Childsplay: A Collection of Scenes and Monologues for Children

by Kerry Muir

Book Overview

"Childsplay is a very charming and enchanting book - and an important book for children who want to act Not only can they use this wonderful collection as a guide to the sorts of plays and parts that are available to them, they will discover here how plays ca be read just for pleasure. And they will particularly enjoy the selections written by children themselves." -Julie Harris

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879101881
• ISBN13: 9780879101886
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Limelight
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

a good place to start...

It can be challenging to find suitable material for child actors. Muir offers a place to start with this book. Some classics like '1000 Cranes' (from the book about Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes), 'You're a Good Man Charlie Brown,' 'The Diary of Anne Frank,' and others. Some material is dark and deep. But Muir summarizes the themes nicely before each piece. The monologues at the end are also interesting - some written by elementary school children.

Clever, short and original scenes for youth

I have been teaching theatre skills to youth of all ages for 15 years, and it is nearly impossible to find collections of short, clever scenes that consistently leave kids (and their parents) smiling and impressed. This book is literally the only one in my large personal library of theatre education books that I use over and over again, particularly in theatre classes and camps for kids ages 8 to 14. Scenes such as "Befriending Bertha", "Sammy Carducci's Guide to Life", "Scientist Meets Fish", and "To Bee or Not To Bee" are challenging and lighthearted enough to instill in kids teamwork and the fun of acting. Ms. Muir, is there any chance you will be creating another collection like this? If so, I look forward to it.

Best book out there of scenes and monogues for kids!!!

This book is golden!!! I teach teatre to 8 to 12-year-olds, and I haven't found any other book that I use nearly as much as this one. All of the plays are perfect for kids and pre-teens. With only a couple exceptions, the characters are all kids that my students can relate to. A few of the monologues are even written by kids. They vary from funny, to serious, to sad, and all of my students are able to find pieces that they enjoy out of this book. One favorite of both students and audiences is "Bee or Not to Bee," a humorous scene about a bee who disguises itself as a chipmunk to sneek onto Noah's Ark. Others worth mentioning are "Scientist Meets Fish," "Lemon Sisters," "Charlie Brown," and "Afternoon of the Elves." I highly recommend this book!

Great book for kids going on auditions

I bought this book for my daughter to practice with to improve her acting skills when she goes on auditions. We have loved it and would enjoy it even if her goal wasn't to be an actor.

I Luv This Book

I was in 2 of the scenes fetured in this book and saw several other(my theater group had a montage production). I have also seen some of the full plays the scenes were taken from. I would highly recommend this book to drama teachers of students anywhere from 9-14. These are the cuteest plays, especially Charlie Brown, Lemon Sisters,and Brighton Beach Memoirs. Get it!!