Stagestruck [Mass Market Paperback]

Tomie dePaola (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 8, 2007 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Tommy is so excited. His first-grade class is putting on a play about Peter Rabbit, and he?s sure to get the starring role. But in his enthusiasm, Tommy talks too much in class, so his teacher decides that he should play Mopsy instead?and Mopsy doesn?t have any lines! Tommy is disappointed until he gets an idea. If he can?t be the star, he can still get the audience?s attention by reacting to everything Peter Rabbit does. But how will Tommy?s mother and teacher react to his performance?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2 - Tommy knows that he will be the perfect Peter in his kindergarten class's production of Peter Rabbit. After all, he knows how to tap dance, and everyone was impressed with his performance in the Thanksgiving play. However, Miss Bird casts him as Mopsy. Determined to be the best Mopsy he can be, he decides to take his tap teacher's suggestion and react to the other performers on stage. Ultimately, Tommy steals the show, and the boy who plays Peter loses his chance to be the star. After a bit of gentle urging from his mother, Tommy does the right thing and apologizes, but still can't wait to get onstage once again. Filled with warm colors and gentle humor, dePaola's illustrations are as impressive as always. The characters' emotions are clearly conveyed through the arch of an eyebrow or the angle of a line-drawn mouth. Through both words and pictures, the artist sets the stage for a fun story that kids will love, and a good lesson about sharing the limelight. - Kelley Rae Unger, Peabody Institute, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 2. Tommy hopes for the lead role in his kindergarten class production of Peter Rabbit, but his teacher assigns him to play Mopsy, who has no lines. Tommy makes the most of what he has, though, reacting (actually, overreacting) to every move by Peter Rabbit and stealing the show. The audience cheers him, but Tommy's mother sets him straight, and he later apologizes to his classmate and his teacher. Children will empathize with Tommy all the way, from ambition to temptation to reconciliation. The gently delivered lesson at the end does not dampen the fun of watching this aspiring thespian get carried away when he hears the audience respond to his onstage antics. The classroom milieu will look familiar to children despite the differences in dress that indicate an earlier era. With its warm palette, rounded shapes, and clarity of expression, dePaola's signature style makes Tommy's world an inviting place to visit. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (November 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142408999
• ISBN-13: 978-0142408995
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Arts & Music > Performing Arts > Fiction

More About the Author

"Tomie dePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1934 to a family of Irish and Italian background. By the time he could hold a pencil, he knew what his life's work would be. His determination to create books for children led to a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and an MFA from the California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland, California.
It drove him through the years of teaching, designing greeting cards and stage sets, and painting church murals until 1965, when he illustrated his first children's book, Sound, by Lisa Miller for Coward-McCann. Eventually, freed of other obligations, he plunged full time into both writing and illustrating children's books.
He names Fra Angelico and Giotto, Georges Rouault, and Ben Shahn as major influences on his work, but he soon found his own unique style. His particular way with color, line, detail, and design have earned him many of the most prestigious awards in his field, among them a Caldecott Honor Award for Strega Nona, the Smithsonian Medal from the Smithsonian Institution, the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota for his ""singular attainment in children's literature,"" the Catholic Library Association's Regina Medal for his ""continued distinguished contribution,"" and the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion. He was also the 1990 United States nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustration.
Tomie dePaola has published almost 200 children's books in fifteen different countries. He remains one of the most popular creators of books for children, receiving more than 100,000 fan letters each year.
Tomie lives in an interesting house in New Hampshire with his four dogs. His studio is in a large renovated 200-year-old barn.
- He has been published for over 30 years.
- Over 5 million copies of his books have sold worldwide.
- His books have been published in over 15 different countries.
- He receives nearly 100,000 fan letters each year.
Tomie dePaola has received virtually every significant recognition for his books in the children's book world, including:
- Caldecott Honor Award from American Library Association
- Newbery Honor Award from American Library Association
- Smithson Medal from Smithsonian Institution
- USA nominee in illustration for Hans Christian Andersen Medal
- Regina Medal from Catholic Library Association

"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 2 1/2 Not DePaulo's Best, May 23, 2005

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stagestruck (Hardcover)

When his teacher announces the kindergarteners are going to perform "Peter Rabbit" for the entire school, young, tousle-haired Tommy hopes he gets the lead. After all, he played John Alden in the Thanksgiving play and takes weekly tap dance lessons. However, Peter's excited and repeated classroom whispers annoy his teacher:

"Since you cannot pay attention, you will not play Peter Rabbit." (Ouch!)

"You will be Mopsy!" "But Mopsy is a girl bunny!" Tommy said.

(Double Ouch!) "Not in our play..."

Tommy seems to take ths setback professionally. He remembers that what his tapdance instructor told him: Onstage performers should react to what their fellow performers do. FOr example, if they do something funny, act like a member of the audience and laugh.

However, Tommy overdoes it during "Peter Rabbit." In veteran author/illustrator Tomie De Paola's acrylic illustrations, Tommy looks so surprised, sad, sick, etc. that he's basically just mugging for his young audience, and they eat it up. His teacher smilingly tells Tommy he's a ham; However, his mom informs him that he stole the show. He is to tell Johnny (who played Peter) and the teacher that he is sorry, and he does. He pauses and seems to agree. However, in a too-quick conclusion, Tommy remembers the audience's attention and applause, and he can hardly wait to get back onstage.

That's it? As portrayed in the book, Tommy's apologies seem perfunctory and with insufficient comprehension. His teacher is both too stern and too forgiving; she doesn't respond appropriately to Tommy's unintentional scene stealing. And Tommy, who's only five and did not act (it appears, anyway) maliciously, is treated punitively rather than with empathy and a focus on understanding. The story is too shallow, with one subplot about a shy girl in the play, and the adult "voice" (the "message") is confusing. Illustrations are pleasant and colorful, but, like the story, they lack complexity and dimension.

3.0 out of 5 stars Stagestruck, October 26, 2009

By 

C. Carpenter - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stagestruck (Mass Market Paperback)

Stagestruck is a fun little story. It get's the children thinking about ways we should and shouldn't act during school. For example when Tommy is daydreaming and not paying attention during class. As usual the illustrations are in DePaulo style cherub looking children. In fact while I was reading the story to the class one child asked why he was wearing roller skates refereeing the the cover of the book. The class also needed to know what stagestruck meant when I was done reading the story.

3.0 out of 5 stars not as good as some, May 9, 2008

By 

J. Patterson "school teacher" (Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stagestruck (Mass Market Paperback)

I normally love anything by Tomie dePaola. I felt that as usual, the illustrations were great. The story, however, was a little confusing to the children as I read it to them. Was the boy naughty? Was he making okay choices? Why was he so happy at the end after he had had to apologise for stealing the show? It made the students think that maybe it was okay to be a ham and steal someone else's thunder. Woops!