43
Library kicks off reading program
Photo
Neighbors | Sarah Foor .After the puppet show concluded, Donavan DeRobbio (left) was allowed to take a closer look at the scary face of the Heartless Giant.
Photo
Neighbors | Sarah Foor .As the brave Iroquois warrior, Logan Pedh, faced off with the Stone Giant, storyteller Breona Conrad (far left) asked, "Who will defeat the Stone Giant?" Showing his sense of humor, Pedh pointed to Conrad and earned a big laugh from the audience.
Photo
Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Princess Alyssa Norton (left) eyed the brave little tailor, Breona Conrad (right), in her new superhero costume.
By SARAH FOOR
This year, the summer reading program of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County is exploring the theme of “One World, Many Stories.”
To kick off the program, hundreds gathered at the Boardman library on June 22 to explore stories from around the world with the Madcap Puppet Theatre.
Madcap puppeteers Rachel Christianson and Breona Conrad hosted the program “Jack and the Gentle Giant,” where they acted as tour guides through giant stories from around the world.
“In our Madcap programs, our basis always starts with books and then we start to use our imagination. We hope that, whatever you do, you never lose your love of reading or your great imagination,” Christianson told the crowd before the show began.
The first stop on the tour was Germany, where the duo explored the Brothers Grimm tale “The Brave Little Tailor.” Conrad played a tailor who defeated a giant ogre with quick thinking, winning the hand of a princess played by audience member Alyssa Norton.
The next tale explored the Iroquois legend of the Stone Giant. Volunteer Logan Pedh played the warrior, exclaiming “I’m not afraid of anything!” and defeating the giant with his stone hatchet.
The last story took guests to the Czech Republic, where Broomhilda the Brave went on a quest to help the Heartless Giant.
By showing kindness throughout her journey, volunteer Chloe Hudock was helped by friends and was able to return the heart to the giant.
Logan Pedh, who played the Iroquois warrior, elicited a big laugh from the crowd when he pointed to puppeteer Breona Conrad as an answer to the Stone Giant’s question, “Who dare attempt to face me?”
“It felt really good to have everyone really like my joke,” Pedh said with a smile. “I think I’d like to keep acting.”