When Janell Cannon wrote “Stellaluna,” a best-selling children’s book about a baby fruit bat, she did so for two reasons.
First, as a graphic designer working at a library in California, she noticed a lack of children’s books with a bat character in them.
“I was very much involved in children’s reading programs and what kids were interested in,” the Carlsbad, California, resident said of the 1993 book, her first.” … I began to think about a picture book with a bat characters and was paying close attention to kids and what interested them.
“In grade school kids are gender oriented, so everything is a boy’s book or a girl’s book or a baby’s book. So I tried to create a book that universally spoke to people regardless of gender or age. … So I crafted the character of Stellaluna.”
Second, she wanted to dispel negative perceptions about bats.
“Four of my (books’ title) characters are actually animals that are misunderstood or feared or reviled: Stellaluna plus Verdi, a snake; Crickwing, a wood cockroach; and Pinduli, a hyena. The (books) are humorous but they have a serious message,” said Cannon, who has written six books overall.
The Center for Puppetry Arts in Midtown is adapting “Stellaluna” into a play Jan. 21 through March 8. It’s a story about Stellaluna getting separated from her mother and living with some birds, adopting their characteristics before being reunited with her mother.
“A lot of that was the hope that if you’ve read the story of this bat trying to adapt in a bird’s world, it’s symbolic of everybody has to, to some degree, feel like a bat in a bird’s nest,” Cannon said. “It speaks of the universally human condition in that we’re asked to adapt and feel a little out of step in things that are around us and find a family of our own.”
Jon Ludwig, the center’s artistic director, said, “It’s about getting along and finding yourself. … Along the road (Stellaluna) finds out who she really is, and they all accept each other for what they are.”
The book is on the National Education Association’s and School Library Journal's lists of 100 best children's books of all time, and was adapted into a 2003 animated short film and a musical. “Stellaluna” has been performed as a puppet-based play previously in other cities since the 1990s.
Ludwig said the center has built the biggest stage it’s ever had to accommodate “Stellaluna.”
“It turned out to be so large because (the characters) are either eating or flying. It’s all birds and bats,” he said. “We wanted to get a sense of the beautiful sky in the book’s illustrations. We wanted the stage to show the sky and give it space for the puppets.”
Cannon provided input on the center’s version of “Stellaluna,” including the scientific aspects of the characters.
She will appear at the center Jan. 25 for a book signing at noon and a performance and Q&A at 1 p.m., followed by a reception/meet and greet with Cannon and the artists at 1 p.m. Tickets are $25 for general admission, $40 for VIP (includes a copy of the book and entry to the book signing) and $50 for Ultra VIP (includes all of the above plus an invitation to the reception).
Cannon said she’s excited about her trip to Atlanta.
“I’m very much looking forward to seeing the completed form and seeing the script and character sketches,” she said. “I have enjoyed corresponding with the people who work at the theater and it’s been a pleasure so far. Meeting the kids and watching the audience respond is also a lot of fun.”
Said Ludwig, “We are over the moon … and honored to have her here. She’s a superstar in kids’ literature.”
The center will host Sensory-Friendly Sunday Feb. 16 as part of its sensory-friendly initiative for visitors with autism spectrum disorder.
All-inclusive ticket prices fluctuate but start at $19.50 for members and $25 for nonmembers. All tickets include entrance to the Create-A Puppet Workshop, where guests can make, decorate and perform with their own Stellaluna rod and string puppet and admission to the Worlds of Puppetry Museum, featuring the world’s largest collection of Jim Henson puppets and one of the nation’s largest collection of global puppets.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.puppet.org or call 404-873-3391.
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