Tag Archives: shadow puppets

Feb19

Tales from the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Dog (Project & Book Review)

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Tales from the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Dog (Project & Book Review)

Characters from the Year of the Dog

Chin, Oliver. The Year of the Dog, Tales of the Chinese Zodiac. San Francisco, CA: Immedium, 2006

Daniel was born on New Year’s Day. Shortly after his birth, Lin, his family’s neighbor, came to visit. Lin and Daniel became best friends and loved to explore their neighborhood and the countryside.

Daniel’s parents reminded him that as a dog, it was his duty to protect Lin from strangers especially during their adventures.

One day, Lin and her parents and Daniel and his parents went on a picnic in the forest. Lin wandered off and Daniel went to look for her.

Daniel found Lin just as a tiger loomed in front of her. Frightened, the animal roared and scared Daniel and Lin. But Daniel remembered his duty as a dog and barked loudly at the tiger.

Their parents heard Daniel and came running and shouting. Their noise frightened the tiger who ran way. Everyone praised Daniel for his bravery.

Lin hugged Daniel. “You are my best friend!”

SHADOW THEATER PROJECT BELOW INCLUDING LIST OF CHARACTERS:

SHADOW THEATER

Shadow Theatre

SHADOW PUPPET CHARACTERS:

Daniel the dog

Lin, a girl

Lin’s parents

Daniel’s parents

tiger

MATERIALS FOR SHADOW PUPPET THEATER:

(1) Large cereal box 13 ½” x 7 ½”

Scissors

Box cutters

Masking tape or packaging tape

White glue or double-stick tape

Colored papers, i.e. construction paper, scrap booking papers, or material like craft foam or felt

Tracing paper or translucent papers

Small lamp

PROJECT: SHADOW PUPPET THEATRE

  1. Measure the large cereal box and cut out the back. Tape down the sides of the box.
  2. Cut out a window in the front leaving 2” width wise and 1” lengthwise.  Discard   cardboard scraps or save them to use for another time.
  3. Select papers or felt or craft foam to cover the front and sides of the stage. Be colorful. The top, bottom, sides and the front of the stage do not have to match. Contrast colors and/or patterns.
  4. Select papers or felt or craft foam to cover the front and sides of the stage. Be colorful. The top, bottom, sides and the front of the stage do not have to match. Contrast colors and/or patterns.
  5. Measure the width and length of the window. Select either tracing paper or translucent paper and measure and cut it a slightly bigger than the window. Glue behind the stage so the ends of the paper won’t show.
  6. Test the lamp: does it work? The lamp will illuminate the puppets from behind.
  7. Add more embellishments such as columns or curtains.
  8. The Shadow Puppet Theater is (almost) ready to go!

MATERIALS FOR THE DOG:

White glue

Popsicle sticks

Dark paper

Scissors

Free clip art websites

PROJECT FOR MAKING THE DOG:

  1. Using free downloadable clip art, look up easy to follow instruction for tracing and cutting out the animals.
  2. Glue to a Popsicle stick and recreate the stories for friends and family. Charge a small fee and open the plays to the neighborhood.
  3. As a challenge, rewrite the endings to the stories or add or drop minor characters to make the stories unique!
  4. Act out the stories for friends and family!
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Nov28

Tales from the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Dog

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Tales from the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Dog
Characters from the Year of the Dog

Characters from the Year of the Dog

THE YEAR OF THE DOG

Chin, Oliver. The Year of the Dog, Tales of the Chinese Zodiac. San Francisco, CA: Immedium, 2006

Daniel was born on New Year’s Day. Shortly after his birth, Lin, his family’s neighbor, came to visit. Lin and Daniel became best friends and loved to explore their neighborhood and the countryside.

Daniel’s parents reminded him that as a dog, it was his duty to protect Lin from strangers especially during their adventures.

One day, Lin and her parents and Daniel and his parents went on a picnic in the forest. Lin wandered off and Daniel went to look for her.

Daniel found Lin just as a tiger loomed in front of her. Frightened, the animal roared and scared Daniel and Lin. But Daniel remembered his duty as a dog and barked loudly at the tiger.

Their parents herd Daniel and came running and shouting. Their noise frightened the tiger who ran way. Everyone praised Daniel for his bravery.

Lin hugged Daniel. “You are my best friend!”

Shadow Theatre

SHADOW THEATER PROJECT BELOW

Shadow Puppet Character:

Daniel the dog

Lin, a girl

Lin’s parents

Daniel’s parents

tiger

MATERIALS FOR SHADOW PUPPET THEATER:

(1) Large cereal box 13 ½” x 7 ½”

Scissors

Box cutters

Masking tape or packaging tape

White glue or double-stick tape

Colored papers, i.e. construction paper, scrap booking papers, or material like craft foam or felt

Tracing paper or translucent papers

Small lamp

PROJECT: MAKE A SHADOW PUPPET THEATER

  1. Measure the large cereal box and cut out the back. Tape down the sides of the box.
  2. Cut out a window in the front leaving 2” width wise and 1” lengthwise.  Discard   cardboard scraps or save them to use for another time.
  3. Select papers or felt or craft foam to cover the front and sides of the stage. Be colorful. The top, bottom, sides and the front of the stage do not have to match. Contrast colors and/or patterns.
  4. Select papers or felt or craft foam to cover the front and sides of the stage. Be colorful. The top, bottom, sides and the front of the stage do not have to match. Contrast colors and/or patterns.
  5. Measure the width and length of the window. Select either tracing paper or translucent paper and measure and cut it a slightly bigger than the window. Glue behind the stage so the ends of the paper won’t show.
  6. Test the lamp: does it work? The lamp will illuminate the puppets from behind.
  7. Add more embellishments such as columns or curtains.
  8. The Shadow Puppet Theater is (almost) ready to go!

MATERIALS FOR THE DOG:

White glue

Popsicle sticks

Dark paper

Scissors

Free clip art websites

PROJECT FOR MAKINGTHE DOG:

  1. Using free downloadable clip art, look up easy to follow instruction for tracing and cutting out the DOG.
  2. Glue to a Popsicle stick and recreate the stories for friends and family. Charge a small fee and open the plays to the neighborhood.
  3. As a challenge, rewrite the endings to the stories or add or drop minor characters to make the stories unique!
  4. Act out The Year of the Dog for family and friends. What other situations and people can Daniel help with his barking?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nov21

Tales of the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Pig

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Tales of the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Pig
Characters from the Year of the Pig

Characters from the Year of the Pig

THE YEAR OF THE PIG

Chin, Oliver. The Year of the Pig, Tales of the Chinese Zodiac. San Francisco, CA: Immedium, 2006.

Mama and Papa Pig just had a baby. They named her Patricia or Patty for short.

Patty was small and soft. All the neighbors admired her.

Patty was a fast learner. She learned where Farmer Wu’s family and the other animals lived, their names and their duties on the farm. But it was hard to teach her manners especially to understand the manners of the other animals that had their own habits.

One day, Farmer Wu lost his jade ring. Cousin Dog couldn’t find it. Farmer Wu searched the fields, riding Auntie Horse. Farmer Wu’s wife searched the stream, riding Uncle Ox. Their son combed Auntie Sheep’s wool looking for the ring.

Mama and Papa Pig encouraged Patty to look for it. She came up with a plan. One night, she tiptoed to the pigpen’s gate, rolled on the ground and covered herself with mud. She squeezed and slithered until she slipped under the gate’s bottom rail.

Patty picked up and sniffed Farmer Wu’s dropped gloves. She noticed a strange smell and followed its scent. The scent led to the compost heap behind the barn. Patty dug through the vegetables piled high on the mound. She kept digging and digging through the food until she found the jade ring!

She squealed.  Everyone rushed to the compost heap, surprised that Patty had found the ring. Farmer Wu rewarded her by letting her out of the pig pen when she wanted!

Shadow Puppets:

Patty, the pig

Cousin Dog

Mama Pig

Papa Pig

Farmer Wu

Auntie Sheep

Uncle Ox

Act out The Year of the Pig. What other objects can Patty look for?

Shadow Theatre

Shadow Theater made of recycled materials

 

 

 

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Nov13

Tales of the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Rat

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Tales of the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Rat
Characters from the Year of the Rat

Characters from the Year of the Rat

THE YEAR OF THE RAT

Chin, Oliver. The Year of the Rat, Tales of the Chinese Zodiac. San Francisco, CA: Immedium, 2007.

Ralph, the baby rat, let out a “Squeak!” when he was born.

When Bing heard the news, he ran up to the attic to visit the newborn. He offered Ralph a piece of cheese and the two became friends.

Ralph was a free spirit who was always getting into trouble. When he got caught, he always promised to behave.

On the day of Bing’s birthday party, Bing’s parents ordered him to put Ralph in his cage. Bing promised Ralph to let him out when the party was over.

Ralph could see the decorations hanging outside and smell the food cooking. Presents and balloons arrived, too. Bing reached for the balloons but their knot came loose. Bing grabbed the strings but all of a sudden the balloon pulled him up, up and away.

Ralph looked out the window from his cage. He found a pin in his pocket and used it to open the lock on the cage door. Then he ran to the ladder that led to the hayloft. He jumped out and luckily landed on top of the balloons.

Ralph had an idea. He slid down the balloon’s strings and bit through several of them. One by one they flew away and Bing and Ralph descended closer to earth.

Slowly, they landed on an ox who promised to take them home. Everyone was happy to see them and every one forgave Ralph, the prankster!

Shadow puppets:

Ralph, the rat

Bing, a boy

Bing’s parents

Act out The Year of the Rat!  Add your own ending to the story!

Shadow Theatre

Shadow Theater made of recycled materials

 

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Nov7

Tales from the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Monkey

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Tales from the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Monkey
Characters from the Year of the Monkey

Characters from the Year of the Monkey

THE YEAR OF THE MONKEY

Chin, Oliver. The Year of the Monkey, Tales from the Chinese Zodiac. San Francisco, CA: Immedium, 2016.

The Jade Emperor sat on his cloud and observed the Monkey King and Queen’s new baby, Max.

“If this child follows in his parents’ footsteps, heaven below had better take notice,” the Jade Emperor said.

Max was a rambunctious monkey both in and out of school. He often reported to the principal’s office to answer for one prank or another.

He became friends with Kai. One day, their teacher introduced them to the game of shuttlecock or jianzi. Max and Kai showed talent for the sport and the friends practiced hard.

Max’s family heard about a shuttlecock tournament and encouraged Max and Kai to enter it. The friends had to make the team roster first so Max and Kai continued to practice. They learned many moves including the “Leopard Head” and Standing Crane.”

Max and Kai became one of the county’s best teams but they barely qualified for the tournament tryout.  But Max’s dad had a thought about how to improve his son’s game. He taught Max a new move.

When the contest began, Max and Kai made it through the first two rounds. They beat the Snake, a formidable opponent, in the semifinals and squeaked to the finals.

In the finals, they came face to face with Tiger and Dragon. Tiger and Dragon won the first set but Max and Kai hung on in the second. Max and Kai earned a match point.

Max served a hard shot but Dragon leashed a hard return. This was the moment.

Max leaped high and smashed through Tiger and Dragon’s defense utilizing the “Monkey Spike” move his dad taught him. This was the deciding move! Max and Kai won the contest.

“This upset shows us that magic can still surprise us all,” the Jade Emperor said.

Shadow Puppets:

Max the monkey

Kai, a friend

The Jade Emperor

Tiger

Dragon

Monkey Queen

Monkey King

Act out The Year of the Monkey. Show Max and Kai competing and wining in other sports, too.

Shadow Theatre

Shadow Theater made of recycled materials

 

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Oct30

Tales of the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Sheep

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Tales of the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Sheep
Characters from the Year of the Sheep

Characters from the Year of the Sheep

THE YEAR OF THE SHEEP

Chin, Oliver. The Year of the Sheep, Tales of the Chinese Zodiac. San Francisco, CA: Immedium, 2015.

When Sydney the lamb was born, the entire flock came to see her. The shepherd’s daughter, Zhi and her dog, Dao, came, too.

Even though Zhi was the flock’s shepherd, Zhi and Sydney became close friends. Zhi even helped Sydney out of some hairy predicaments. Sydney was curious about the world around her and couldn’t help it but she did like grazing in the meadow with the rest of the flock.

One day, a great storm prevented them from going outside. The storm lasted for many days.

When the storm finally ended, it had destroyed much of the land including the pasture where the flock grazed. The sheep tried to eat dry shoots but the dried grass tasted awful.

As usual, Sydney strayed from the rest of the flock. Zhi found her talking to a rat and surveying the dried up river. They followed it upstream. Boulders and branches were blocking the flow of the water by the dam.

Sydney told Zhi about the river and together they devised a plan. Enlisting the help of all the animals of the surrounding countryside, Zhi and Sydney placed a log in a strategic spot in the dam. The animals stood on the log and hopped and hopped until pebbles and then rocks popped out. After more hopping and hopping a boulder finally gave way and the water rushed out of the dam, filling the river.

Zhi, Sydney and the other animals saved the day and the pastures, meadows and gardens were once more lush with vegetation.

Shadow Puppets:

Sydney, the sheep

Zhi, a girl

barnyard animals

Act out The Year of the Sheep for friends and family. What other predicaments can

Sydney and Zhi get into?

Shadow Theatre

Shadow Theater made of recycled materials

 

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Sep18

Tales from the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Horse

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Tales from the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Horse

THE YEAR OF THE HORSE

Chin, Oliver. The Year of the Horse, Tales from the Chinese Zodiac. San Francisco, CA: Immedium, 2014.

Hannah, a foal, comes from a family of accomplished horses. Her mother is a show horse. Her father is a race horse. Uncle Fu is a draft horse who pulls large heavy loads and Auntie Yee is an old mare who plays with children.

Everyone wanted to see Hannah when she was born.  Tom and Lao Shi, his teacher, were painting nearby the stables and strolled over to see the new foal.

From then on, Tom and Hannah became friends.

One day, Lao Shi received a message from the Governor asking her to paint a picture for him. She realized that she was too old to travel to the capital with it.

No other animal in the village was able to take it for her. Tom got the idea that he and Hannah would deliver the painting.

Little did they foresee the adventures that lay ahead of the on the road to the capital! And they had no idea the surprise the painting held until they delivered it to the Governor!

Shadow Puppets:

Hannah, a foal

Hannah’s mother

Hannah’s father

Uncle Fu

Auntie Yee

Lao Shi, an artist and teacher

Tom, a boy and Lao Shi’s pupil

Governor

Act out The Year of the Horse. What other adventures can Hannah and Tom experience on their way to the Governor’s mansion?

Shadow Theatre

Shadow Theater made of recycled materials

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Sep6

Tales of the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Rooster

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Tales of the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Rooster
Characters from the Year of the Rooster

Characters from the Year of the Rooster

THE YEAR OF THE ROOSTER

Kimmel, Eric A. The Rooster’s Antlers, A Story of the Chinese Zodiac. NY: Holiday House, 1999.

A long time ago, the Jade Emperor decided to measure time and name each of the 12 years of the Chinese Zodiac after an animal.

He would choose only the wisest, bravest, swiftest and most beautiful animals.

All the animals hoped they would be picked especially Rooster with his bright red comb, multi-colored feathers and coral antlers.

Dragon, however, wasn’t sure if he would be picked because of his baldness. Centipede cut a deal with dragon. He offered to get Rooster’s antlers so Dragon would be picked but Dragon had to promise to give him many legs and powerful jaws. Dragon agreed, grateful that he wouldn’t have to defend Centipede like he used to do.

Centipede gave Rooster a sob story about Dragon’s baldness and asked to borrow Rooster’s antlers. When Dragon finished with them, he would return them. Dragon, Centipede assured Rooster, just wanted the Emperor chose him as one of the 12 animals of the zodiac.

When Centipede brought the antlers to Dragon, Dragon strutted and in front of his mirror. He also carried out his promise to Centipede and gave him lots of legs and powerful jaws.

Jade Emperor summoned all the animals together and announced his choices to represent the Twelve Earthly Branches.  The Emperor placed the Dragon 5th on his list and placed the Rooster 10th. Rooster was crushed.

Rooster demanded his antlers back but Dragon refused, laughing at him. Next, Rooster got into a fight with Centipede. Centipede thought his new jaws and legs would defeat Rooster but he was no match for Rooster’s beak and ability to fly. Centipede crawled under a rock in fear that Rooster would hurt him.

From that day on, roosters have hated centipedes and pounce on them and eat them. Rooster continued to pine for his coral antlers, sitting on a fence, flapping his wings and crowing loudly, “Ku-ker-keru! Dragon, give me back my antlers!”

Shadow Theatre

Shadow Theater made of recycled materials

Shadow Puppets:

The Jade Emperor

Dragon

Rooster

Centipede

Act out The Year of the Rooster. What would happen if Dragon had returned the antlers to Rooster? The tale would have ended differently! Act out a different version of the story.

 

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Aug29

Make a Shadow Puppet Theater and Shadow Puppets

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Make a Shadow Puppet Theater and Shadow Puppets
SHADOW THEATRE

SHADOW THEATER

MATERIALS FOR THE THEATER:

(1) Large cereal box 13 ½” x 7 ½”

Scissors

Box cutters

Masking tape or packaging tape

White glue or double-stick tape

Colored papers, i.e. construction paper, scrap booking papers, or material like craft foam or felt

Tracing paper or translucent papers

Small lamp

PROJECT:

  1. Measure the large cereal box and cut out the back. Tape down the sides of the box.
  2. Cut out a window in the front leaving 2” width wise and 1” lengthwise.  Discard   cardboard scraps or save them to use for another time.
  3. Select papers or felt or craft foam to cover the front and sides of the stage. Be colorful. The top, bottom, sides and the front of the stage do not have to match. Contrast colors and/or patterns.
  4. Measure the sides, top and bottom of the stage. Measure the front of the stage around the cut out window.  An easy way to measure the front is to turn it over, lay it on a sheet of paper and trace around the outside of the box and around the cut out. Cut the papers and glue them down.
  5. Measure the width and length of the window. Select either tracing paper or translucent paper and measure and cut it a slightly bigger than the window. Glue behind the stage so the ends of the paper won’t show.
  6. Test the lamp: does it work? The lamp will illuminate the puppets from behind.
  7. Add more embellishments such as columns or curtains.
  8. The Shadow Puppet Theater is (almost) ready to go!

BASIC APPROACH TO THE PROJECT OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS: MAKE SHADOW PUPPETS BASED ON STORIES OF THE CHINESE ZODIAC

The next step is to read the synopsis of the zodiac tale and make the shadow puppets. There are twelve stories, twelve animals and other characters that illustrate the stories of the Chinese Zodiac.

When looking for information on how to draw animals and people, select free downloads on the web. I have listed a handful of sites (below) but there are more. Be sure that the clip art is free!!

www.dragoart.com

www.wikihow.com

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/

MATERIALS:

White glue

Popsicle sticks

Dark paper

Scissors

Free clip art websites

PROJECT:

  1. Using free downloadable clip art, look up easy to follow instruction for tracing and cutting out the animals.
  2. Glue to a Popsicle stick and recreate the stories for friends and family. Charge a small fee and open the plays to the neighborhood.
  3. As a challenge, rewrite the endings to the stories or add or drop minor characters to make the stories unique!
  4. Act out the stories for friends and family!

 

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