A Brown Bear, a Moon, and a Caterpillar: Treasured Stories by Eric Carle

For Teachers and Parents

A Few More Things

Dear Grownups:

During the Performance

Please help your young theatergoers read and understand the information throughout this Cuesheet. This page features more background information for you and some activity ideas designed to add to the children’s experience.

Michael M. Kaiser President

Watch for…

Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education

Stories, Art, and Theater Come Together Mermaid Theatre from Nova Scotia, Canada, is known for its innovative puppetry and especially its adaptations of the works of author and illustrator Eric Carle. Children familiar with the books featured in this performance will likely recognize the characters, which Mermaid recreated as puppets using similar colors and art styles.

Natural Reflection Eric Carle’s stories reflect his love of nature and offer children opportunities to explore some important science concepts. After the performance, you can further children’s learning by: n

iscussing metamorphosis and encouraging children to research other animals that transform this way, such d as frogs and dragonflies.

n

helping children explore the phases of the moon.

Little Lessons After the performance, discuss with children what they learned from each story. Touch on the main themes: n

Caterpillar—everything (and everyone) grows

n

Brown Bear—pay attention to, and be curious about, the world around us

n

Moon—keep trying

Activities for Children

n

how the caterpillar puppet moves like a real caterpillar.

n

all the foods the caterpillar eats and what he does with the leftovers.

n

how the bird puppet looks like it is flying.

n

how the moon is created on stage.

n

the use of lights and shadows in Papa, please get the moon for me.

Listen for… n

how the music repeats each time the caterpillar eats the food.

n

different music for each animal in Brown Bear.

After the Performance Think about… n

the difference between how the large and the small puppets moved.

n

which was your favorite puppet? Why?

n

which was your favorite story? Why?

Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided in part by Adobe Foundation; The Clark Charitable Foundation; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Macy*s Foundation; The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; the Park Foundation, Inc.; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; an endowment from the Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation; U.S. Department of Education; Verizon Foundation; Washington Gas; and by generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund, and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas.

A Brown Bear, a Moon, and a Caterpillar : Treasured Stories

by Eric Carle Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia Based on the books by Eric Carle

Major support for the Kennedy Center’s educational programs is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

ARTSEDGE is a part of Verizon Thinkfinity, a consortium of free educational Web sites for K-12 teaching and learning.

“ Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?

Learn more about Education at the Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education

Your Own Puppet Story

I see a good audience looking at me! ”

Make a puppet to represent a person or animal from a book you love. Use simple materials from your home or school, like paper, cardboard, socks, crayons, tape, and glue. Act out a part of the book’s story using your puppet.

The contents of this Cuesheet do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

Pattern That

Remember…

In Brown Bear..., the story has a pattern: “Brown bear, Brown bear, what do you see?”

“I see a red bird looking at me.”

“Red bird, red bird, what do you see?”

A good audience— stays quiet (unless you want to laugh) doesn’t eat, doesn’t sleep, listens, and claps at the end.

So the pattern looks like this: Question: [animal color and type], [animal color and type], what do you see?

Answer: I see a [color and animal type] looking at me.

Question: [animal color and type], [animal color and type], what do you see?

Now you try it. Think of three new animals and continue the story.

5

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

6

©2012 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Please recycle this Cuesheet by sharing it with friends!

Directed by Jim Morrow Music by Steven Naylor

Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by

Hello, teachers an d parents!

Please see page 5 for s. and activitie information

A World of Caterpillars, Brown Bears, and Moons

Here Come the Puppets Telling Stories with Puppets

Children, Children, what do you see?

I see three stories looking at me!

Three Stories Come to Life

Papa, please get the moon for me The moon looks so close to Monica. But even though she tries, she can’t touch it. So she asks her father to get the moon for her. Sound crazy? Well, Papa decides to try, even though reaching the moon isn’t easy. Do you think he can bring Monica the moon?

Let’s get ready for some wiggling, flying, and maybe even climbing to the moon. All that and more will happen on stage as we join colorful puppets for a fun, storytelling adventure. With the help of a narrator (a person speaking who you can hear but not see) plus the puppets and a little music, you will see these three stories from the books of author and artist Eric Carle.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Take one little blue egg sitting on a leaf. All of a sudden, pop! What comes out? A caterpillar.

He’s tiny. Oh, and he’s very, very hungry. You won’t believe everything he eats in just one week. And because he eats so much, he grows and grows. He builds himself a house called a cocoon, and he goes inside for two weeks. It might look quiet in there, but there’s a lot going on. When he nibbles his way out, guess what he has become?

All photos by Margo Ellen Gesser

2

The Moon When you look at the moon each night, you’ve probably noticed that the moon’s shape changes. But you know what? The moon never changes its shape— what changes is how much of the moon we can see.

This pattern is called the lunar (LOO-ner) cycle. At the beginning of this cycle, we can’t see any of the moon. But, each day, we see a little more until we see the full moon. Then, the part we see gets smaller again.

This happens because of how the moon goes around (or orbits) the earth, which takes about 29 days.

The Life of Butterflies In this story, you will learn how a butterfly grows up through four life stages. An egg (stage 1) hatches into a caterpillar (stage 2), which then goes into a sack (stage 3), and comes out a butterfly (stage 4).

But heads up: In the story, the caterpillar goes into a cocoon (a silky covering), but actually most caterpillars build a hard protective shell called a chrysalis (pronounced KRIS-a-less). And here’s one more fantastic word to remember: This sudden change is called metamorphosis (met-uh-MORE-fuh-sis).

How could you bring a book to life on stage? Some handy tools are lights, scenery, music, a narrator, and, of course, puppets. People have used puppets to tell stories, entertain, or teach lessons for thousands of years. In this performance, puppets act out the stories and drawings from Eric Carle’s books. The puppeteers—the people who move the puppets—will wear black clothes and often hide behind curtains, so you usually will not see them.

Puppets Come in Many Shapes and Sizes The main types of puppets include: n

Finger—the puppet body fits on one finger

n

n

and/glove/sock—one hand moves the H puppet from inside

tring or marionette—held up and moved S by strings

n

od—named for the rods and sticks used to R move the puppet

ody—life-sized or bigger, they’re often seen B in parades or on stage

n

hadow—a light shines on a cut-out shape S and creates a large shadow on a screen

n

In this performance, you will mostly see rod puppets. But watch closely, because you might also see some shadow puppets!

Watch carefully how the changes of the moon affect Papa’s plan to get the moon for Monica.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Bringing Puppets to Life

There’s a whole colorful world of animals and humans around us. We only need to ask: What do you see? Brown Bear gets asked first. He sees an animal that can fly. That animal goes second, and sees another animal that can fly.

That animal sees an animal (in a very unusual color!) that humans can ride. And the story, along with different animals, keeps going. After the performance, try to recall all the animals and their colors.

To make each puppet, the people at Mermaid Theatre looked at the art in Eric Carle’s book. Then, they got to work using materials like foam, fabric, and rods to make their puppets. They also colored some puppets with paint that glows in the dark. On the dark stage, that makes the puppets look like they are leaping and flying all on their own. Just two puppeteers move all the puppets in the performance.

3

4

A World of Caterpillars, Brown Bears, and Moons

Here Come the Puppets Telling Stories with Puppets

Children, Children, what do you see?

I see three stories looking at me!

Three Stories Come to Life

Papa, please get the moon for me The moon looks so close to Monica. But even though she tries, she can’t touch it. So she asks her father to get the moon for her. Sound crazy? Well, Papa decides to try, even though reaching the moon isn’t easy. Do you think he can bring Monica the moon?

Let’s get ready for some wiggling, flying, and maybe even climbing to the moon. All that and more will happen on stage as we join colorful puppets for a fun, storytelling adventure. With the help of a narrator (a person speaking who you can hear but not see) plus the puppets and a little music, you will see these three stories from the books of author and artist Eric Carle.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Take one little blue egg sitting on a leaf. All of a sudden, pop! What comes out? A caterpillar.

He’s tiny. Oh, and he’s very, very hungry. You won’t believe everything he eats in just one week. And because he eats so much, he grows and grows. He builds himself a house called a cocoon, and he goes inside for two weeks. It might look quiet in there, but there’s a lot going on. When he nibbles his way out, guess what he has become?

All photos by Margo Ellen Gesser

2

The Moon When you look at the moon each night, you’ve probably noticed that the moon’s shape changes. But you know what? The moon never changes its shape— what changes is how much of the moon we can see.

This pattern is called the lunar (LOO-ner) cycle. At the beginning of this cycle, we can’t see any of the moon. But, each day, we see a little more until we see the full moon. Then, the part we see gets smaller again.

This happens because of how the moon goes around (or orbits) the earth, which takes about 29 days.

The Life of Butterflies In this story, you will learn how a butterfly grows up through four life stages. An egg (stage 1) hatches into a caterpillar (stage 2), which then goes into a sack (stage 3), and comes out a butterfly (stage 4).

But heads up: In the story, the caterpillar goes into a cocoon (a silky covering), but actually most caterpillars build a hard protective shell called a chrysalis (pronounced KRIS-a-less). And here’s one more fantastic word to remember: This sudden change is called metamorphosis (met-uh-MORE-fuh-sis).

How could you bring a book to life on stage? Some handy tools are lights, scenery, music, a narrator, and, of course, puppets. People have used puppets to tell stories, entertain, or teach lessons for thousands of years. In this performance, puppets act out the stories and drawings from Eric Carle’s books. The puppeteers—the people who move the puppets—will wear black clothes and often hide behind curtains, so you usually will not see them.

Puppets Come in Many Shapes and Sizes The main types of puppets include: n

Finger—the puppet body fits on one finger

n

n

and/glove/sock—one hand moves the H puppet from inside

tring or marionette—held up and moved S by strings

n

od—named for the rods and sticks used to R move the puppet

ody—life-sized or bigger, they’re often seen B in parades or on stage

n

hadow—a light shines on a cut-out shape S and creates a large shadow on a screen

n

In this performance, you will mostly see rod puppets. But watch closely, because you might also see some shadow puppets!

Watch carefully how the changes of the moon affect Papa’s plan to get the moon for Monica.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Bringing Puppets to Life

There’s a whole colorful world of animals and humans around us. We only need to ask: What do you see? Brown Bear gets asked first. He sees an animal that can fly. That animal goes second, and sees another animal that can fly.

That animal sees an animal (in a very unusual color!) that humans can ride. And the story, along with different animals, keeps going. After the performance, try to recall all the animals and their colors.

To make each puppet, the people at Mermaid Theatre looked at the art in Eric Carle’s book. Then, they got to work using materials like foam, fabric, and rods to make their puppets. They also colored some puppets with paint that glows in the dark. On the dark stage, that makes the puppets look like they are leaping and flying all on their own. Just two puppeteers move all the puppets in the performance.

3

4

A World of Caterpillars, Brown Bears, and Moons

Here Come the Puppets Telling Stories with Puppets

Children, Children, what do you see?

I see three stories looking at me!

Three Stories Come to Life

Papa, please get the moon for me The moon looks so close to Monica. But even though she tries, she can’t touch it. So she asks her father to get the moon for her. Sound crazy? Well, Papa decides to try, even though reaching the moon isn’t easy. Do you think he can bring Monica the moon?

Let’s get ready for some wiggling, flying, and maybe even climbing to the moon. All that and more will happen on stage as we join colorful puppets for a fun, storytelling adventure. With the help of a narrator (a person speaking who you can hear but not see) plus the puppets and a little music, you will see these three stories from the books of author and artist Eric Carle.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Take one little blue egg sitting on a leaf. All of a sudden, pop! What comes out? A caterpillar.

He’s tiny. Oh, and he’s very, very hungry. You won’t believe everything he eats in just one week. And because he eats so much, he grows and grows. He builds himself a house called a cocoon, and he goes inside for two weeks. It might look quiet in there, but there’s a lot going on. When he nibbles his way out, guess what he has become?

All photos by Margo Ellen Gesser

2

The Moon When you look at the moon each night, you’ve probably noticed that the moon’s shape changes. But you know what? The moon never changes its shape— what changes is how much of the moon we can see.

This pattern is called the lunar (LOO-ner) cycle. At the beginning of this cycle, we can’t see any of the moon. But, each day, we see a little more until we see the full moon. Then, the part we see gets smaller again.

This happens because of how the moon goes around (or orbits) the earth, which takes about 29 days.

The Life of Butterflies In this story, you will learn how a butterfly grows up through four life stages. An egg (stage 1) hatches into a caterpillar (stage 2), which then goes into a sack (stage 3), and comes out a butterfly (stage 4).

But heads up: In the story, the caterpillar goes into a cocoon (a silky covering), but actually most caterpillars build a hard protective shell called a chrysalis (pronounced KRIS-a-less). And here’s one more fantastic word to remember: This sudden change is called metamorphosis (met-uh-MORE-fuh-sis).

How could you bring a book to life on stage? Some handy tools are lights, scenery, music, a narrator, and, of course, puppets. People have used puppets to tell stories, entertain, or teach lessons for thousands of years. In this performance, puppets act out the stories and drawings from Eric Carle’s books. The puppeteers—the people who move the puppets—will wear black clothes and often hide behind curtains, so you usually will not see them.

Puppets Come in Many Shapes and Sizes The main types of puppets include: n

Finger—the puppet body fits on one finger

n

n

and/glove/sock—one hand moves the H puppet from inside

tring or marionette—held up and moved S by strings

n

od—named for the rods and sticks used to R move the puppet

ody—life-sized or bigger, they’re often seen B in parades or on stage

n

hadow—a light shines on a cut-out shape S and creates a large shadow on a screen

n

In this performance, you will mostly see rod puppets. But watch closely, because you might also see some shadow puppets!

Watch carefully how the changes of the moon affect Papa’s plan to get the moon for Monica.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Bringing Puppets to Life

There’s a whole colorful world of animals and humans around us. We only need to ask: What do you see? Brown Bear gets asked first. He sees an animal that can fly. That animal goes second, and sees another animal that can fly.

That animal sees an animal (in a very unusual color!) that humans can ride. And the story, along with different animals, keeps going. After the performance, try to recall all the animals and their colors.

To make each puppet, the people at Mermaid Theatre looked at the art in Eric Carle’s book. Then, they got to work using materials like foam, fabric, and rods to make their puppets. They also colored some puppets with paint that glows in the dark. On the dark stage, that makes the puppets look like they are leaping and flying all on their own. Just two puppeteers move all the puppets in the performance.

3

4

For Teachers and Parents

A Few More Things

Dear Grownups:

During the Performance

Please help your young theatergoers read and understand the information throughout this Cuesheet. This page features more background information for you and some activity ideas designed to add to the children’s experience.

Michael M. Kaiser President

Watch for…

Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education

Stories, Art, and Theater Come Together Mermaid Theatre from Nova Scotia, Canada, is known for its innovative puppetry and especially its adaptations of the works of author and illustrator Eric Carle. Children familiar with the books featured in this performance will likely recognize the characters, which Mermaid recreated as puppets using similar colors and art styles.

Natural Reflection Eric Carle’s stories reflect his love of nature and offer children opportunities to explore some important science concepts. After the performance, you can further children’s learning by: n

iscussing metamorphosis and encouraging children to research other animals that transform this way, such d as frogs and dragonflies.

n

helping children explore the phases of the moon.

Little Lessons After the performance, discuss with children what they learned from each story. Touch on the main themes: n

Caterpillar—everything (and everyone) grows

n

Brown Bear—pay attention to, and be curious about, the world around us

n

Moon—keep trying

Activities for Children

n

how the caterpillar puppet moves like a real caterpillar.

n

all the foods the caterpillar eats and what he does with the leftovers.

n

how the bird puppet looks like it is flying.

n

how the moon is created on stage.

n

the use of lights and shadows in Papa, please get the moon for me.

Listen for… n

how the music repeats each time the caterpillar eats the food.

n

different music for each animal in Brown Bear.

After the Performance Think about… n

the difference between how the large and the small puppets moved.

n

which was your favorite puppet? Why?

n

which was your favorite story? Why?

Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided in part by Adobe Foundation; The Clark Charitable Foundation; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Macy*s Foundation; The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; the Park Foundation, Inc.; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; an endowment from the Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation; U.S. Department of Education; Verizon Foundation; Washington Gas; and by generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund, and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas.

A Brown Bear, a Moon, and a Caterpillar : Treasured Stories

by Eric Carle Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia Based on the books by Eric Carle

Major support for the Kennedy Center’s educational programs is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

ARTSEDGE is a part of Verizon Thinkfinity, a consortium of free educational Web sites for K-12 teaching and learning.

“ Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?

Learn more about Education at the Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education

Your Own Puppet Story

I see a good audience looking at me! ”

Make a puppet to represent a person or animal from a book you love. Use simple materials from your home or school, like paper, cardboard, socks, crayons, tape, and glue. Act out a part of the book’s story using your puppet.

The contents of this Cuesheet do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

Pattern That

Remember…

In Brown Bear..., the story has a pattern: “Brown bear, Brown bear, what do you see?”

“I see a red bird looking at me.”

“Red bird, red bird, what do you see?”

A good audience— stays quiet (unless you want to laugh) doesn’t eat, doesn’t sleep, listens, and claps at the end.

So the pattern looks like this: Question: [animal color and type], [animal color and type], what do you see?

Answer: I see a [color and animal type] looking at me.

Question: [animal color and type], [animal color and type], what do you see?

Now you try it. Think of three new animals and continue the story.

5

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

6

©2012 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Please recycle this Cuesheet by sharing it with friends!

Directed by Jim Morrow Music by Steven Naylor

Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by

Hello, teachers an d parents!

Please see page 5 for s. and activitie information

For Teachers and Parents

A Few More Things

Dear Grownups:

During the Performance

Please help your young theatergoers read and understand the information throughout this Cuesheet. This page features more background information for you and some activity ideas designed to add to the children’s experience.

Michael M. Kaiser President

Watch for…

Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education

Stories, Art, and Theater Come Together Mermaid Theatre from Nova Scotia, Canada, is known for its innovative puppetry and especially its adaptations of the works of author and illustrator Eric Carle. Children familiar with the books featured in this performance will likely recognize the characters, which Mermaid recreated as puppets using similar colors and art styles.

Natural Reflection Eric Carle’s stories reflect his love of nature and offer children opportunities to explore some important science concepts. After the performance, you can further children’s learning by: n

iscussing metamorphosis and encouraging children to research other animals that transform this way, such d as frogs and dragonflies.

n

helping children explore the phases of the moon.

Little Lessons After the performance, discuss with children what they learned from each story. Touch on the main themes: n

Caterpillar—everything (and everyone) grows

n

Brown Bear—pay attention to, and be curious about, the world around us

n

Moon—keep trying

Activities for Children

n

how the caterpillar puppet moves like a real caterpillar.

n

all the foods the caterpillar eats and what he does with the leftovers.

n

how the bird puppet looks like it is flying.

n

how the moon is created on stage.

n

the use of lights and shadows in Papa, please get the moon for me.

Listen for… n

how the music repeats each time the caterpillar eats the food.

n

different music for each animal in Brown Bear.

After the Performance Think about… n

the difference between how the large and the small puppets moved.

n

which was your favorite puppet? Why?

n

which was your favorite story? Why?

Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided in part by Adobe Foundation; The Clark Charitable Foundation; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Macy*s Foundation; The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; the Park Foundation, Inc.; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; an endowment from the Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation; U.S. Department of Education; Verizon Foundation; Washington Gas; and by generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund, and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas.

A Brown Bear, a Moon, and a Caterpillar : Treasured Stories

by Eric Carle Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia Based on the books by Eric Carle

Major support for the Kennedy Center’s educational programs is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

ARTSEDGE is a part of Verizon Thinkfinity, a consortium of free educational Web sites for K-12 teaching and learning.

“ Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?

Learn more about Education at the Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education

Your Own Puppet Story

I see a good audience looking at me! ”

Make a puppet to represent a person or animal from a book you love. Use simple materials from your home or school, like paper, cardboard, socks, crayons, tape, and glue. Act out a part of the book’s story using your puppet.

The contents of this Cuesheet do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

Pattern That

Remember…

In Brown Bear..., the story has a pattern: “Brown bear, Brown bear, what do you see?”

“I see a red bird looking at me.”

“Red bird, red bird, what do you see?”

A good audience— stays quiet (unless you want to laugh) doesn’t eat, doesn’t sleep, listens, and claps at the end.

So the pattern looks like this: Question: [animal color and type], [animal color and type], what do you see?

Answer: I see a [color and animal type] looking at me.

Question: [animal color and type], [animal color and type], what do you see?

Now you try it. Think of three new animals and continue the story.

5

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

6

©2012 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Please recycle this Cuesheet by sharing it with friends!

Directed by Jim Morrow Music by Steven Naylor

Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by

Hello, teachers an d parents!

Please see page 5 for s. and activitie information