A Lithgow Palooza! [Paperback]

John Lithgow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 2004

What's a palooza?

An activity that keeps kids from uttering those terrifying words, "I'm bored!"

You may know John Lithgow as star of stage, screen, and television or even as a bestselling children's book author. But his most important role -- parent -- was also the most fun. Whether building cardboard castles or putting on a King and I puppet show or conducting a treasure hunt in the National Gallery of Art, John has spent years perfecting the art of the palooza.

A palooza is easy to do!

• A palooza doesn't cost much (some cost absolutely nothing)

• A palooza is instigated or organized by parents but is quickly taken over by children

• A palooza may involve a computer but never the TV

• A palooza may use all varieties of arts and crafts

• A palooza may secretly teach children (and parents!) a thing or two

• A palooza is entertaining for the entire family

• A palooza depends entirely on the inexhaustible creativity, ingenuity, imagination, and sense of fun of young minds

This book contains 101 ideas for creating paloozas for children ages 3 to 12 wherever you are. Grouped according to interests and themes -- like art, drama, music, vacations, and birthdays -- and incorporating lots of extrapaloozas, fun facts for parent and child, and suggested additional reading for all ages, John's paloozas range from adopting your own soup can for a day to inventing your own secret language to establishing left-handed day or creating a self-portrait. A Lithgow Palooza! is an utterly unique collection of original activities guaranteed to transform any household from bored to bubbling with fun.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Actor and children's author Lithgow (I'm a Manatee) has amassed a whimsical yet educational collection of activities parents can use to keep kids of all ages amused and engaged in learning while having fun. The book is divided into themed sections: "Big Paloozas," "Performance Paloozas," "Word Paloozas," "Music Paloozas" and other games. In each, parents will find suggestions rated by age and budget (most can be done cheaply or for free) such as building a fairy house from a shoebox, inventing a secret language or pretending to be an animal for a day. Lithgow accompanies many of the ideas, such as creating a photo essay (for children age nine and up), by noteworthy sidebars (in this case, a short history of photographer Gordon Parks). Lithgow's many years as a children's performer and author have served him well; the activities are, for the most part, varied and original. And the author, who used many of these while raising his own kids, has a knack for tapping into children's minds and worlds. Yet he presents his material in a straightforward manner that will make the games and projects easy for parents to implement and supervise, including the "running time" for each "palooza," related topics to pursue and suggested reading materials. With simple yet intriguing ideas, this is a delightful compilation to be used on rainy or sunny days with kids. Lithgow's humor and wit will inspire parents and children to rediscover the joys of good, old-fashioned imaginative play.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

John Lithgow is the New York Times bestselling author of I Got Two Dogs, Mahalia Mouse Goes to College, Marsupial Sue Presents: The Runaway Pancake, I'm A Manatee, Micawber, Marsupial Sue, The Remarkable Farkle McBride, and Carnival of the Animals. An award-winning actor, he has starred on stage, film, and television. He performs concerts across the country, and has recorded the CDs Farkle and Friends, Singin' in the Bathtub and The Sunny Side of the Street. Visit John at lithgowforkids.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (April 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743261240
• ISBN-13: 978-0743261241
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,399,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Writing a children's book was not something that I pursued. It pursued me. It started when I was asked to write a narration for a symphony for kids. I realized that it had the text for a book. From that text "The Remarkable Farkle McBride" was born. And once the first book was successful, others followed.

My sixth (!) children's book, "Marsupial Sue Presents the Runaway Pancake," was just published this fall. This is a sequel to "Marsupial Sue," one of my most popular storybook characters.This story was inspired in part by two different things: The "Runaway Pancake" song is a guaranteed show stopper whenever I sing it in one of my Paloozicals Concert for Kids , and my performing on Broadway this year in "Dirty Rotton Scoundrels" made me think that Sue might like to put on a show of her own with all of her animal friends.

I credit my parents for fostering my love of literature and books. I have fond memories of my father reading chapters aloud from great thick books like "The Jungle Book" and "A Teller of Tales".

I have carried on my father's tradition by reading aloud to my own kids when they were little. I have also started a few traditions of my own, like singing to them and playing really mediocre guitar, building castles with them out of refrigerator boxes and treasure hunts across museums. Once I even created a very elaborate paper chase across the entire campus of UCLA for my daughter Phoebe's 16th Birthday. Some of these games were inspiration for all of the Lithgow Palooza books and books with kits that have been published by both Simon and Schuster and Running Press.

Although writing is an arduous process for me, there is nothing better than seeing a child falling in love with one of my stories.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a delightful surprise, April 13, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: A Lithgow Palooza! (Paperback)

I'm a grade school teacher and I picked up this book looking (as ever) for a few new ideas for activities for my students. I hit the mother lode. This is as creative and refreshing a presentation of activities for kids that I have ever come across. These activities show a tremendous respect for the inherent creativity in children and prove that if you give them the time and inspire them with smart ideas, they'll create. And learn.

For example, "Bibliomancy" is a whimsical little "fortune-telling" game that asks the child to randomly choose a word from the dictionary to answer his own question about the future. So he has to read and understand the word, and then use some mighty creative logic to prove how the word points to his optimum outcome. "Color Concentration" adapts the classic memory game by using paint chips from the hardware store. So at once, kids are playing a familiar and fun memory game, becoming aware of the nuance of color, and reading those evocative paint color names. I loved "Museum Hunt," which gives adults a great way to thoroughly involve a child in the museum experience-or even replicate the experience from your own home using online art resources. And I will absolutely do "Palio" with my class next year, when they'll invent their own adaptation of the wild horserace that takes place in Siena, Italy every summer.

For the most part, the activities, or "paloozas," just require the adult to set it up and let the kids have at it. This book is a terrific resource for getting kids genuinely engaged in their own creative possibilities. It is also, by the way, a wonderfully enjoyable read for grownups, who are tossed rich and tasty tidbits on art and literature and culture that remind them of why they want to expose their kids to this stuff in the first place.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars is not enough!, May 1, 2004

By 

Carleta Vineys (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Lithgow Palooza! (Paperback)

Creative, innovative, superlative, outstanding. I just received my copy today and have read through one half of the book so far, but am very impressed. Every new parent should be given this book at baby showers. Lightow writes in an understandable, friendly conversation manner which is easy to understand.

As a left hander in my middle years who has struggled with the challenges and redicule of being "different", I especially appreciated the chapter relating to lefties. Creaping/galloping degeneration in usefulness of my left hand is forcing me to become ambidextrous in performing the simplest daily activities.

Thanks to a very literate and intelligent person for this great resource for parents.

My advise: Throw away the coloring books and remote controls and, buy this book.

Thanks to you Mr. Lightow for this enlighting and entertainig book. By the way, we loved Third Rock also.

CV

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A world-wide wonder for children to learn and play from!, June 8, 2005

By 

Mom of 2 boys (Chicago, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Lithgow Palooza! (Paperback)

This is a playful, richly informative book giving lots of interesting ideas to make kids THINK and HAVE FUN. I checked out the book from the library and now I need my own copy... because the age ranges are so broad, it's a resource you will be using for YEARS. (And yes, even if you are an adult I can almost guarantee you'll find something new and fun!) Lithgow creates interesting paloozas, and side-notes offer more details and resources for further exploration. Some of my favorites:
Labyrinths (no, it isn't the same as a maze!)
Kolam
Backwards Party