A Tribute to Chris Van Allsburg

This is another program we've been planning for years and are proud to finally release. This show salutes one of today's greatest children's writers and illustrators. Chris Van Allsburg wrote Caldecott winners Jumanji, and The Polar Express (both of which were also made into movies along with Zathura). But Van Allsburg has provided much more than just a few great books that have been made into enchanting movies. He is also an accomplished sculptor, and has created a multitude of mysterious children's books that are fun for children and adults as well.

In this exciting tribute to a great American author and illustrator, we learn more about the man behind the books, the movies and the mysteries. Discover hidden puzzles that he has included in each of his almost 20 books that will have your young readers eager to check out and study his works. Your students will learn about how to craft a great story, how to design an illustration, and how to put the two together to create mysteries and stories of their own.

 

The Wild West Reading Show is guaranteed to have your kids roaring with laughter at the antics of Roosevelt Rat and David Hopperfield. The adventure begins when David Hopperfield, (a "magic" bunny rabbit) is accidentally transported back in time to 1845 (the year Texas became a state). Only by unlocking the secrets of the library will the audience be able to save the bunny.

The children will laugh at the antics of Roosevelt Rat (a puppet), and will be amazed as David Hopperfield the Magic Bunny “disappears” from the “time machine” and suddenly appears in an old photograph. They will remember getting to help draw the faces of historical figures in Texas history like Sam Houston and the notorious pirate Jean Lafitte. They will REALLY remember when their drawings come to life and begin talking to them with voices from the past.

They will learn how to “talk” to people from the past through biographies, how to learn about places all over the world through geography books, and how to travel through time using historical novels and science fiction. And because they are INVOLVED in the magic and stories, the lessons will be retained.

The Wild West Reading Program is “Wanted” by a lot of librarians. To ensure you don’t get left out, you need to book early. This show is particularly popular in the spring time during rodeo season.

"Your shows are laugh out loud fun! You skillfully blend magic, puppets, and academics for an unforgettable show."
--Veronica Grooms; Director, Madisonville Co. Library

Psst! 

Want a great way to hook kids into reading? If so, I’ve got a mission for you....
Imagine being able to get your entire student body excited about all the things they can learn in the library. Well, there are agents available that do just that. You might have seen them in the past disguised as a cowboy and telling kids about pirates’ treasure. But we have information now that exposes these agents' true identities. And the show is called "TOP SECRET".

This program takes a subject that kids find irresistible, in this case secret agents and spy gadgets, combines it with magic, puppets, and a cute bunny rabbit, and suddenly the kids are captivated.

When the presenter has their attention the subtle teaching begins about what is possible through reading books. At the end of the show the kids are all presented with their very own “Secret Agent I.D. Card” which has a list of their “Training Objectives”. These objectives are a list of the subjects discussed in this program along with their Dewey Decimal numbers so the kids can find the books in the library. How many of your students currently carry around a list of Dewey Decimal numbers in their wallets? Kids who watch our programs do and they refer to them often as they try to read at least one book from each subject area.

Color Your World:

A Magical Exploration of Diversity

Color Your World takes the serious topic of diversity and presents it in a fun and magical way. Your students will learn conflict resolution, dealing with bullying, and accepting differences. They'll learn about sign language, Braille, and what it might be like to have different abilities and disabilities.

The color of our skin, eyes, hair, and clothes make each of us unique. Our religions, beliefs, customs, and diets may be different. We may celebrate different holidays and even speak different languages. But, through understanding and tolerance, we can all live together even if we don't always agree.

This touching and heart-felt program is a GREAT way to kick off the school year by reminding students how to treat each other with respect. For this reason it is very popular in August and September (but great anytime your kids need to be reminded about these critical issues). If you are interested in beginning the year with a program that sets the stage of expectations, you may want to reserve your risk-free, no-obligation, cancel-anytime reservation at least 6 months in advance.

Like all of ours programs, Color Your World has a heavy emphasis on reading and encourages children to further explore their diverse interests through the many opportunities available in the library. As with any program, booking schools will receive posters to help promote the show, master hand outs for the children, and free consultations on lesson plan development incorporating the concepts covered in the program.

"I think your shows fill a niche that needed filling. The messages you present are vital, but you don't just talk about it, you demonstrate it while the entire audience - students and adults - have a ball. Keep up the good work, you will be hearing from us again."
--Denise Bowman; Bayshore Elementary

Our professional presenter and wacky friends will be taking your kids on a wild (and imaginary) tour of their backyards, neighborhoods, and community parks. Through magic, puppetry and storytelling, this madcap group of furry and feathered friends will teach your young readers about how to use the Scientific Process, coupled with the resources in the Media Center to answer questions about their own environment.

Along the way everyone will learn interesting facts about the plants and animals that live among us everyday. From North America’s only marsupial, the possum, to color changing lizards, inventive birds, and animals and rocks that change forms.

In addition, the students learn about the importance of recycling and how they can begin simple steps to take ownership of their environment. Get ready for another fun, educational, hilariously entertaining program that will have your kids racing for books and talking about the show months after it’s over.

This program is VERY popular in April to celebrate Earth Day and to help motivate the students for TAKS.

"Go Wild makes learning fun. The students recall vocabulary words from the presentation for weeks following."
--Sue Ensley; Morris Elementary; Lake Worth ISD

Book Bash is another interactive educational reading assembly program that is part story time, part puppet show, part magic show and 100% fun! There is no better way to CELEBRATE READING than with this engaging presentation.

Can 5th graders get just as involved in the program as PK? They can and they do when the program is Book Bash! Anything is possible with books. From time travel with fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction, to meeting famous people through biographies, and learning to do "impossible" things through non-fiction books.

Reward your young readers with something that is as fun as it is meaningful. You don't have to choose one or the other. Get the best of BOTH worlds with Book Bash!

"Wonderful. Worth every dollar."
--Christine Neal; Jack Fields Elem. PTA

This holiday season treat the kids to a program that’s trainloads of fun, filled with puppets, magic, storytelling, music, and audience participation. This imaginary train ride magically takes kids around the world to learn about winter holidays like: Diwali, Kwanzaa, Solstice, Lunar New Year, Ramadan, Hanukkah and of course, Christmas.

Yes, the program is educationally significant (Our staff can't help themselves, after almost a hundred years of combined classroom teaching experience, they are obsessed with creating the most educational programs available without compromising entertainment value), and yes, the program strongly encourages children to read. But don’t think for a minute that the show is anything less than sheer delight for everyone, including teachers and staff. When you hear the sleigh bell ring at the end of the show, you won’t be the only one to wipe a tear from your eye.

This is a show children will remember for the rest of their lives.

"Our teachers all have requested to have you back, and it seems it will be a yearly visit. I have never heard such words of approval about a school program from students, teachers, and administrators. If I want to keep my job, I'd better have you come back next year!"
--Stefanni Lynch; Smith Elementary in Magnolia

--Cynthia Vohs; Pugh Elementary in Houston

 

Work Smarter:

The Simple Machines Workshop

This hands-on workshop allows learners to handle wheels, pulleys, levers, wedges, incline planes and screws in a way that makes abstract concepts "concrete" (yes, the pun was intended!).

Our Professional Presenter comes in dressed as a construction worker, but the children from the audience are the ones who do the work.

Your tactile learners will come to life as they help figure out how to lift a 50 pound bucket of rocks with a 5 pound weight, and why a wedge is such a handy tool. Using levers your youngest students will be able to easily accomplish feats that NO human being can accomplish bare handed. This is a presentation that will be remembered and talked about for a VERY long time.

Teachers will have no problem tieing lessons into the subjects taught. And because the program also promotes reading and media center resources, it is a program that everyone appreciates!

Throughout the program, the kids learn how simple machines help us “Work Smarter, Not Harder.”

"Work Smarter is an excellent hand-on experience for students. This is a great way to let children grasp the content using a variety of learning styles. It is a great culminating activity for this unit or could be a super way to introduce simple machines to your students."
--Traci Cummings, Lead Teacher, Mimosa Elementary, Roswell, GA

Check out this line-up! We have a team of all-stars this year who want to share their favorite books with your young readers. Along the way everyone will be learning a few things about number sets, calculating perimeter, and how math concepts surround us everyday in everything we do. But don't let the subject matter fool you. This is the one time that (4+1) X 45 = 1. Four crazy puppets, plus one human over forty-five minutes equals one rip-roaring good time!

If your readers love sports or if you want to reward with a sports-based theme, then you have got to take advantage of "Learning: The Sport of Champions".

Characters include: our team captain Petey the Possom, The tortoise (from The Tortoise and the Hare), Jack Rabbit (the puppet version), and of course Roosevelt Rat who always steals the show. Come meet all these players and their new team mates as they prepare for an all-star season!

"The program creates excitement about learning and some students really need that increased excitement, especially in math. The program was amazing and informative. The students stayed right with you and even the slower students were in engaged in the program."
--Karen Krueger; Hamilton ISD.

Get Ready for another great adventure.

There are puppets, magic, music, story telling, lots of books, and...Well, heck, if you don't know what we do by now, you need to stop reading and get on the phone and call any of the hundreds of schools, libraries, and Parent/Teacher organizations who have hired us and ask them what we do. Then ask yourself why you haven't brought in one of our professional presenters to your group of young learners.

This program covers the the Writing Process and how to use library and media center resources to improve student writing. Good readers make good writers and the single most important thing we can do to help our students improve their writing (including the writing portion of the TAKS text) is to give them the tools they need: an understanding of the components of a good piece of written work AND examples of great writing. This program provides BOTH!

"You were a hit with the students and impressed my principal. She specifically requested that I let the other librarians in the district know about you which I was planning on doing anyway. Many teachers sought me out to thank me for bringing you and your program to our school."
--Ms. Black; Long Elem.

This is a program developed specifically for 5-12 grade students. It takes the abstract concepts of statistics, determining probability, and multiplying fractions and presents them in a way that is compelling, exciting, memorable and FUN!

What are the odds of reaching into a shuffled deck of cards, grabbing four of them and having them be the four aces? First we calculate the statistical probability of such a feat and then one of YOUR STUDENTS comes up to attempt the feat!

How many combinations exist for a shuffled deck of cards? Would you believe that there are more combinations for a shuffled deck of cards than there are atoms in our entire galaxy? I'll prove it and then I'll do a trick that has even slimmer odds of success.

Statistics has never been this fun!

"If you have never had a Julian Franklin Production at your school you have been missing out on a great opportunity to both entertain and educate your students. He is the best we have ever had at our school."
--Marsha Swain; Stuchbery Elementary; Pasadena ISD

"The program is highly entertaining and educational and sneaks in a Science lesson while making the kids laugh out loud. It appeals to the younger kids AND the pre-teens in the audience are still talking about how 'cool' it was."
--Shelly Lynn Pearson; Evelyn Meador Branch Library; Seabrook, TX