Folktales on Stage: Children's Plays for Reader's Theater (or Readers Theatre), With 16 Scripts from World Folk and Fairy Tales and Legends, Including Asian, African, and Native American

By Aaron Shepard

"Folktales on Stage" is a collection of reader's theater scripts for young readers, adapted by award-winning children's author Aaron Shepard from his own folktale retellings. A wide variety of countries and cultures is represented, including Native America, Africa, the Middle East, Russia, Southeast Asia, and China. While focusing on ages 8 to 15, the collection features a full range of reading levels. 
 
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Aaron Shepard is the author of many books, stories, and scripts for young people, as well as professional books and resources for writers and educators. He has also worked professionally in both storytelling and reader's theater, as a performer, director, and teacher trainer. Aaron's lively and meticulous retellings of folktales and other traditional literature have found homes with more than a dozen children's book publishers, large and small, and with the world's top children's literary magazines, winning him honors from the American Library Association, the New York Public Library, the Bank Street College of Education, the National Council for the Social Studies, and the American Folklore Society. His extensive Web site, visited by thousands of teachers and librarians each week, is known internationally as a prime resource for folktales, storytelling, and reader's theater, while his stories and scripts have been featured in textbooks from publishers worldwide, including Scholastic, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, SRA, The College Board, Pearson Education, National Geographic, Oxford University Press, Barron's, Hodder Education, and McGraw-Hill.
 
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"Aaron Shepard is a national treasure. He has given thousands of us busy teachers and librarians a gold mine of ready-made plays our students clamor to perform over and over. Aaron's new collection never fails to delight and enthrall. While the experts argue about the 'right' way to teach reading, Aaron is in the middle of the action, inspiring our kids to read aloud with fluency, comprehension, expression, and best of all, joy." -- Judy Freeman, Author, "More Books Kids Will Sit Still For" 
 
"Aaron Shepard has done it! Folktales on Stage is a complete package of easy-to-perform, dynamic reader's theater scripts. Pack your passport and take a trip around the world. You and your actors will have a world of fun." -- Dr. Caroline Feller Bauer, Author, "Presenting Reader's Theater" and "New Handbook for Storytellers" 
 
"What a gift for the classroom teacher! Pure reading pleasure and not a single script that can't be used with small groups or an entire class. Performance reading builds fluency, but Aaron Shepard's gift for storytelling will also build appreciation. This collection will be a rich addition to reading programs in our balanced literacy classrooms." -- Susan Finney, Author, "Independent Reading Activities That Keep Kids Learning While You Teach Small Groups" 
 
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shepard Publications
• Release date: Apr 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781620352144

Aaron Shepard

Aaron Shepard has written award-winning short fiction and has been published in a number of Canadian literary journals, including the Fiddlehead and PRISM International. His personal essay “Edge of the Herd” appears in the anthology Nobody’s Father: Life Without Kids. He is a graduate of the University of Victoria’s MFA in Creative Writing program, and has served on the fiction board of the Malahat Review. An avid outdoorsman, Aaron enjoys hiking, camping, birdwatching, and cross-country skiing in his spare time. When is a Man is his debut novel. Follow Aaron on Twitter at @AaronWhen.

Book preview

FOLKTALES ON STAGE

Children’s Plays for Reader’s Theater (or Readers Theatre), With 16 Scripts from World Folk and Fairy Tales and Legends, Including Asian, African, and Native American

Aaron Shepard

Shepard Publications

Bellingham, Washington

Copyright © 2004, 2014, 2017, 2018 by Aaron Shepard

Copying or printing portions of this ebook is prohibited for other than personal use.

Ebook Version 1.7

Aaron Shepard is the award-winning author of numerous children’s books and magazine stories, as well as three books on reader’s theater. He spent five years as a professional actor in reader’s theater, performing in schools and conducting workshops for teachers, librarians, and students. He now hosts Aaron Shepard’s RT Page, the Web’s most popular reader’s theater destination, with visits by thousands of teachers and librarians each week.

Reader’s Theater

Stories on Stage ~ Folktales on Stage ~ Readers on Stage

Other Professional Resources

The Business of Writing for Children ~ Adventures in Writing for Children

For more reader’s theater,

visit Aaron’s RT Page at

www.aaronshep.com/rt

Contents — Long

Getting Started

About This Book ~ About the Scripts ~ About Staging ~ About the Web Site

The Adventures of Mouse Deer

Favorite Tales of Southeast Asia

PREVIEW: Mouse Deer is small, and many animals want to eat him — but first they have to catch him!

GENRE: Folktales, trickster tales

CULTURE: Indonesian, Malaysian

THEME: Wits vs. power

READERS: 9 or more

READER AGES: 7–10

LENGTH: 20 minutes (3 + 7 + 4 + 6 + 1)

The Calabash Kids

A Tale of Tanzania

PREVIEW: The prayers of a lonely woman are answered when her gourds change into children.

GENRE: Folktales

CULTURE: African, Tanzanian

THEME: Name-calling

READERS: 16 or more

READER AGES: 7–11

LENGTH: 8 minutes

The Hidden One

A Native American Legend

PREVIEW: The invisible hunter at the end of the village is sought as husband by every village maiden — but will Little Scarface even dare to try?

GENRE: Folktales, Cinderella tales

CULTURE: Native American, Canadian

THEME: Self-esteem, heroines

READERS: 13

READER AGES: 7 and up

LENGTH: 8 minutes

The Boy Who Wanted the Willies

PREVIEW: Hans has never in his life been frightened — but a night in a haunted castle should finally give him his chance.

GENRE: Folktales, tall tales, ghost stories

CULTURE: German, European

THEME: Fearlessness

READERS: 19 or more

READER AGES: 8–12

LENGTH: 10 minutes

The Princess Mouse

A Tale of Finland

PREVIEW: When a young man seeks a wife by way of family tradition, he finds himself engaged to a mouse.

GENRE: Folktales

CULTURE: Finnish

THEME: Kindness, humility, integrity

READERS: 8 or more

READER AGES: 8–12

LENGTH: 12 minutes

The Legend of Slappy Hooper

An American Tall Tale

PREVIEW: Slappy is the world’s biggest, fastest, bestest sign painter, but he’s too good — his pictures keep coming to life.

GENRE: Tall tales, folktales

CULTURE: American

THEME: Pursuit of excellence

READERS: 8 or more

READER AGES: 8–13

LENGTH: 10 minutes

The Gifts of the Grasscutter

A Tale of India and Pakistan

PREVIEW: Wali Dad, a humble grasscutter, never asked for wealth — so why can’t he give it away?

GENRE: Folktales

CULTURE: Asian Indian, Pakistani

THEME: Generosity

READERS: 15

READER AGES: 8–13

LENGTH: 10 minutes

The Baker’s Dozen

A Saint Nicholas Tale

PREVIEW: Van Amsterdam, the baker, is as honest as he can be — but he may have something left to learn.

GENRE: Legends, St. Nicholas tales

CULTURE: American (Dutch colonial)

THEME: Generosity

READERS: 6 or more

READER AGES: 8–13

LENGTH: 6 minutes

Master Maid

A Tale of Norway

PREVIEW: When Leif goes to work for the troll, only the advice of a remarkable young woman can save him from his foolishness — if only he’ll listen!

GENRE: Folktales, tall tales

CULTURE: Norwegian

THEME: Stubbornness, heroines

READERS: 9 or more

READER AGES: 8–15

LENGTH: 12 minutes

The Magic Brocade

A Tale of China

PREVIEW: To save his mother’s life, a young man must retrieve her weaving from the fairies of Sun Palace.

GENRE: Folktales

CULTURE: Chinese

THEME: Following dreams; creative process

READERS: 9 or more

READER AGES: 8–15

LENGTH: 12 minutes

Forty Fortunes

A Tale of Iran

PREVIEW: When a young man’s wife makes him pose as a fortuneteller, his success is unpredictable.

GENRE: Folktales

CULTURE: Iranian (Persian), Middle Eastern

THEME: Pretension

READERS: 11 or more

READER AGES: 8 and up

LENGTH: 10 minutes

Master Man

A Tall Tale of Nigeria

PREVIEW: Shadusa thinks he’s the strongest man in the world — till he meets the real Master Man.

GENRE: Tall tales, folktales

CULTURE: African, Nigerian

THEME: Machismo

READERS: 12 or more

READER AGES: 8 and up

LENGTH: 10 minutes

The Princess and the God

A Tale of Ancient India

PREVIEW: The princess Savitri must use all her wit and will to save her husband from the god of death.

GENRE: Myths, folktales, legends

CULTURE: Asian Indian (ancient), Hindu

THEME: Heroines, determination

READERS: 11

READER AGES: 9–15

LENGTH: 10 minutes

The Enchanted Storks

A Tale of Bagdad

PREVIEW: The Calif and his Vizier try a spell that changes them into storks, then find they can’t change back.

GENRE: Fairy tales, folktales

CULTURE: Iraqi, Middle Eastern

THEME: Recklessness

READERS: 13 or more

READER AGES: 10–15

LENGTH: 14 minutes

The Crystal Heart

A Vietnamese Legend

PREVIEW: The mandarin’s daughter did not really see the boatman who sang from the river, but she’s sure he’s her destined love.

GENRE: Folktales

CULTURE: Vietnamese

THEME: Kindness, false imagining

READERS: 13

READER AGES: 10 and up

LENGTH: 10 minutes

The Sea King’s Daughter

A Russian Legend

PREVIEW: A poor musician is invited to play in the Sea King’s palace, where he’s offered more than riches.

GENRE: Legends, folktales, epic ballads

CULTURE: Russian (medieval)

THEME: Making choices; value of arts

READERS: 9 or more

READER AGES: 10 and up

LENGTH: 10 minutes

More Books for You

Getting Started

About This Book

Folktales on Stage is a collection of reader’s theater scripts for young readers, adapted from my own folktale retellings. Most of the adapted stories are ones I first published as picture books or in magazines like Cricket or Australia’s School Magazine. Most of the scripts themselves were first posted on my Web site in the area called Aaron Shepard’s RT Page — one of the Web’s most popular reader’s theater destinations, with visits by thousands of teachers and librarians weekly.

Scripts in the print version of this book may be freely copied for any noncommercial purpose. Feel free also to edit the scripts to serve the needs of your own readers. The ebook version, though not meant for copying, printing, or editing, is priced for comfortable purchase of multiple copies.

A wide range of reading levels is included, with a focus on ages 8 to 15. Recommended reading age more or less progresses through the book, from younger to older.

A primary aim of reader’s theater is to promote reading. To further this, it’s good to have on hand one or more copies of the book or magazine story that the script is based on.

Above all, have fun with the scripts. Let your readers discover that reading is a treat.

About the Scripts

In the long table of contents, and at the beginning of each script, you’ll find notation on genre, culture of origin or setting, theme, number of readers, suggested reader ages, and approximate reading time, as well as a brief description of the story.

Also at the beginning of each script is a list of roles. A reader, of course, can be assigned more than one role, as long as only one role is onstage at a time. When a script is short on female characters, it’s common to cast females in male roles.

Roles listed in parentheses are unscripted, with no assigned speech, and usually optional. These roles can be given to surplus readers if your directing style includes stage movement or if you choose to add speeches or sounds for these readers. In the reader count, unscripted roles are indicated by the phrase or more.

In the print version of this book, the scripts are designed to be photocopied single-sided for use by your readers. (That’s why all script page numbers are at top right!) Of course, you can instead copy double-sided to save paper or reduce weight. For holding the scripts during performance, some kind of binder will be helpful.

With the ebook version, you can adjust font, font size, and other formatting for easy reading. But it’s best to keep formatting consistent across devices, so your readers can all turn pages together.

Some ebook apps force the text to be justified, stretching the lines to form an even right margin. This makes it harder for readers to keep their place as they look up and down between audience and script. To fix this in Apple’s iBooks, go into the Settings app, scroll to the iBooks settings, and turn off both Full Justification and Auto-hyphenation.

About Staging

Of course, an actual stage is not required for reader’s theater. Stage here refers simply to your performance area, which could be the front of a classroom, or an open space in a one-room library, or one end of a school gym or cafeteria. (Or a script could be used as a group reading exercise, with no performance area at all.)

It’s best that you first read the script — or its source story — to the young people. Some scripts