Broadway Books: 10 MORE Theatre-Themed Children's Books to Share With the Kids in Your Life
By: Stephi Wild May. 31, 2020
Looking for something new to read with your kids while stuck inside, but still need your Broadway fix? We've rounded up 10 more theatre-themed children's books that are sure to fill the void.
Check out our list of favorites below, and part one here!
Amandina
by Sergio Ruzzier
She dances, sings, acts, and performs acrobatics, but no one knows because Amandina is terribly shy. Determined to change that, she rents a run-down theater and prepares to give the show of her life. She builds the sets, makes the costumes, and, most importantly, invites everyone in town. When the night of the big performance comes, Amandina nervously opens the curtains...to find all of the chairs empty. Disheartened, she performs anyway, not realizing that she does have an audience member-a very tiny one-who is about to make a big difference in Amandina's life.
Purchase on Amazon here.
Backstage Cat
by Harriet Ziefert
A runaway kitty named Simon introduces kids to what it takes to put on a show and have a moment in the spotlight. It's a kid-pleasing peek at a fascinating world the draws both stardom-seekers and those who prefer to remain behind the scenes. With illustrations by a bright new star on the Blue Apple list, kids will discover that there's just as much interesting stuff behind the footlights - and up in the catwalks - as on the stage!
Purchase on Amazon here.
Rifka Takes a Bow
by Rebecca Rosenberg Perlov
Rifka's parents are actors in the Yiddish Theater in New York, but one day Rifka finds herself center stage in a special role! A slice of immigrant life on New York's Second Avenue, this is a unique book about a vanished time and a place - the Yiddish theater in the early 20th centurya??made real through the telling of the true life story of the 96-year-old author as a little girl.
Purchase on Amazon here.
Moses Sees a Play
by Isaac Millman
Actors from the Little Theatre of the Deaf are coming to Moses' school, and Moses and his classmates are going to see a play! A class from another school joins them, and Moses is introduced to Manuel, who has just moved to the United States. Manuel doesn't know English or sign language yet. Moses, being deaf, knows how hard it can be when no one understands you, so he tries communicating with Manuel using body gestures, while also teaching him some simple signs.
Purchase on Amazon here.
Stagestruck
by Lisa Fiedler and Anya Wallach
After 12-year-old Anya is cut from her middle school soccer team, she decides to pursue her true passion, which is theater. With the help of her sister and new friend Austin, Anya puts together a kids' summer theater troupe (The Random Farms Kids' Theater), recruiting area kids as actors and crew members. Acting as director, Anya has to navigate the ups and downs of a showbiz life, including preparing scripts, finding a venue, and handling ticket sales, not to mention calming the actors' insecurities and settling conflicts. It's a lot of responsibility for a 12-year-old. Will their first show ever get off the ground?
Purchase on Amazon here.
Louise the Big Cheese
by Elise Primavera
"Dream big" is Louise the Big Cheese's motto. But try though she might, she's just plain old Louise, no Cheese. When the casting call goes out for Cinderella, Louise just knows that it's her moment to shine and take the stage as the STAR of the show. Unfortunately, the director casts Louise as a mouse while her best friend, Fern, who wasn't even going to try out in the first place, gets to be Cinderella. Louise may be a mouse in the show, but in the end it's up to her to save the day.
Purchase on Amazon here.
The Great American Mousical
by Julie Andrews Edwards and Emma Walton Hamilton
In the heart of the great metropolis of New York City, the bright lights of Broadway shine. And down, down, down, beneath a theater known as the Sovereign, there sits a long-forgotten architect's model -- the Sovereign's miniature replica. In this secret space, an adorable troupe of theater mice busily prepare to stage their own show, "Broadway Airs." Among the cast and crew are Emil, the director; Harold, the character actor; Adelaide, the diva; and young Pippin, the intern. Rehearsals are in their usual state of chaos when suddenly the production is threatened by the imminent demolition of the theater and the devastating disappearance of Adelaide. As the clock ticks toward opening night, everyone is worried -- will the little Sovereign survive? How can they pull off the most important night in mouse theater without their star? Somehow, the show must go on!
Purchase on Amazon here.
Five, Six, Seven, Nate!
by Tim Federle
Armed with a one-way ticket to New York City, small-town theater geek Nate is off to start rehearsals for E.T.: The Broadway Musical. It's everything he ever practiced his autograph for! But as thrilling as Broadway is, rehearsals are nothing like Nate expects: full of intimidating child stars, cut-throat understudies, and a director who can't even remember Nate's name.
Now, as the countdown to opening night is starting to feel more like a time bomb, Nate is going to need more than his lucky rabbit's foot if he ever wants to see his name in lights. He may even need a showbiz miracle.
Purchase on Amazon here.
Lulu the Broadway Mouse
Lulu is a little girl with a very big dream: she wants to be on Broadway. She wants it more than anything in the world. As it happens, she lives in Broadway's Shubert Theatre; so achieving her dream shouldn't be too tricky, right? Wrong. Because the thing about Lulu? She's a little girl mouse.
When a human girl named Jayne joins the cast of the show at the Shubert as an understudy, Lulu becomes Jayne's guide through the world of her theatre and its wonderfully kooky cast and crew. Together, Jayne and Lulu learn that sometimes dreams turn out differently than we imagined; sometimes they come with terms and conditions (aka the company mean girl, Amanda). But sometimes, just when we've given up all hope, bigger and better dreams than we'd ever thought could come true, do.
Purchase on Amazon here.
Angelina on Stage
by Helen Craig
In Angelina on Stage, Angelina has a part in a grown-ups' ballet, and so does her cousin Henry. But Angelina's excitement turns to jealousy during rehearsals when Henry becomes the favorite. Will Angelina and Henry still be friends after the performance?
Purchase on Amazon here.
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