Ten ways I use panto for picture books by Abie Longstaff

I love pantomimes. I like the silliness, the crazy costumes, the audience participation.
I like the way they cater for all ages - the children and the grown-ups - so that the whole event turns into a family affair.

Many of the elements of a good picture book can be found up there on stage under the bright lights: 

1. A simple, strong story
Most panto is based on a fairy tale or a ballet. Whatever your story theme, remember to make the essence of the story simple and obvious for young children. At their heart, good picture books have a strong story-line.

2. Evil villains and good heroes
Panto is extreme in this way. The baddies are really bad, and the goodies are really good. Whatever your version of good and bad - make it clear.

3. Great character names
Panto is brilliant for outlandish names. Widow Twankey, Buttons the groom, Hanki and Panki, Carrie Bucket.

Mr Lovelybuns, from the Claude books by Alex T. Smith - one of my favourite character names!

4. Jokes for the grown ups
Don't forget the adult who has to read your book over and over to their child (poor thing!). Try and think of something to keep their interest, as well as the child's. It could just be something small in the background:

The witch's books in The Fairytale Hairdresser and Rapunzel

5. In jokes or references
Pantomimes are very clever about playing with a well-known genre - this can be a great source of jokes:

The Looking Glass magazine in The Fairytale Hairdresser and Snow White

6. Slapstick
Children love slapstick humour. It's simple and visual. So many picture books do this well - Dr Seuss, Richard Scarry and others were masters of the genre. I also love the Hairy Maclary books for this:

Dogs going mad in Hairy Maclary, Sit by Lynley Dodd

7. Audience participation (He's behind you!)
Lauren Beard and I spend a long time making detailed scenes for children to spot characters. Detail can create a talking point and encourage that feeling of sharing a story together:

The high street in the Fairytale Hairdresser

8. Dressing up
Who doesn't like dressing up? Panto is fab for fancy, frilly, gender-swapping, crazy costumes.

The Fairytale Hairdresser and Snow White

9. A big finale
In panto this is often a big dance/song. The page turns of the book should lead up to a fun or exciting climax:

The winter ballet from The Fairytale Hairdresser and the Sugar Plum Fairy

10. A happy ending
Awww. Almost every picture book has a snuggly, cosy, happy ending.

Rapunzel getting married

But surely it's not panto season already?
Oh yes it is!

The latest Fairytale Hairdresser is based on The Nutcracker ballet

Humdinger! - doing a picture book event for toddlers, by Malachy Doyle

 

One of the strange things about being a picture book writer is that you get asked to do loads of events, but because the vast majority are in schools, you’re rarely if ever actually reading your books to the age groups they’re written for.  I read picture books to everyone, from age 0 to 99, and they always seem to enjoy them - but it’s delightful to read them to real live pre-schoolers, for a change.

That’s why I love doing events like the one I did recently for the Humdinger Festival in Derry.  It’s a lovely little festival of children’s books run by Dog Ears – a new and exciting children's media company, and it was part of the year-long celebration of Derry as the first UK City of Culture. 

At the pre-planning stage the organisers asked me what age group I wanted to read to and I replied 3 to 8 (though I said if anyone wants to bring younger or older children, don’t turn them away – I know how complicated it can be, sorting out child cover in a busy family). 

I was delighted, therefore, to see lots of little ones turning up.  Now little ones, as we all know, have limited attention spans.  They can run about the place and yell and stuff...  If they like you, that have a propensity to edge closer and closer till they're crawling up your trouser leg...  They shout ‘I have a dog!’ and ‘I need a wee!’ 

So if they sit still and listen, or wriggle and listen, or join in and listen, even for a few minutes at a time, even just some of them, then you’re on a winner.  It’s chaos – but it’s wonderful.

Well in Derry, on Saturday morning, I did 45 minutes - and most of my audience were still there at the end.  I read them Well, A Crocodile Can – my first pop-up book - and they flapped their ears to keep cool, pretended to slurp a bathful of juice, stuck out their tongues to see whose was the longest, swung from trees like a monkey, stood on one foot while singing Twinkle Twinkle… 

I read One, Two, Three, O’Leary – while they joined in the songs (sort of), counted down the ten children falling out of bed, and all pretended to sleep at the end. (a rare moment’s peace)...

  

I read Too Noisy!, my most recent picture book, and when they all joined in, with great enthusiasm, on the HELP! spread, I was surprised the security guards (Derry’s still big on security guards) didn’t come rushing in...

I read Big Pig, and they all wanted Farmer Joe to let our eponymous hero, who'd saved him from the deep dark hole, live in his farmhouse with him , rather than be sent out to the field.  

 A little girl took the part of the boy in Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!  Guess who played the Grisly Ghastly Goblin?  You guessed it... 

And we finished, as we always do, with The Dancing Tiger.  Because it’s quiet.  And calm.  And sends them away with a warm glow (well, the Mums, anyway)  Two little girls came out to dance with my tiger.  (Though the first one went all shy on us and almost forgot how…)

So that was it.  Except they didn’t want to go yet, so we had to do one more story…

Oh, and while I was there I got to meet Meg Rosoff and Alex T. Smith, and to go and see the phenomenon that is Julia Donaldson, doing the second of her two sell-out shows that day in the Millenium Forum (a 900-seater auditorium).  Proof, if proof were needed, that Dog Ears have got it right - that there’s an enormous demand out there for happy, fun, children’s book events, even in a place without much of a history of such.

So congratulations to Dog Ears and the people of Derry.  What a Humdinger of a festival!