Fairy tales are the foundation for the Once Upon a Time show.  They are fantastic stories that influence, teach and inspire.  Storytelling forges connections between people and ideas.  Stories convey culture, history and values that unite us together.

The Once Upon a Time Magic Show encourages students to read fairy tales because:

Fairy tales spark the imagination.  They provide an opportunity for us to experience something in our mind before we experience it in the real world.  They exercise our imagination and facilitate invention and discovery.

Fairy tales help us make sense of our world.  Although they are ancient stories, fairy tales are often referred to in modern life day (i.e. “Cinderella” stories in sports, kissing lots of frogs before finding a prince).

Fairy tales teach story structure.  They have a reliable story structure with clear good and evil characters, a well-defined setting, a problem, and a solution.  Fairy tales help us understand other stories as well as life.

Fairy tales help develop the love of reading.  While most of what we read as adults will be nonfiction, it is important to build a love of reading with opportunities to read or listen to enthralling fairy tales.

Fairy tales often teach a lesson or moral.  Many tales focus the plot on a problem or conflict that needs to be solved.  The happy endings are based on the resolution of the problem and a valuable lesson to be learned.

A couple of notable authors who helped put tales in written form include:

Hans Christian Andersen
(a Danish author who published tales in the late 1800s.)

• The Tinder Box
• The Princess and the Pea
• The Little Mermaid
• The Emperor’s New Clothes
• The Ugly Duckling
• A Little Match Girl
• The Fir-Tree
• The Snow Queen
• Thumbelina

Brothers Grimm
(German brothers who published their stories in the early 1800s)

• Rapunzel
• Hansel and Gretel
• Cinderella
• Little Snow-White
• Sleeping Beauty
• Puss in Boots
• The Golden Goose
• Tom Thumb

Using magic tricks, a silly puppet, drama, music, books and a variety of stories, the Once Upon a Time show MAY include the following:

• professional lighting & backdrop system
• a professional PA system with 20+ sound FX
• 6+ volunteer helpers to make the magic happen
• a live re-enactment of Jack and the Beanstalk!
• an amazing contraption designed to catch a Unicorn!
• the magical appearance of a live rabbit name “Hopper”
• a promise to motivate kids to read more books
• increased circulation of library books
• a free surprise for everyone attending