Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!

Maddie Field-Green | Jul 23, 2014

On July 13 a puppet show extravaganza hit the stage at the Sharbot Lake branch of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library (KFPL). The two puppeteers, Brenda MacDonald and Sarah Balint, have been on the road touring various library branches for the past few weeks. They performed two classic children's stories. The first was “Strega Nona”, written and illustrated by Tommie dePaola and the second was “Three Little Pigs”. Both books are available to borrow through the branch near you.

At the Sharbot Lake performance the house was packed with children from all around the area, starting from the age of 5 months. The stage was elaborate and circus-themed. One boy, when asked what his favourite part about the stage was, said, “I like it because it's red.”

“Strega Nona” translates to Grandmother Witch, and the story centres around a magical old woman who seeks out the help of Anthony, a boy who is thought to be inattentive, as she is getting rather old. However, Anthony creates trouble when Strega Nona leaves her house under his care for a few days. He does not heed a warning to leave the pasta pot on the stove alone, causing it to overflow and fill first the house, then the entire village with pasta, with terrifying and funny results.

The show was full of comedic moments and stirring suspense.

During intermission one of the puppeteers, Brenda MacDonald, led a song with the children. As some of the kids knew the song, they stood up and sang it out with Brenda, much to her delight. This was followed by a reading of John Burningham's “Mr. Gumpy's Outing” [Editor's note – the best picture book ever written, with the possible exception of Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car].

The puppet show then continued with a fantastical performance of “Three Little Pigs” which literally had the audience rolling on the floor in hysterics. Brenda and Sarah really understood their audience and clearly love what they do. They were welcoming and entertaining from the get-go. They made sure to credit the audience for their energy; as Sarah said, “They were our best audience all week.”

Sarah and Brenda will be performing again on August 15 at the Sydenham branch at 10am. They will be performing two fox-related puppet shows, one based on the hit song “What does the fox say?” and the other based on the children's story “The Fox and the Grapes”.