Tag Archives: knuffle bunny

Arts & Culture Events for Preschoolers, Family Friendly Film

Upcoming family arts events in the St. Louis region

March 10, 2012 at 10 am  |  Kidtoons Family Matinees featuring the Gruffalo |  B&B Wildwood 10 with Marquee Suites

See the beautiful and funny Gruffalo film, Pocoyo, and the Wiggles on the big screen. All tickets are $3 and kids under the age of 3 are free. The screening is 72 minutes.

Gruffalo trailer from BBC:

March 16-18, 2012  |  COCA (Center of Creative Arts) |  Treasured Stories by Eric Carle

Part of the COCA Family Theatre Series, this production of music, puppets, and visual effects brings to life the well known Eric Carle stories: The Very Hungry Caterpillar; Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See; and Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me. A Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia production. Tickets $14 to $20.

Sunday, April 1, 2012, 1 to 3 pm  |  COCA (Center of Creative Arts) |  Visual Arts Open Studio

In collaboration with Artmart, the COCA Visual Arts Open Studio offers children an opportunity to work on their own or under the guidance of a visual arts instructor on projects including collage, book making, watercolor painting, paper mache, and more. $8.

Monday, April 2, 2012 at 6 pm  |  Author Mo Willems

Do Piggie and Gerald, Pigeon, and Knuffle Bunny mean something to you? Hear author Mo Willems speak at the St. Louis Country Library Foundation presentation, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School on April 2 at 6 pm. Free tickets are required and are available at St. Louis County Library Headquarters or the Daniel Boone library branch. Doors open at 5 pm.

Photo of Mo Willems: Marty Umans
What to Read

Three pigs, a sheep, and a wildly happy dinosaur

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We are obsessed with visiting our local library and have discovered a few great books over the last month. Here are three favorites that are perfect for your goofy preschooler and ripe for you to try out your funny voices. (Hasn’t your variety of funny voices grown since you had your kid?)

1. The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale |  Steven Guarnaccia
This old standby is refreshed by updating the pigs’ homes to signature houses inspired by Frank Gehry, Phillip Johnson, and Frank Lloyd Wright. The drawings and fonts are smart, funny, and may introduce your child to some new lines and shapes. Perfect for all you Dwell Magazine parents.

2. Baa-Choo! |  Sarah Weeks, author and Jane Manning, illustrator
“I’ve got the ahhh but not the choo. No, no, this sneeze will never do. Can someone help me, help me please, to find the ending of my sneeze?” Follow this poor sheep’s humorous adventure as he tries to recover his sneeze’s lost “choo.” A hen, pig, and goat attempt to help in this well written “I can read” book. What makes Baa-Choo! really stand out is the rhythm and cadence of Sarah Weeks’s rhymes. Makes for fun bedtime reading, sure to make your preschooler giggle out loud.

3. Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct |  Mo Willems
Are you a fan of Mo Willems’s Knuffle Bunny series or the Gerald the Elephant and Piggy books? You will love Edwina. Edwina is a loving, helpful, sweet, and innocent looking dinosaur who lives to play with kids, help others, and bake chocolate chip cookies for friends. No one seems to question that she is a dinosaur living in modern day life–they just seem happy to have her around. Everyone believes in Edwina’s existence except for Reginald Von Hoobie Doobie. Reginald tries to convince everyone that Edwina should be extinct but no one believes him, or even cares to listen. The only one who eventually listens to Reginald is Edwina. This is a wonderful book about believing in yourself, others, and well, the unknown.

Happy reading!

Arts & Culture Events for Preschoolers

COCA Family Theatre Series

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In addition to being a great arts education facility, the Center of Creative Arts (COCA), located in University City, has a fun and entertaining performing arts series with reasonable ticket prices, good programming, and a small hall (400 seats) that makes each performance easy to see and enjoy.

We saw Michael Moschen last weekend–a juggler extraordinare and MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant recipient. He demonstrated some incredible feats of physics, illusion, perception, and rhythm. The show seemed more suitable though for 8 year olds and up. Most of the preschoolers in the audience at the Sunday matinee were getting a little squirmy and bored (including my 3.5 year old–but she’ll sit through opera, go figure), although the show was billed as a performance for all ages. Be sure to ask the COCA staff if you’re unsure about age suitablity and do some of your own research about the artist or performing group before you buy tickets.

Most performances are about an hour long. Tickets range $14 to $18 each (everyone entering the theater must have a ticket). Arrive at least 10 minutes early to find parking and well, 20 minutes early if your kid needs to use the potty. The COCA parking lot fills up fast and street parking can be tough at times.

Two upcoming productions you’ll want to bring your preschooler to this season (be sure to read the original books with your child before going):


COCA Family Theatre Series 2010-2011 Season Brochure

Box Office Information

Seating tips

  • There are booster seats available in the coat room outside the theater doors.
  • Try to buy your tickets early so that you can get an aisle seat (if you anticipate that you’ll have to take your little one out for a potty break mid-performance). Each seating section does not have a center aisle (see web site for seating chart–scroll down to Founders’ Theatre seating chart), so it is at times tough to climb over a lot of people if you have to head out before the show ends.
  • The padded and cushioned seats fold up like in a lot of movie theaters. If your child is under 35 pounds, he or she probably won’t be able to lean back in their chair and not fold up! Be prepared to hold the seat down for your child throughout the performance or put them on your lap.
  • If you can, don’t buy tickets too far over to the right or left. Your neck will thank you.