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My blogger friend Gail Terp: http://www.gailterp.com   came up with a wonderful list of books that have scripts for children to put on their own plays. So, for the budding actors in your family, check out some of these titles.

Books for Summer Drama Fun

Want to add a little drama to your summer days? Put on some plays! Your plays can be straight out of your head, ones someone else has written or a combination of both. Here are some books to get you started. In case your library system doesn’t carry some of these books, I’ve added the library call numbers so you can browse for summer drama.

12 Fabulously Funny Fairy Tale Plays by Justin McCory Martin

The author has taken well-known fairy tales and given them a new twist. The titles give a pretty good idea of what to expect: Spiderella, Rafunzel, The Emperor’s New Hair, Slurping Beauty and 7 more.

The Jumbo Book of Drama by Deborah Dunleavy, illustrated by Jane Kurisu

This book has many ideas to get your creative drama ideas started. There aren’t many scripts, just countless ideas for creating your own plays and other bits of drama. Some of the chapters are: Magic, Clowning Around (really fun ideas), Puppets and Puppetry, Comedy and Tragedy.

Fifty Fabulous Fables by Suzanne I Barchers

Did you know that Aesop was a slave in Greece and wrote his fables around 550 B.C.? That’s over 2,500 years ago! I love knowing this fact. This book is filled with fables that Aesop wrote, rewritten as short plays. The plays are written for 2-4 players and at 4 different reading levels.

On Stage: Theater Games and Activities for Kids by Lisa Bany-Winters

Although there are a few scripts in this book, it is mostly filled with games and activities to get players thinking like actors and play-writers. There are all kinds of games that promote silly pretending, working together to create ideas, pantomime, creating characters, costume making and lots of others.

Putting on a Play by Paul Dubois Jacobs and Jennifer Swender

This small book covers all aspects of play production (casting, scripts, makeup…) and then suggests different topics such as pirates, princesses, the circus, explorers… Each topic gives suggestions for costumes, props and 3 different storylines.

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