SPRINGDALE — Children attending a special program Thursday at the Springdale Public Library saw a performance of folk tales designed to get them interested in reading.
The troupe from Act!vated Story Theater travels the country performing and reading folk tales to children, said Dennis Goza, one of two performers. He's married to Kimberly Goza, the second performer. They met at an audition in San Fransisco and started the troupe 25 years ago, he said.
At A Glance (w/logo)
Upcoming Children’s Events at the Springdale Public Library
• Thursday: Gustafer Yellowgold, a multimedia performance involving live music, animations and storytelling for all ages.
• July 11: Tommy Terrific’s Wacky Magic, comedy and magic show for preschool and early elementary school children.
• July 18: Mad Science of Northwest Arkansas, science demonstrations for all ages.
• July 25: End-of-Summer Celebration with the Kinders, a party in the library’s courtyard with music, food and games for all ages.
Source: Springdale Public Library
Children sat in a semicircle that took up half the children’s library section to watch the show. They laughed and gasped as they watched performances of “The Bridge And The Dream” from the Arabian Knights and “Simple Ivan,” a Russian folk tale.
Seeing stories acted out encourages kids to read the story, said Dennis Goza. It’s similar to a child watching a movie, then reading the book it was based on.
“Stories are in many different media,” he said. “They’re everywhere.”
It’s also a good idea for parents to act out scenes when they are reading to their children because it helps the children become interested in the text, said Jay Brown, director of marketing at Reading is Fundamental, a national nonprofit group focused on literacy.
“It does offer a different pathway to reading,” he said. “It’s something kids really respond to.”
Childrens’ events at the library, like Act!vated, are good for the kids because it gets them into the library where they can find books related to the subject of the event, said Trudy Hill, children’s services coordinator at the library. Reading more during the summer can also help children increase their reading level before returning to school in the fall.
“They’re not going to fall behind,” she said. “If anything they’ll be ahead.”
Lauren Irwin said she brought her 4-year-old daughter to the show because she asked to go again after seeing it last summer. She also brings her daughter to story hour every Tuesday at the library because it’s another way to get her interested in reading.
Dylan Hughes, 9, volunteered to act as a robber in the Arabian Nights story. Acting out the story made him want to find the book so he can read it, he said.
“They were really good stories,” he said.
This is the third year that Act!vated has performed at the library, Hill said. They also performed in Rogers on Wednesday and Bentonville on Thursday, Dennis Goza said.