Save the date: Fun-filled December for live performances and events

Three Carolers Christmas Lights by Shari Weinsheimer

The month of December simply sparkles with family oriented activities. Be sure to grab your calendar and save the date for this outstanding line-up.

AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is brimming with fun-filled entertainment and activities that are prefect for families. 

Below is a list of upcoming events that are sure to please.

Talking About Words and Pictures
with author, illustrator, musician, Barney Saltzberg


Sunday, December 4, 2011
11:30 am - In the Auditorium
Doors open for this event at 11:00 am
Museum opens at 12:00 pm
Free; Museum Admission extra

Join The Carle’s bookseller, blogger, and book-lover, Andy Laties as he engages Barney Saltzberg in a conversation about his career and his books.

Book signing to follow.

OOPS…From Blunder to Wonder
A Magical Musical and Visual Journey with Barney Saltzberg


Sunday, December 4, 2011
1:00 pm - In the Auditorium
Free with Museum Admission

Join Barney as he takes you on a magical journey through words pictures, and song. Learn about the creative force behind the bestselling Peekaboo Kisses, Good Egg, and Beautiful Oops!, his latest one-of-a-kind interactive book that shows young readers how every mistake is an opportunity to make something beautiful.

Book signing to follow

Handmade Cards and Books

Thursday, December 8, 2011
1:00 - 5:00 pm - In the Art Studio
$50 (Members $45)
Ages 16 and up

With the holidays just around the corner, learn how to create handmade cards and unique books for those friends and family on your gift list. We’ll cover our favorite bookmaking techniques for teachers, librarians and parents to adapt to your classroom, library or home. You’ll go home with a collection of small handmade books and the techniques to create them again and again.

Instructor: Diana MacKenzie

Registration is required. Please click here for information on how to register.

An Evening with Jules and Kate Feiffer

Thursday, December 8, 2011
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm - In the Auditorium
Free

Pulitzer Prize-winning father and acclaimed children’s book author, Jules Feiffer and his daughter, Kate Feiffer have collaborated on a number of books. Whether seizing a moment in history or paying homage to a parent/child memory, this team is one you will not want to miss. 

Bound by love, respect and good humor Jules and Kate will share tales of their collaborations and thoughts on their craft in a presentation designed to entertain and inform all who attend.

Book signing to follow

The Best of the Best in 2011 with Susan Bloom

Saturday, December 10, 2011
1:00 pm - In the Auditorium
Free with Museum Admission

This highly popular annual event is in anticipation of the 2012 Caldecott Medal, which is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children for the preceding year. Susan Bloom selects her favorites. Learn from this outstanding professor of Children’s Literature and reviewer for The Horn Book what makes these books rise above the rest.

Special Storytime with Micha Archer

December 10, 2011
2:00 pm - In the Reading Library
Free with Museum Admission

As an artist, Micha Archer has been inspired by her travels around the globe and the challenge of making pictures that are both beautiful and informative. Join her for a Special Storytime in the Reading Library where she’ll read from her newest book and talk about her process as an artist.

Book signing to follow.

 

Mouse and Lion

 

December 18, 2011
2:00 pm - In the Reading Library
Free with Museum Admission

Join first-time author Rand Burkert (illustrator’s son) and Caldecott Honoree, Nancy Ekholm Burkert as they share the story behind their first collaboration, Mouse and Lion. After talking about the inspiration and process behind the extraordinary art created for the retelling of one of Aesop’s most well-known fables, Rand will perform a selection of original songs and music inspired by the tales of Aesop and drawn from an album he recently produced. This is a program featuring wonderful music and great art to be enjoyed by all.
Book signing to follow.

CactusHead Puppets Presents The Just So Stories

December 27 and December 28, 2011
2:00 pm - In the Auditorium
$5 (Members $4.50)

The Cactus Head Puppets present three stories of mischief and magic that tell how some of your favorite animals came to be, in charming and silly adaptations of How the Camel Got His Hump, How the Rhino Got His Skin and The Beginning of the Armadillos.

Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Museum Admissions Desk or by calling (413) 658-1126.

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art 

125 West Bay Road | Amherst, MA 01002 | Phone: (413) 658-1100

www.carlemuseum.org

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

BOSTON CIVIC SYMPHONY PRESENTS A FAMILY HOLIDAY POPS

Holiday favorites, a sing along, and a visit from Santa - the Boston Civic Symphony’s Family Holiday Pops has it all.

This year’s concert will take place on Saturday, December 17, 2:00 pm at the Fine Arts Center, Regis College in Weston.

Conductor Max Hobart and the orchestra will perform traditional holiday music featuring soprano Deborah Selig as soloist.

A special treat this year will be the performance of seven year old Sophie Burns, who will sing “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth,” composed by her great-grandfather Donald “Pops” Gardner.

Children will have the opportunity to come onstage to sing to Santa and to conduct the orchestra.

There’s free parking at Regis College and free refreshments provided

Tickets go fast on this concert, and were sold out last year.

Tickets are $20.00 for adults and $10.00 for children, and may be purchased online through the orchestra’s web site at http://www.bostoncivicsymphony.org/ or by calling 1-800-595-4TIX.

For more information, please call 1-617-923-6333.

HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK CITY, WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT & WEST NYACK, NEW YORK

Mama Doni &The Mama Doni Band Bring National Tour to the Tri-State Area with ‘CHANUKAH FEVER’

  
Hot on the heels of a tremendously successful summer tour, the fall/winter Mama Doni National Tour has begun.

Mama Doni and The Mama Doni Band are highlighting the Chanukah season with four special “Chanukah Fever” shows in the NYC tri-state region from December 11 – 18.

Families can join in Mama Doni’s high-energy pre-Chanukah festivities at concerts in Manhattan and West Nyack, NY.
 
There will also be shows in West Hartford, CT and Hoboken, NJ.  Performance details are below.

Doni Zasloff Thomas, a.k.a. Mama Doni, is the lead singer/songwriter of The Mama Doni Band, honored with a 2011 Parents’ Choice® Award for their recent release, Shabbat Shaboom, and winner of the Simcha Award for “Inspiring Joy Through Music” in competition with more than 100 bands from 15 different countries at the 2008 International Jewish Music Festival in Amsterdam.

The band celebrates Jewish culture with irrepressible zest in its interactive family rock concerts filled with catchy pop songs that break the mold of traditional Jewish music. Quirky, offbeat, and unpredictable, The Mama Doni Band offers up a contagious and unexpected blend of reggae, rock, disco, Latin, klezmer and “Jewgrass” – all woven together with a hip Jewish sensibility.

Mama Doni promises plenty of surprises throughout this year’s Chanukah concerts, including giveaways of chocolate gelt, Mama Doni CDs, posters and free downloads of Mama Doni songs to everyone in attendance.

According to Carrie Stetler in The Star-Ledger, Doni Zasloff Thomas “is proud to have a schtick. And that schtick, she says, is to ‘Jewify’ all forms of music – from country to reggae to holiday songs.”  The Miami Herald enthused, “Not since Woody Allen's Radio Days has American Jewish youth culture been celebrated with such a sublime mix of silly and substantive.”


Kids will boogie like a dreidel, air guitar with the band (“Latke Man” style), join in an applesauce vs. sour cream rock-along, and chime in on the eternal question of "Chanukah" or "Hanukah.”  Rocking out for Chanukah, Mama Doni & The Mama Doni Band will perform such “latkelicious” songs as "The Funky Gold Menorah,” "La Vida Dreidel,” and "I Say Chanukah (You Say Hanukah!).” The band will go all out with a wild bluegrass version of  “Honey, This Ain’t Money” (about Chanukah gelt), and, as a special treat, several new songs will be showcased, including the soon-to-be-famous “The Land of Sufganiyot” (a reggae song about jelly doughnuts).

Parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles should join in the fun and come prepared to get up and dance at these spirited Jewish rock concerts that guarantee that Chanukah will never be the same.

CHANUKAH FEVER! WITH MAMA DONI & THE MAMA DONI BAND

WHEN:     Sunday, December 11, 4:00 p.m.
WHERE:  JCC Rockland, 450 West Nyack Rd., West Nyack, NY 10994
TICKETS: In advance: $8 members, $12 non-members; at the door: $10 members, $15.00 non-members.
INFO:        845-362-4400.  http://www.jccyofrockland.org/

WHEN:     Saturday, December 17, 6:30 p.m.
WHERE:   Mandell JCC, 335 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117
TICKETS: In advance:  $10 members, $12 non-members; at the door: $12 members, $15 non-members.
INFO:        860-231-6316 .  http://www.mandelljcc.org/


WHEN:      Sunday, December 18, 10:30 a.m.

WHERE:   Kaplan Cooperative Preschool at United Synagogue of Hoboken, 115 Park Ave., Hoboken, NJ  07030
TICKETS: Synagogue members $10.  Non-members $18. Kaplan preschool students, free.
INFO:        201-222-9696.  http://www.hobokensynagogue.org/


WHEN:      Sunday, December 18, 3:00 p.m.

WHERE:    92nd Street Y, Bronfman Center for Jewish Life, Buttenwieser Hall,1395 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10128
TICKETS:   $15
INFO:          212-415-5500.  http://www.92y.org
 

MORE IN NEW YORK CITY

Symphony Space, the Upper West Side cultural mecca with its Just Kidding series, offers some wonderful family-centric events this month - everything from discovering Chris Van Allsburg's new book, and enjoying captivating American folk music with Elizabeth Mitchell and friends, to joining in on the New Year's Eve countdown till noon with Tim & the Space Cadets.  Take a look at these fun offerings below.

Thalia Kids' Book Club: Chris Van Allsburg with Jon Scieszka

Sunday, December 4, 1 pm

Tickets are going fast for this latest event in the highly interactive author series for kids ages 8 to 12.

Chris Van Allsburg, the winner of two Caldecott Medals, for Jumanji and The Polar Express, talks about his acclaimed new short story collection The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, in which skilled storytellers such as Kate DiCamillo, Stephen King and Sherman Alexie spin imaginative tales inspired by the original illustrations from Van Allsburg’s 1984 wordless classic, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.

Top author and Harris Burdick story contributor Jon Scieszka joins the conversation and performs his story "Under the Rug."

Tickets: $15

Elizabeth Mitchell and You Are My Flower with Special Guests

 

Saturday, December 17

11 am

Smithsonian Folkways artist Elizabeth Mitchell's gentle, heartfelt music transfixes audiences of all ages with homespun renditions of great songs by Woody Guthrie, Bob Marley, The Velvet Underground, Vashti Bunyan, Gillian Welch and more. The quiet sweetness and intimacy of her concerts cement her as an icon whose music will be remembered for years to come. Dan Zanes says, “This is the family music that I love---soulful, mysterious, inclusive and rollicking!"

For this holiday time performance, Elizabeth and her family band (husband Daniel Littleton and daughter Storey) will be joined by some very special musical guests. 

Ticket holders will also be eligible to enter a raffle for a child-sized ukulele and other great prizes.

Tickets: $13 to 20

December 17th  is the Just Kidding Members' Holiday Party!

Join other Symphony Space Family Members for cookie decorating after the Elizabeth Mitchell show. Call 212.864.1414 x223 to become a member and RSVP for the party.

A New Year's Eve  'Countdown to Noon' Family Concert with Tim & the Space Cadets

Saturday, December 31,

11 am

Celebrate New Year’s Eve with Tim & the Space Cadets, a dynamic family-friendly NYC based pop rock band. It' will be an end-of-year party the whole family will remember.

Tim’s songs exist somewhere in the realm between Raffi and Blink-182, inspired by memories of school days, snow days, pizza parties  and summer vacations. Their song “Superhero” enjoys frequent spins on Sirius-XM’s Kids Place Live.

Kids are invited to bring party hats and tooting horns to help ring in the New Year.

Tickets: $13 to $20

Symphony Space is located at 2537 Broadway (at 95th Street) in New York City.
For ticket information, contact the box office at (212) 864-5400 or boxoffice@symphonyspace.org

SAN FRANCISCO & CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA

Peter and the Wolf 

Conductor/Performers

Donato Cabrera
conductor

Chita Rivera
narrator

San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra 



Delight your children with the annual presentation of Peter and the Wolf including festive holiday songs- perfect for music lovers of all ages. The legendary Chita Rivera joins the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra as special guest narrator for this charming tale. You'll also enjoy classics from The Nutcracker and more!

Program

Tchaikovsky

Russian Dance from The Nutcracker  

Prokofiev

Music from Romeo and Juliet

Liadov

The Music Box

Dvořák

Slavonic Dance No. 2 in E minor

Falla

Final Dance from The Three-Cornered Hat

J. Strauss, Sr.

Radetzky March

Prokofiev

Peter and the Wolf

Trad.

Carol Sing-Along

Please note this is a kid-sized concert with no intermission. Half price for ages 17 and under.

Sat, Dec 10, 2011 1:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall
$15 to $57

Sat, Dec 10, 2011 4:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall
$15 to $57

Sun, Dec 11, 2011 3:00pm
Flint Center (Cupertino, CA)
$15 to $48

For further information or to purchase tickets:  http://www.sfsymphony.org/season/Event.aspx?eventid=50242

This week’s top picks for upcoming live entertainment

"Dancers' photo by Peter Griffin

Mark your calendar and save these dates for the following entertaining and diverse line-up of events in New York City, Amherst, Massachusetts and Santa Monica, California.

New York City

The Just Kidding at Symphony Space all-ages series will continue to provide New York City families with ground-breaking entertainment most Saturdays through April 2012, and on this Saturday, November 12, at 11:00 a.m. Just Kidding provides one of the nation's top "kindie rock" stars, Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights.

Leeds is one of those big, beautiful rock 'n roll sopranos whose voice goes full-out or soft and tender, and she uses both to full effect.

Her tuneful melodies and rich, funny and thoughtful child-respecting lyrics give depth and irresistible zip to songs about sunglasses at the beach, goodnight hugs, popcorn popping and creative blame-shifting.

Check out the video below from Leed’s YouTube channel to see her in action.

Then, on Saturday, November 17 at 11:00 a.m. Just Kidding offers a unique mix of multimedia performance art from the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players  when they present their "indie-vaudeville conceptual art-rock pop band" concert.

 

Originally from Seattle, and now based in Brooklyn, the Trachtenburgs are a domestic trio (dad Jason, mom Tina Piña, and 16-year-old daughter Rachel), who play quirky indie pop songs in the key of "unironic."

It's all good, clean fun with one major catch: All the songs and carefully rhyming lyrics come from the vintage slide collections they've found at estate or garage sales that accompany their performances.

The intrepid trio has appeared on Nick Jr. and the "Conan O'Brien Show," and they've taken their show on the road to Bonnaroo, the Edinburgh festival as well as comedy clubs around the nation - all the while winning over famous fans like Meg White (The White Stripes), Matt Groening ("The Simpsons") and John Waters ("Hairspray").

The Trachtenburgs have just released a new CD called Lost and Found.

and for your enjoyment below, the Players on Nick Jr.'s "Jack’s Big Music Show”.

This diverse line-up is part of the ongoing weekly shows aimed at children ages 3 to 9 and their families. For details about all of the shows, tickets and subscription information, visit Just Kidding online. 

Amherst, Massachusetts

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, 125 West Bay Road, Amherst, Massachusetts, is presenting Picture Book Theatre featuring Eric Carle’s “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” said the Sloth and Rooster’s Off To See The World, Saturdays, November 12, 19, 26 and Friday, November 25 with 45-minutes performances at 2:00 and 3:00 p.m.. Tickets are $5 and can be reserved in advance by calling the Museum at 413-658-1126.

Directed by founder Therese Brady Donohue, Picture Book Theatre is now in its sixth season and is known for adapting picture books into puppets and dance productions suitable for all ages, especially the very young.

This year’s productions include the premiere of the stick puppet show “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” said the Sloth, with music composed by Karen A. Tarlow.

The story includes 27 puppets representing endangered rain forest species. Norton Juster voices a recorded introductory message from Eric Carle and Onawumi Jean Moss is the storyteller.

Double cast local puppeteers include Margaret Arsenault, Frances Caparello, Joan Hanson, Naomi Ossar, Diane Westfall, and Karin Wilburn and professionally designed lighting is by Steve Morgan and operated by Dan Fedora of Harrison Digital Productions.

Each family will receive a copy of Carle’s “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” said the Sloth during the show (like a libretto) to reread and relive what they have seen.

A grant from the Amherst Cultural Council administered by the Massachusetts Cultural Council has helped to underwrite this new show.

The second show is a revival of Carle’s Rooster’s Off To See The World that showcases young dancers from Amherst Ballet. Sharing the title role are Isabel Wardlaw and Stone Dresser. The dancing role of two cats is shared between Amy Benedetto and Isabela Gomez, and Madeline Poole and Rachel Oram-Brown. Music is again by Karen Tarlow and the recorded narration is by Museum Chief Curator Nick Clark.

All puppets in the show exactly replicate the illustrations in the Carle books.

For further information about these performances and current exhibitions in the Museum’s galleries and many other ongoing events visit the Museum’s website at www.carlemuseum.org.

Santa Monica, California

To celebrate the launch of her newest CD, Everyday Adventures, award-winning singer/songwriter Deborah Poppink (a/k/a affectionately known by her fans as “DidiPop”) is appearing at the legendary McCabe’s Guitar Shop, 3101 Pico Boulevard., at 31st Street, Santa Monica, California on Sunday, November 13 at 11:00 a.m.

The performance includes a 5-piece band (not too loud) costume changes and magic. Plus, there will be Mardi Gras beads for the kids, and a chance for them to do the hula with the magnificent BoBo Bernstein on pedal steel.

 DidiPop will play spoons, piano, guitar, ukulele and even some mock accordion.

Ticket price is $8 (kids under 2 get in free). To purchase tickets online, connect to McCabe’s website at http://www.mccabes.com/condata.html

Below, for your enjoyment, is a sample of DidiPop’s The Cool Alphabet Song, which she’ll be performing at McCabe’s.

Eric Carle’s ‘The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse’: Fun creative inspiration

"The Artist Who Painted the Blue Horse" by Eric Carle

Beloved children’s author/illustrator Eric Carle’s newest book, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse is set for simultaneous release here in the United States and United Kingdom on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011.

Courtesy Eric Carle Museum

Carle’s distinctive artistic style, a combination of vibrant colors applied to hand-painted paper and formed into expertly crafted collages, has garnered him a worldwide following over the past four-plus decades.

The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse continues this artistic tradition, which has served to delight countless children, and in his latest offering, he provides children a good dose of creative inspiration and permission to think outside of the box.

Many of Carle’s books are best-sellers and are considered evergreen children’s classics that have been translated into more than 50 languages, selling over 100 million copies around the globe. The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse is sure to be embraced in that same rarefied category.

Inspiration for this latest book came from the Expressionist period of painting and in particular the German artist, Franz Marc. In the video below, Carle discusses this, and demonstrates his creative technique in addition to sharing some of the story.

If you’ll be visiting New England from now until March 20, 2012, be sure to check out the special exhibition, The Art of Eric Carle: The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. 

The exhibition includes almost all of the original artwork from the book, plus three “dummies” (working mock-ups for the final product). Also on-hand is a poster of one of Marc’s blue horses as well as several of Carle’s conventionally drawn horses, and a few other animals – a terrific way to compare Carle’s range of media and variety of technique.

For further information regarding the exhibit along with address and hours of the Museum, visit online at: http://www.carlemuseum.org/

Special 9/11 presentation at Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

'The Man Who Walked Between The Towers'

On Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011 at 1:00 p.m., the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art will present: From Towers and Tragedy to the Birth of a Book with Mordicai Gerstein.. This very special presentation, as well as museum admission for the day is offered FREE to the public.

In 2004, Gerstein’s picture book for children, The Man Who Walked Between The Towers, was awarded the prestigious Caldecott Medal. It is the true story of  Philippe Petit the man who walked between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in 1974, suspended high above New York City on a wire cable. It is a beautifully illustrated and uplifting story that honors this day of remembrance.

Mordicai Gerstein

Patrons will join Mordicai Gerstein as he tells the story behind The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. A special meet, greet and book signing will follow the presentation.

For event details visit www.carlemuseum.org

  

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

125 West Bay Road | Amherst, MA 01002

Phone: (413) 658-1100| Fax: (413) 658-1139        

Email: info@carlemuseum.org |

A child-pleasing calendar of events at the Eric Carle Museum

A marvelous lineup of programs to entertain and help shake off the winter doldrums awaits children and their families at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.

Located in western Massachusetts, the Museum draws regular patrons from all across New England and those visiting the east coast.

Founded by beloved children’s book author/illustrator Eric Carle, and his wife Barbara, patrons are invited to view some of the finest original works of art created for children’s picture books, which are part of rotating exhibitions housed in three separate galleries.

In addition to the galleries, the Museum offers the Reading Library for your family’s enjoyment, where you’ll share books with your child that mirror the works currently on exhibit.

Also within the Museum, an Art Studio invites children to participate in scheduled hands-on classes and creative events - everything from picture book making to music and dance.

And, there is a Café and a Museum Store available to round out your visit.

The following is a list of current and upcoming exhibits and events:

SHREK! Illustration copyright
© 1990 by William Steig.
Used by permission of
Farrar, Straus and Giroux

From now until Sunday, January 23, 2011, MONSTERS AND MIRACLES: A Journey through Jewish Picture Books, features the works of the following authors and artists: “Eric Carle, Daniel Pinkwater, Maurice Sendak, Margot Zemach, Mark Podwal, Francine Prose, Lemony Snicket, Art Spiegelman, and William Steig.”

 In addition, the MONSTERS exhibition includes “historical examples dating as early as the twelfth century” and “encompasses the work of luminaries Isaac Bashevis Singer, Marc Chagall, and El Lissitzky. “

 Also in the galleries, from now until Sunday, May 1, 2011, the exhibition, PARTNERS IN WONDER: Selections from the Collection of Jane Yolen. 

Yolen, the prolific, award-winning author who is often referred to as the “Hans Christian Andersen of America,” has collaborated with numerous artists over the years, and according to the Carle’s Chief Curator H. Nicholas Clark, “she has forged deep ties to many of the artists who have illustrated her books. As a result she has formed a truly rich and wide-ranging collection that would be the envy of any serious collector.”

The works that are part of this collection includes illustrations by Kathryn Brown, Tomie dePaola, Jane Dyer, Lauren Mills, Barry Moser, Dennis Nolan, and Ruth Sanderson, and on Saturday, January 15, 2011 at 1:00 pm, patrons are invited to “join Jane Yolen and a distinguished group of illustrators of her work as they discuss the interplay of words and pictures in the process of creating a picture book.” This special event is FREE with Museum admission.

Saturday, January 8, 2011 a marionette performance for children three and older, by the Hartsbrook Marionettes, as they present THE GRATEFUL CRANE, an adaptation from a collection of Japanese stories from The Listening Cap by Yoshiko Uchida, which was published in 1954.

Performances of THE GRATEFUL CRANE are at| 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and are offered FREE with a Museum admission.

Opening on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 and remaining on view until Sunday, June 5, 2011, a new gallery exhibition, WHAT A CIRCUS! The Art of Etienne Delessert.

In celebration of his 70th birthday, the works of internationally acclaimed Swiss painter/graphic artist/illustrator, and publisher Delessert comes to The Carle.

 Delessert’s books, translated into more than 15 languages, have interested and entertained children in the United States and Europe for decades.

The exhibition spans Delessert’s earliest book, The Endless Party (1967), to his most recent (2010) work, Spartacus The Spider. On Saturday, February 19, 2010 there is a special members opening reception from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Opening Monday, April 18 2011 and running through Friday April 22, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. every day, the Cactus Head Puppets present: JUST SO STORIES a collection of three tales of “mischief and magic that tell how some of your favorite animals came to be.” Child-pleasing adaptations of How the Camel Got His Hump, How the Rhino Got His Skin, and The Beginning of the Armadillos will be performed. Admission is $5.00 (Museum members $4.50.)

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is located at 125 West Bay Road, Amherst, Massachusetts.

Hours for the Museum are Tuesday through Friday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday noon to 5:00 p.m.

General admission is $9 for adults, $6 for children under 18, and $22.50 for a family of four.

For further program information and directions, call 413-658-1100 or visit online by following this link to the Museum’s website and taking an introductory virtual tour.