the egg theatre, Bath

Yestereday, we took Jessicat to see her second ever performance at Bath's theatre for children, the egg. It was a show called The Gift, and it featured 30 minutes of songs, puppets and handling objects of different textures. Jess moved from being apprehensive about entering the auditorium to really enjoying the whole experience and wanting to go back again. She was also really excited about sharing a cheese and onion pasty with me afterwards!

I'm excited about taking Jessicat to the egg for several reasons. Firstly, it's storytelling at its finest. Even babies and toddlers can enjoy these very simple narratives brought to life with props, lighting and sound. Secondly, it's a good way of starting to share some of the things I love with Jess; to say nothing of the fact that's it's a guarenteed way for me to acutally see some theatre (as my chances of getting a break and a ticket for McKellen and Stewart in Waiting for Godot are pretty much non-existent! Such experiences should be open to every child. the egg is a magical place, and I wish there were more like it.

We managed to catch up with our good friends John and Sarah as well yesterday (their 4-year old son, Sean, is our godson). We enjoyed a pub meal whilst watching Jess and Sean run around the pub together, amusing themselves for ages by rolling trains around and attempting to play hide and seek. I'm enjoying seeing Jessicat beginning to play with other children, as opposed to simply alongside them. On Friday, for the first time ever, she actually asked me if her friend Sky could come back to our house to play!

So many good books on the go at the moment that it's hard to choose just one book of the week. So I'll go for two.

Man on the Moon by Simon Bartram. Bright, vivid pictures show Bob, the eponymous hero, going about his day job as the man on the moon. It's humourous: children would love spotting the aliens hidden on most pages, and a really unusual idea. Great for children aged 2 - 5 who have ever looked at the moon and wondered if anyone lives there.

Againby Ian Whybrow. A book that strikes a blow for the cause of reading aloud to children AND features a Dad as the reader! Lovely little story, written in rhyme, and a great book to share at bedtime.