Ready or Not, Dawdle Duckling
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Ready or Not, Dawdle
Duckling Reader's Theater
Jacket Art
©2005
by Margaret Spengler
Reader’s Theater adaptation by Toni Buzzeo
Adapted from the book Ready or Not, Dawdle Duckling by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by Margaret Spengler, Dial Books for Young Readers, 2005.
[Instructions: Read the book aloud to children first, so that they can enjoy the illustrations and become familiar with the story. Then, hand out a set of photocopied scripts to eight children. Ask the remaining children to be the audience. Have performers face the audience and simply read their parts on the first run-through. Once all readers are comfortable with their parts, have a second reading with the opportunity to act out the story while reading. Add costumes and props if desired.]
ROLES
| Narrator 1 |
Duckling 2 |
| Narrator 2 |
Duckling 3 |
| Mama |
Turtle |
| Dawdle
Duckling |
Frog |
| Duckling
1 |
Fish |
THE SCRIPT
NARRATOR
1: On the beach with the sand castles sparkling
MAMA: One Mama Duck plays
hide-and-seek.
DUCKLING
1: One
DUCKLING
1: One
DUCKLING
2: Two
DUCKLING
3: Three
NARRATOR
2: Ducklings disappear.
DAWDLE: But the fourth
little duckling
NARRATOR
1: Finds a friend.
TURTLE: Hurry,
Dawdle Duckling, hide
behind me.
MAMA: Quack! Quack!
Quack! Ready or not, here I come.
NARRATOR
2: Dawdle Duckling wiggles his feathery tail.
DAWDLE: Now,
quack, quack, Mama can’t find me.
NARRATOR 1: But
Mama spots Dawdle’s tail.
MAMA: Ollie,
ollie, in free!
NARRATOR 2: One,
two, three.
NARRATOR
1: Around the point in the tide pools shining.
MAMA: One Mama Duck plays
hide-and-seek.
DUCKLING
1: One
DUCKLING
2: Two
DUCKLING
3: Three
NARRATOR
2: Ducklings disappear.
DAWDLE: But the fourth
little duckling
NARRATOR
1: Finds a friend.
FROG: Hurry,
Dawdle Duckling, hide
behind me.
MAMA: Quack! Quack!
Quack! Ready or not, here I come.
NARRATOR
2: Dawdle Duckling tucks his downy wings.
DAWDLE: Now,
quack, quack, Mama can’t find me.
NARRATOR 1: But
Mama spots Dawdle’s wings.
MAMA: Ollie,
ollie, in free!
NARRATOR 2: One,
two, three.
NARRATOR 1: Across
the harbor near the fishing boats bobbing
MAMA: One Mama Duck plays
hide-and-seek.
DUCKLING
1: One
DUCKLING
2: Two
DUCKLING
3: Three
NARRATOR
2: Ducklings disappear.
DAWDLE: But the fourth
little duckling
NARRATOR
1: Finds a friend.
FISH: Hurry,
Dawdle Duckling, hide
behind me.
MAMA: Quack! Quack!
Quack! Ready or not, here I come.
NARRATOR
2: Dawdle Duckling paddles his orange feet.
DAWDLE: Now,
quack, quack, Mama can’t find me.
NARRATOR 1: But
Mama spots Dawdle’s feet.
MAMA: Ollie,
ollie, in free!
NARRATOR 2: One,
two, three.
NARRATOR
1: Up the stream in the swamp grass waving
MAMA: One Mama Duck plays
hide-and-seek.
DUCKLING
1: One
DUCKLING
2: Two
DUCKLING
3: Three
NARRATOR
2: Ducklings disappear.
DAWDLE: But the fourth
little duckling
NARRATOR
1: Finds his friends.
TURTLE, FROG AND FISH:
Hurry,
Dawdle Duckling, hide behind us.
MAMA: Quack! Quack!
Quack! Ready or not, here I come.
NARRATOR
2: Dawdle Duckling tucks his feathery tail, his downy
wings, and his orangefeet.
NARRATOR 1: Mama
Duck spots
DUCKLING 1: a
feathery tail.
NARRATOR 2: Mama
Duck spots
DUCKLING
2:
downy wings.
NARRATOR 1: Mama
Duck spots
DUCKLING
3: two orange feet.
DUCKLING 1: One
DUCKLING 2: Two
DUCKLING 3: Three
NARRATOR: But
she doesn’t spot Dawdle.
MAMA: Quack!
Quack! Quack! Where can he be?
DAWDLE: Ollie, ollie,
in free! You didn’t find me!