they’re free!
