The Book Parade (Musical Play for Primary Schools to Promote Reading)

A short 15-20 minute musical play for ages 5-11 to promote the importance of reading!
A fantastic, fun class assembly, and a very useful resource for literacy lessons.
Particularly suitable as an item to enhance your “Book Week” or “World Book Day”
No musical ability needed. Just sing along to the song, which is supplied with vocals and as a backing track too.
Or use a pianist if preferred. A basic melody-line score is provided free of charge.

Lots of other easy musical plays available from magicparrot.com

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Do not perform, sell, lend, hire or distribute without permission. Photocopiable by one purchaser for use at one specific site.

Synopsis/ Teacher’s Notes : The books in a library are squabbling about who is the most important book in the library. And they.are grumbling because they are hardly ever taken off the shelves! They decide to go on a march to show everyone how important and valuable they are! The play features a lengthy song “The Book Parade” with unison singing, individual parts and plenty of marching action. All the children in the class should take part in the “book parade”. Depending on the size of the class, you must decide whether they do this all at once or in groups.

On the CD…… Track 1: “The Book Parade” ……with vocals
Track 2: “The Book Parade” ……without vocals

Optional: You can customize this play, depending on the talents in the class. For instance, if you have a ballet “expert” he/she can dress as a ballet instruction book and give a brief ballet demonstration. The same applies to children who are “experts” in other areas e.g. football, swimming, other sports, photography, martial arts, boxing, scouting, playing the trumpet etc etc.

Costumes/ Scenery : The children wear colourful “Sandwich boards” made of cardboard, depicting a range of fiction and non-fiction book covers, magazines, comics, newspapers etc. You need to make these in an art lesson beforehand! Alternatively, the children can carry “Big Books” around the stage. No scenery is needed, but a selection of “Big Books” could be displayed on stage.

Cast:

Narrator, and:

Children dressed as: Story Book, Animal Book, History Book, Science Book
Transport Book, Dictionary, Encyclopaedia Poetry Book
ABC book, Cookery Book, Joke Book

N.B. The rest of the class are dressed as books of their choice, or as characters from books. They march in the book parade and sing!