Hippos and Time Travelling Magicians - theatre for children is brilliant !

First Hippo on the Moon: Churchill Theatre Bromley

I've been taking Brown Bear to the theatre since he was around 3 years old. His first show was Room on the Broom and he loved it. Since then he's been with me to watch many shows and can now sit through a two hour pantomime or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and not fidget or fuss. In fact we've had compliments about how well he behaves which I think is in no small part due to his experience of theatre going from a young age. I love that there are so many shows specifically for children and we all went to watch Stick Man a few months ago which was when I realised that Blue Bear is now old enough to go to watch shows too. Hooray !

On Saturday I'm taking Blue Bear to watch First Hippo on the Moon at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley. This touring production opened in Eastbourne in January and will play in 40 venues overall throughout 2017. The First Hippo on the Moon has been adapted for the stage by Les Enfants Terribles and Les Petits’ Artistic Director Oliver Lansley whose other adaptations of children’s literature have included the immersive dining experience Dinner at the Twits and Alice’s Adventure’s Underground. The puppets for The First Hippo on the Moon have been created by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell who have previously collaborated on War Horse and The Lorax. The cast for The First Hippo on the Moon includes Dominic Allen, Alice Bounce, Caroline Bowman, Owen Jenkins and Rosie Nicholls.

Based on David Walliams’ original children’s book with illustrations by Tony Ross, The First Hippo on the Moon is an explosively funny space adventure which sees the enormously rich Hercules Waldorf-Franklin III and ingenious Shelia compete to be the first hippo to make it to the moon. I can't wait to see what Blue Bear makes of it and hope he enjoys it as much as the book.
 

First Hippo on the Moon is on at the Churchill Theatre from Tue 2nd May until Saturday 6th May with a relaxed performance on Thursday 4th May.

More Magic for Kids! Morgan and West - Spiegeltent, Udderbelly Festival London

Brown Bear is a big fan of magic since he got a magic set for his birthday and I'm delighted he's going to be see a special show with us during the May half term. Time-travelling magicians Morgan & West are back with their new show More Magic For Kids!  at the Underbelly Festival Southbank between 29th May and Sunday 4th June.

Despite their squabbles about the idea of creating a show for children, Mr West has finally resigned himself to the idea that he now does shows for children, although he’s really not best pleased about it. Mr. Morgan, as ever, is thrilled that people are willing and indeed eager to watch him and his magic tricks. Join in the fun as Mr. West wants to prove that he’s better than Mr. Morgan, and indeed silly children. No doubt his comeuppance will come as More Magic For Kids! prepares to unload another boxful of bewilderment and impossibility. What could possibly happen next ?

I'm sure Brown Bear will want to know how it's all done and seeing a family show on the Southbank will be a new experience too so it's one we're really looking forward to. I've been to the Udderbelly Festival, but the children haven't so that will be fun.

More Magic For Kids! sets out to provide entertainment that is delightful for anyone of almost any age (5+), from any time period, and any level of maturity. The result is a marvellous show that is loved by both adults and children alike and will keep you entertained from beginning to end – the perfect family day out!

Get a good book for Christmas

We love books in my family and our boy has a lot of them but always likes to get more. Christmas is a great time to top up on new books and here is a small selection that you might consider popping on your wish list.

Harina and the doctor bird by Joy Hartley

Earlier this year I met and interviewed Joy for my radio show. Like me, Joy was baffled by the lack of diversity of characters in children's books so she wrote her own about a little girl called Harina who lives in Africa.

Harina's adventures are told with lovely illustrations and a story that promotes values like caring and kindness. This is the second book featuring Harina and her bird Hanga and a new character, the doctor bird helping her care for her unwell mother.

This isn't strictly a picture book, rather a story with pictures (if you get my drift) and it would be good for a confident reader. The story is really lovely and there are some ideas for follow up activities at the end with some blank pages for children to make their own notes.

You can buy the book here http://www.harina.co.uk as well as related merchandise and find out more about Joy and her characters.

The First Hippo on the Moon by David Walliams

A more traditional picture book is this one which is illustrated by Tony Ross whose style you will recognise immediately as he is an old hand at this (he illustrates The Little Princess series). This is David Walliams second picture book and his storytelling style is chaotic and reminiscent of Roald Dahl in that it's irreverent and appeals to the silliness that children like so much. There are jokey little asides on the page from minor characters and references to farts that my mother certainly wouldn't approve of in a children's story book.

This tale of a hippo's ambition to be the first to land on the moon is energetic and fun with plenty of very big writing to help new readers to practise. The illustrations work well and I like that it's a bit cheeky in places. I don't want to spoil the story for you, but it involves hippos called Sheila and Hercules - you will have to read it to find out who the first one on the moon is.

You can order this book online here and as it says on the back you will receive a free hippo* with every book. That might prove a bit difficult to wrap to put under the tree though.

*picture only


Dog on Stilts by James Thorp and Angus McKinnon

Medium Dog thinks he is nothing special, but he wants to be known for something. So, he comes up with a plan to get noticed - the title does sort of give the game away on this ! The illustrations are great in this story book, they are bold and unusual with a 'homely' feel to them. Again this is a second book for these authors - their first was The Weasel Puffin Unicorn Baboon Pig Lobster Race which is possibly the greatest title for a book ever.

This might look like a bit of fun, but there is also a nice message about acceptance and friendship that is delivered well and in an engaging way. As you know I love anything to do with music so it made me squeal with delight when I heard that this is also available as a musical online:  https://soundcloud.com/the-superhairies/dog-on-stilts

The book is however available on Amazon and if you want to find out more about the 'superhairies' behind this book you can go here: http://www.superhairies.com/ or follow on Twitter here: www.twitter.com/Superhairies or on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/superhairies

Disclosure: All books were sent to us free of charge in order to provide an honest review.