“Birches” by Robert Frost
More than individual pieces, I have selected authors based on the following criteria: they are commonly assigned; they are short enough to be read aloud in 10-30 minutes; they sound good read aloud. We will not necessary record all of these, and may record other pieces by these authors.
Another important reason why I chose each of these stories is that I like them. Of these 6, all but “The Happy Prince” have been my favorites since I was a preteen. And when I read “The Happy Prince” last night, I nearly cried it was so sad and good (it was recommended by a good friend with good taste).
Think “The Giving Tree” but by Oscar Wilde.
I allow my own likes and dislikes to enter into the decision of which pieces to pick, not only because I believe I have good taste in children’s books, but also because I will probably spend around 10 hours working to record, edit, makes movies of and promote these works, and I will not do that well for pieces I do not feel passionately about.
Another important factor, thinking about this today, is that all of these pieces are childhood appropriate and still meaningful for adults. Like Bugs Bunny cartoons, there are stories for children to enjoy and jokes for the adults minding them to enjoy. Here’s a famous example of Bugs Bunny playing to two audiences. I know when I was little, I loved that Elmer Fudd had a funny accent, and that Bugs was dressed as a woman to avoid Elmer Fudd.
Now as a minor in Vocal Performance, I love the opera spoofing–so good!
This project was funded in part by Carnegie Mellon’s Undergraduate Research Office. These results represent the views of the author and not those of Carnegie Mellon University.
