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Pirate Puppets Teach Kids A Love Of Reading
By Keith Hagarty
 | | --Photo By Keith Hagarty Showing children the wonders of reading, a performance of “The Bookaneers” by the Tuckers’ Tales Puppet Theatre took center stage at the Jackson Library. |
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JACKSON – Dozens of children sat spellbound on the floor of the Jackson Library on Wednesday morning as they tried to figure out what exactly a pirate would do after discovering his new literary treasure actually belonged to a library and the wacky adventures unfolding before him in his quest to return the book.
No, it wasn’t the latest Johnny Depp swashbuckling blockbuster, but rather a collection of fun-loving puppets starring in “The Bookaneers” performance by the Tuckers’ Tales Puppet Theatre.
With a storyline designed to encourage kids to read, co-directors and performers Marianne and Tom Tucker have been performing their puppet shows for over 18 years, incorporating life lessons through fuzzy friends and their blended medley
of musical interludes.
“It’s great,” said Mary Anne. “This is frequently the first live theater that a child will see, as opposed to a video or DVD. Part of our goal is to have fun with them, but also to educate them a bit about how to be in an audience. This show we did was specifically designed for libraries, so we’re trying to make them think about going to the library to get books maybe on what they see.”
The Tuckers’ Tales Puppet Theatre is the performing division of Puppet Perceptions, Inc. The Philadelphiabased performing company was founded to provide entertainment to young and old with their puppets, also appearing at folk, ethnic and street festivals, craft fairs, shopping centers, theaters and schools around the country.
The Tuckers cautioned with a laugh that those looking to get rich should probably look into another field, but witnessing the absorbing smiles and glares from the kids during their performance reminds them of why they got first started nearly two decades ago.
“As Jim Henson once said: if it was easy,
everyone would be doing it,” said Mary Anne. “When you’ve got an audience—and this was a very good audience—we get energy from them. We’re giving them the energy of our performance, but there’s also giving us the energy back.”
The library’s second annual puppet show, which also included face-painting, prize giveaways and refreshments, was made possible through the contributions of the Jackson Friends of the Library.
The Jackson Friends of the Library have contributed in numerous ways over the past year alone, some of which including fund-raising, facilitating the installation of a sign at the library’s entry point along West Veteran’s Highway, the donation of a 52-inch plasma television/monitor and commissioning the painting of a large scale mural in the children’s reading section to commemorate the library’s five-year anniversary.
Howard Lazan of the Jackson Friends of the Library thanked all the commercial vendors and residents of the town who provided refreshments and assistance to the puppet show, as well as their support of the Jackson Friends of the Library over the years.
“It’s completely a whole Jackson effort,” said Lazan. “It’s a whole effort on behalf of the adults giving back to the children.”
Seeing the wondrous eyes of the dozens of children hypnotized by the puppet show was a delight for Lazan.
“There’s a little boy there with a blue hat and blue gloves on, a little tot, and if I could take a picture and just capture that great expression on his face—it’s joy, really true joy,” said Lazan.
The positive response from the children is what the show is all about, but seeing the engaged looks on the faces of the parents and grandparents in the crowd was a surprising bonus for Lazan.
“I think the adults are enjoying it just as much as the children,” he said. “Which means you never grow old.”
Peaking a child’s interests is a great motivator for opening their minds to the library’s services, according to Judy Friend, of the Jackson Friends of the Library.
“It feels great. The kids just love it,” she said. “I think it stimulates their imagination because then they come to the library and want to read books about it. This is a good exposure for the library so they can come and see what’s available that’s besides television or video games.”
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