Christopher Nibble

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It’s Christmas Eve, and having tumbled to earth through the night sky, Elva sets out on a journey to find her best friend – a little girl she hasn’t even met yet. Has the lost present got what it takes to find her way through the cold winter night? Will she arrive in time for Christmas morning? Will Elva be everything the little girl wished for. Christopher’s Christmas high energy storytelling, bringing fun meaningful theatrical experiences to children aged 2-7 and their families too! The Place Events & Activities Drama Folk Music Live Music Musical Theatre Community Performances Youth Theatre Events for Families Everything When reading the book with the children it is the perfect time to start thinking about Christopher’s character and what they think he should do at this point. Hot seating the poor guinea pig in his moment of decision would be ideal. You could use a conscience alley to explore for and against devouring the plant, and wider discussions with the children about truth and honesty will also present themselves.

Look at the repeating patterns on the guinea pigs’ clothing. Can you design your own repeating patterns? So what for the next tale of Christopher Nibble? So far Christopher’s world has been about the natural cycle of life. His home town Dandeville is a very green and harmonious world and Christopher likes to help keep it that way. Look at the book titles in the illustration of the library. Could you design a cover for one of these books? Can you find any dandelions in parks and gardens near to you? What other plants grow in these areas? The performers] had good boundless energy, jolly and quizzical facial expressions throughout, and a clear sense of timing and choreography” – Jonathan Brown Fringe Review, Fringe Recommended.

Look at the different patterns and textures used in the illustrations. Can you make your own patterns / textures using different art materials? Look at the book titles in the illustration of the library. Can you write a story based on one of these titles? Written especially for children aged 2-7, Christopher’s Caterpillars is a bright and beautiful tale of minibeasts and mystery!

Why not create an entire restaurant area in the classroom complete with table cloths, place settings, menus and a specials board? The children could roleplay the heyday of dandelions and be assigned individual roles, such as waiter, cook, maitre d’, and a whole range of different types of customer. Then it will be all change as the dandelions run out and the class could set about creating new menus using all of the vegetables they don’t like.Now Christopher was well and truly on the road to his new adventure! In this story we revisit Mr Rosetti in his cafe and we meet some new characters along the way, as Christopher spots recycling opportunities all over town. With the help of his sister and Posie his neighbour, they come up with some brilliant ideas and set to work turning old rubbish into something useful and wonderful! But that's where Christopher Nibble steps in. He discovers the last dandelion growing outside his bedroom window and, rather than eat it, he does his horticultural research in the library and then nurtures the dandelion patiently until it has produced a perfect head of tiny seeds. Then he blows the seeds from a hill high over Dandeville so that each dandelion seedling takes root and grows into a new plant. In the next story, then, Christopher would surely be encouraging the residents of Dandeville to help him in his next environmentally-friendly quest, whatever that might be… Written and illustrated by Charlotte Middleton and adapted for the stage by Claire Alizon Hills, Topsy Turvy Theatre, the company who brought you Ruby Flew Too! and Isabel’s Well, proudly present the charming Christopher Nibble in a tale of dandelion daring-do! It takes a lot of ‘willpower’ for Christopher to stop himself from eating the last dandelion. What is willpower? How can it help us?

Charlotte Middleton’s illustrations are superb and have such a sense of humor which makes them so engaging for children. I love the snapshot of what happens in the town when the dandelions run out, as the local restaurant menus need to be changed, with sold out signs everywhere and new varieties of products being introduced in their place; what appears to be beetroot jam and carrot juice! A challenging experience can make a young child feel as if they are in emotional free fall. As a parent, you can’t stop them falling, but you can offer them a softer landing: Unfortunately, rampant consumerism leads to the once plentiful crop disappearing and the worse thing imaginable happens; they are left with only chewy cabbages to eat. Yuk! That is until Christopher comes to the rescue. Outside his bedroom window grows the last ever dandelion and the rest of the book follows his quest to restore the town’s favorite food and with it the balance of nature. What other types of food do guinea pigs like to eat? Could you plan a meal for them (with or without dandelions!)? At school, Charlotte loved drawing and would regularly illustrate her spelling and times tables test papers. She went on to study Graphic Art and Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. Her first book, Tabitha’s Terrifically Tough Tooth, was published in 1998 and since then she has written and illustrated more than a dozen books. Her stories have been sold all over the world and Charlotte would love to be as well-travelled as her books one day.

Topsy Turvy Theatre have turned Christopher Nibble into magical life in this entertaining, humorous theatre show. The home town of Dandeville, is a beautifully crafted stage set, with patchwork hills, a miniature café , a library and plenty of delicious dandelion leaves . There’s music, dancing and singing for all. My daughter (age 4) was very keen to watch two consecutive shows! I couldn’t be more delighted with the adaptation of my story. “