Promotional Information

Crafted to entertain and tempt middle school boys to read, this Readers Theatre collection is both mysterious and strange. Grades 6-8.

Table of Contents

Introduction Acknowledgments Robert Browning, Rats and Fools from "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" Mary Peace Finley, "Mary Peace Finley Spells Danger in White Grizzly" Gawain-poet, Strange Encounters with "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" O. Henry, Twisting the Tale with "The Ransom of Red Chief" Washington Irving, Headless in "Sleepy Hollow" with Washington Irving W.W. Jacobs, Beware! "The Monkey's Paws" by W.W. Jacobs Jack London, Desperation Grows "To Light a Fire" by Jack London Edgar Allan Poe, A Gruesome End with "The Masque of Red Death" Herbert G. Wells, H.G. Wells in the "Country of the Blind" Sound Appendix Index

About the Author

Ann N. Black, graduated from Northwestern University, where she received a B.S. from the School of Communication, then worked as an actress, writer, and producer of children's radio dramas. After acquiring a Texas Secondary Teaching Certificate in Language Arts, she taught English to 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students and developed Readers Theatre projects for them. Her experiences from directing, teaching, and writing led her to a M.A. in English and Oral Interpretation from the University of North Texas, then to an assistant professorship of literature and creative writing at Northwestern State University of Louisiana.

Reviews

This book provides solid offerings of Readers Theater scripts for educators working with middle school boys. . . . The scripts have a new, fresh feel, and contain plenty of elements to capture and maintain adolescent males' attention. . . . Recommended.
*Library Media Connection*

Ann N. Black has rewritten classics for readers theatre appropriate for middle-school boys that lends itself perfectly to the all-male classroom. . . . Black has done a terrific job finding classic literature that particularly appeals to middle-school boys including strange, frightening, and action-packed stories. . . . Black includes a short background on each author and a few paragraphs for teachers concerning production notes for costuming and staging ideas. . . . Though the title explicitly states it is readers theatre for boys, girls could easily play a variety of parts in the selections, so it would be appropriate for any middle school library, speech or drama classroom, or any classroom that studies communication.
*Midwest Book Review*