I’ve been so busy recently that I have hardly any time to post the new pictures from some really fun and hilarious shows.  In Hull I had a whole slew of energetic children excited to see Charlie and Edgar, Alligator and sing “Father Frankenstein” with me.  Good luck to you, Joan, in the move to the new building.  See you soon. 

  

I started my day Saturday in Reading doing a show for the Montessori School’s Halloween party.  It’s great to see all of the costumes the kids dressed up in this year.  The laughter from the kids made me laugh as I was telling “The Sleepover” with Charlie and Edgar.  They heard “The Scared Crow” and also danced along to “Father Frankenstein”.  Then I was off to Marshfield where many, many people were waiting to hear all the Scary, but not too Scary stories.  Alot of famialar faces were sitting in the audience, which I love to see.  There, in addition to the stories, we all used our imaginations and pretended we were the leaves that are just now starting to change colors.  The children also showed me just how scary they can be as we all practiced our “Boo!” voices for Halloween.  Hope everyone in Marshfield has a very safe and fun Halloween!

• Ventress patrons pretending we’re leaves
• Reading Party
• Alligator Up Close

Anyone who knows me – knows my love of Pumpkins.  That’s why this is the second month in a row to feature a Pumpkin themed book!  If I had to choose between Pumpkin Circle and this – I would choose this one.  It’s a simple story of a man and a field and the great lengths the man goes to to keep his field just the way it is.  This is a perfect book for a classroom – I suggest the book for Kindergarten to 3rd grade. 

The ride from Harwich to Belchertown was a long one – but at least it was worth it as many of the community kids came to enjoy the shows I did.  I started with a younger show – 0-4 years old – and then Kindergarten and older came to enjoy!  The kids have fun pretending they were fall leaves and then jumping into an imaginary pile of them, they enjoyed Edgar and Uncle Charlie’s stories and The Scared Crow, Timmy, Nathaniel Willy… boy it was a wild time!  Thank you to Jennifer Whitehead who took the pictures.

     

   

 I will be at Scituate’s Annual Family Fun Day at 11:00am.  Come out and enjoy a great time!  If it does rain we will be indoors – but if the sun is out – then we will have a great time outside!  Come one, come all!  Other performers include Mama Steph, the Great Scott, Jack Gillman’s Family Cabaret and Gary the Silent Clown!  For more info click here!  See you tomorrow!

If you are unable to catch me here – I will also be at the James Library in Norwell at 1:00pm.

 

South Yarmouth Library’s website now has some un-edited pictures up of the performance from Sunday.  You can check them out here and here. 

 

The weekends are packed in September!  I started Saturday in Quincy where a room full of infants to preschoolers came and laughed along with the dog puppets and met with Alligator.  I then went to Herring Brook Preschool in Scituate where they were having their annual Hullabaloo.  The crowd braved the heat for a while to listen to Abiyoyo and see my puppets. 

Sunday I went to South Yarmouth to invite the crowds back for Sundays!  The South Yarmouth Library is now open on Sunday – and they were treated to “The Scared Crow” and “The Sleep-over” – some of my favorite stories from my “Not so Scary” Tall Tales.

I love Pumpkins. I love the fall – but I think it’s mostly due to the fact that I love Pumpkins so much. This book is amazing. It not only shows how pumpkins grow but also that there are many different kinds of pumpkins and how pumpkins are in a never ending circle of life! The pictures are absolutely breathtaking (check some of them out here).  I am not alone in my love for this book.  Check out their website with links to buying the video.
I love pumpkins so much that on my trip to the Sculptured Rocks Natural Area in New Hampshire this past weekend – we passed a farm stand with pumpkins already out – and I brought one home. Okay, two, but my wife and I gave one away already. Everyone should have a pumpkin. And everyone should own this book!

 

Many of you know Waterson’s creation “Calvin and Hobbes” but what many of you people don’t know is what an amazing person Bill Waterson is.  Waterson fought many times to keep Calvin and Hobbes from becoming a franchised character that you see on T-Shirts and coffee mugs.  He believed it cheapened the integrity of his creations when you took them out of thier original intended meduim.  He fought hard to keep his art just that, Art.  I share in many of Waterson’s beliefs and I also believe these are some of the reasons that Calvin and his furry mate are remembered and revered today.

Check out some of the websites dedicated Bill Waterson here, here, and here

Big Ryan is now scheduling for his Fall shows! 

September brings the Autumn show featuring “Imagination Trips” that explore what happens to the leaves when the weather gets colder!  Chilren get to laugh through stories like “The Great Carrot Disaster” and Wolf and Moose tell “Treat 4 Bear”!  A fun and wild time that Big Ryan only does once a year.

Then, October brings “Big Ryan’s Scary (but not the scary) Tall Tales for Children”  A wildly popular show with Big Ryan classics such as “The Scared Crow” and the seasonal favorite “Timmy”.  Also, Edgar and Charlie (the dog puppets) come out to tell “Sleepover.”  Shedule Big Ryan now to beat the rush when October is here!

Autumn is my favorite time of year – I can hardly wait!  Hope to hear from you soon!