Presented with the right plays, children are the most honest and appreciative of audiences. This anthology, compiled by an authority on children's theatre, collects new and overlooked scripts that represent the best of modern playwriting for children. From works adapted from classic children's stories to original contemporary scripts, each play inspires the imagination as it entertains. With complete scripts for twenty plays plus a biographical sketch of each playwright, Theatre for Young Audiences is invaluable for anyone involved in children's theatre, from community theatre groups to teachers and students of dramatic literature. Plays included in this book: Charlotte's Web ... Joseph Robinette The Arkansas Bear ... Aurand Harris Really Rosie ... Maurice Sendak The Secret Garden ... Pam Sterling Wiley and the Hairy Man ... Suzan Zeder According to Coyote ... John Kauffman The Mischief Makers ... Lowell Swortzell The Wise Men of Chelm ... Sandra F. Asher Crow & Weasel ... Jim Leonard The Ice Wolf ... Joanna H. Kraus Home on the Mornin' Train ... Kim Hines The Falcon ... Greg Palmer The Man-Child ... Arnold Rabin Hush: An Interview with America ... James Still Bocon! ... Lisa Loomer The Crane Wife ... Barbara Carlisle Jungalbook ... Edward Mast A Thousand Cranes ... Kathryn S. Miller The Yellow Boat ... David Saar Selkie ... Laurie Brooks Gollobin The library of children's theater is understocked, and this collection partly redresses that situation. These mostly recent short plays are directed at children around ten, the ideal age to build a theater-going habit. The book begins with an interview with Maurice Sendak and includes a play of his, indicating the level of excellence the collection aims for and succeeds in achieving. None of these plays is doctrinaire or didactic, though they are full of wisdom. They engage children's imagination to communicate a sense of worth. There are coming-of-age plays, tolerance plays, and plays about children in society and war, and we are prefaced by useful introductions that will aid adult directors. Some are musicals. The best of them are based on folk tales from American Indian, eastern European, Russian, Japanese, and other traditions. Some are adaptations of children's literature such as Charlotte's Web and The Jungle Books. There is something here to meet every theater need and every child's anticipation. Highly recommended.?Thomas E. Luddy, Salem State Coll., MA Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. For librarians and other adults interested in the production of good children's theater, this excellent collection features 20 plays covering a variety of subjects and interests. Jennings has included original plays as well as adaptations of known works, all by award-winning playwrights who are recognized in brief biographical headnotes to the scripts. Hits such as Maurice Sendak's Really Rosie and Joseph Robinette's adaptation of Charlotte's Web are mixed with lesser-known treasures such as John Kauffman's According to Coyote . A conversation between playwright James Still and Sendak provides a motivational foreword. The scripts are not intended to be reproduced, but copyright sources are given, with addresses and phone numbers for those interested in obtaining permission to perform the plays. Highly recommended for school and public libraries and anyone interested in a substantial collection of plays for children. Helen Rosenberg "I am inclined to trust children with the truth, and allow them to draw their own conclusions. Not to tell them what to think-- but to require them to think."--Sara Spencer, publisher of the Children's Theatre Press "I am only ten years old but I know a good play when I see one."--Charles W. Coleman A. Jennings, professor of Creative Drama/Children's Theatre at the University of Texas at Austin, is the author of three plays for children and editor of four anthologies, including Plays Children Love , volumes I and II. In 1997 he received a Lifetime Achievement award from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education.