Post for March 10, 2012: "Bears on the Brain"
Since I have a new picture book coming out April 1st (no foolin’) , The Bear Went Over the Mountain, I thought it’s about time I tell you about another story I wrote called Black Bear’s Hudson Valley Tale. I wrote it for a local musical group named Madera Vox, a marvelous quintet with a pianist, an oboist, a basoonist, a percussionist/composer and a soprano. They describe their style as “crossover classical,” but I would just call it uniquely beautiful. Here is a link to their site: www.blackbearshudsonvalleytale.com.
And here is the story behind the tale:
A few years ago they had approached me to collaborate on a project – to write a children’s story, a libretto, actually – something akin to Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. David Gluck, their percussionist and composer would set it to a musical score and they would perform it as a theatrical piece, a ”musical storytelling.”
I panicked, of course.
Yes, I had written many children’s books, but they were all in rhyme, and averaging under 300 words. Yes, I agreed to do it. But would I, could I deliver?
The six of us met and discussed possibilities. Their music, I told them, reminded me of water, which led us to think of the Hudson River and how I could base a story around that. Over the next months, I agonized. Nothing came to mind. But then, on our annual summer trip to Maine, with a sound track of Peter and the Wolf for inspiration, and a nine hour ride ahead, ideas started to sprout. I thought of our beautiful valley with its Catskill mountains and Hudson river, with its apple orchards and farms and woods and gorgeous seasons and abundant wildlife. And a black bear came to mind. Here is how it begins:
Black Bear’s Hudson Valley Tale
Scene 1
In the pink light of predawn, deep in the Catskill Mountains, a pile of twigs and leaves began to stir on the forest floor. Black Bear emerged from his den and stretched, yawned and scowled. Peep, peep, peep, he heard, peep, peep, peep. Following the sound he came to a scrub-shrub swamp filled with tiny frogs.
(Listen to "Time to Rise" here)
“Hey!” he grumbled, “I was sleeping.”
“You awoke me with your peeping.”
“Not a real nice thing to do.”
“Not one more peep out of you!”
To which the chorus of little frogs replied:
(Song)
Every dusk and every dawn,
How we love to carry on,
How we love to peep and sing
To tell the world that it is spring.
Hurry up. It’s time to rise.
To open up your sleepy eyes.
Look at all the trees in bloom.
Smell the flowers’ sweet perfume.
We are peepers! We are peepers! (chorus)
We awake all winter sleepers!
We are peepers! We are peepers!
We awake all winter sleepers!
Every dusk and every dawn,
How we love to carry on,
How we love to peep and sing
To tell the world that it is spring.
Say good-bye to cold and snow.
Spring is here to steal the show.
Celebrate with us today.
Welcome spring! Hooray! Hooray!
We are peepers! We are peepers!
We awake all winter sleepers!
We are peepers! We are peepers!
We awake all winter sleepers!
With that, Black Bear, now awake and less grumpy, looked around and saw the brilliant yellow greens of spring and all the trees bursting into leaf. He sniffed the moist, fertile earth, felt the squishy moss that cushioned his tender footpads, and heard the happy chatter of songbirds. He took a long drink from a sparkling brook and ate some juicy grubs. “Ah,” thought Black Bear, “spring is here, and the world is full of possibility.”
And off he went exploring…
by Iza Trapani ©
Maybe someday they will perform in your area. The show is spectacular. But, in the meantime, if you’d like to buy the cd, you can do so here. It includes soprano Kelly Ellenwood’s beautiful and engaging narration of the full tale amid a backdrop of music and sound effects. She also sings six songs (say that six times!) accompanied by Sylvia Buccelli on piano, Cornelia McGiver on bassoon, Nicole Golay on oboe, and David Gluck setting a beat.
You just might like it :-)
You will be able to meet Iza Trapani at bookstores all over the region in the next few weeks. For a complete schedule, go to Iza's website: http://izatrapani.com/News.html
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