 |
| Image from BarnesandNoble.com |
Rufus is the younger member of the famous Chandelier family
of giraffes. Every night he watches the rest of his family perform in the
greatest show in town, until one night when things seem to go just a little bit
wrong. Mrs. Daphne Chandelier goes onstage without her parasol, but Rufus
brings it to her. Mr. Maximilian Chandelier forgets the words to his monologue,
but Rufus reminds him. Rufus makes sure the moon is onstage at the right time
and even provides special effects. At the end of the show as they do every
night the Chandeliers take bow after bow.
But that night they stopped and turned to the audience and said, “We could not
have done it without the wonderful Rufus Chandelier!” And that night, for the
first time, Rufus took a bow too.
The text, written in third person past tense is short and
direct. The story is simple and nearly without conflict, however the fabulously
stylized illustrations more than make up for this shortcoming. With tight line
work and busy compositions, the tall Chandeliers decked out in brightly colored,
curlicued finery stand out against the painted scenery. Kirsch has chosen an
old vaudevillian style theatre, complete with red velvet curtains, scalloped
footlights, and glowing proscenium arches. Keep your eyes open for the many
hidden visual details in this quirky book, such as the tiny mouse-like giraffe
that can be found on every page and the many giraffe shapes hidden throughout
the book. I’m an endpaper lover and was thrilled to find that the front papers
provide bios, like the ones you find in a theatre playbill, and the back
papers show the family leaving the stage door at the end of the night.
Use this book for a storytime about giraffes and pair it
with Giraffes Don’t Dance or A Giraffe and a Half. Follow up with some giraffe crafts such as paper plate giraffes or printable giraffe ear headbands. I’m also slightly in love with this great rainy day craft: a child-size cardboard box giraffe.
I’m a former theatre stage manager, so I love that this book
focuses on the backstage elements of theatre. Read it before attending a show
and discuss the idea that it takes a lot of people to make a show happen, not
just the actors onstage. Use this book for a storytime about the performing
arts and pair it with ZooZical, Frank was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance or Lights on Broadway.
-Amy
No comments:
Post a Comment