A2 RW Ch4 L1 · Storytelling Around the World 🎭

1The book is the story of 14-year-old Lisa Jura, who escaped from Nazi-occupied Austria in 1939. Jura was one of 10,000 Jewish children brought to England on the Kindertransport. Parents made the difficult choice to send their children to England because World War II was about to begin. Children were sent away in order for them to be safe. Jura, already a talented piano player, was chosen instead of her older sister so that she could continue her musical studies in England. After she arrived, Jura lived in a hostel with other refugee children since there were not many English families who took in refugee children. Jura's daughter, Mona Golabek, wrote the book after hearing her mother's stories. As a result of Golabek's work, people can learn about the Kindertransport and the children that it saved.

1The room darkens. A light comes on behind a white screen. Music fills the room and then a shadowy shape appears on the screen. Behind the screen, a puppet master controls the shape, which causes the story to come to life. This is the start of most shadow plays, or shadow puppetry—an old storytelling tradition in many countries around the world.

2Some believe that shadow puppets first started in China about 2,000 years ago. The story goes that a favorite wife of Emperor Wu had died. Because he was sad, he didn't want to do anything, not even lead the country. One of his workers thought of the idea of shadow puppets and made one to look like the emperor's dead wife. That evening, the worker surprised the emperor with a shadow puppet performance. As a result, the emperor was very happy, and shadow puppetry became a favorite type of entertainment in China, continuing until the early 20th century. Because of their popularity, these plays were often seen at weddings and religious festivals. Many of the shadow plays in China are about old stories and folktales, and the puppets are popular heroes from those stories or from Chinese history.

3Like China, Indonesia—especially the island of Java—also has a long history of shadow puppetry. Called wayang kulit, shadow puppets may have come from India around 800 CE. In order to explain the Hindu religion, traders and priests may have used shadow plays, inspired by the Hindu poems of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Over the years, other religions, like Islam and Buddhism, became more common on the island, so the plays and puppets changed. Although the old stories are still performed, most plays are now about local events and politics because these topics are of interest to people today.

1The room darkens. A light comes on behind a white screen. Music fills the room and then a shadowy shape appears on the screen. Behind the screen, a puppet master controls the shape, which causes the story to come to life. This is the start of most shadow plays, or shadow puppetry—an old storytelling tradition in many countries around the world.

2Some believe that shadow puppets first started in China about 2,000 years ago. The story goes that a favorite wife of Emperor Wu had died. Because he was sad, he didn't want to do anything, not even lead the country. One of his workers thought of the idea of shadow puppets and made one to look like the emperor's dead wife. That evening, the worker surprised the emperor with a shadow puppet performance. As a result, the emperor was very happy, and shadow puppetry became a favorite type of entertainment in China, continuing until the early 20th century. Because of their popularity, these plays were often seen at weddings and religious festivals. Many of the shadow plays in China are about old stories and folktales, and the puppets are popular heroes from those stories or from Chinese history.

3Like China, Indonesia—especially the island of Java—also has a long history of shadow puppetry. Called wayang kulit, shadow puppets may have come from India around 800 CE. In order to explain the Hindu religion, traders and priests may have used shadow plays, inspired by the Hindu poems of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Over the years, other religions, like Islam and Buddhism, became more common on the island, so the plays and puppets changed. Although the old stories are still performed, most plays are now about local events and politics because these topics are of interest to people today.

1The room darkens. A light comes on behind a white screen. Music fills the room and then a shadowy shape appears on the screen. Behind the screen, a puppet master controls the shape, which causes the story to come to life. This is the start of most shadow plays, or shadow puppetry—an old storytelling tradition in many countries around the world.

2Some believe that shadow puppets first started in China about 2,000 years ago. The story goes that a favorite wife of Emperor Wu had died. Because he was sad, he didn't want to do anything, not even lead the country. One of his workers thought of the idea of shadow puppets and made one to look like the emperor's dead wife. That evening, the worker surprised the emperor with a shadow puppet performance. As a result, the emperor was very happy, and shadow puppetry became a favorite type of entertainment in China, continuing until the early 20th century. Because of their popularity, these plays were often seen at weddings and religious festivals. Many of the shadow plays in China are about old stories and folktales, and the puppets are popular heroes from those stories or from Chinese history.

3Like China, Indonesia—especially the island of Java—also has a long history of shadow puppetry. Called wayang kulit, shadow puppets may have come from India around 800 CE. In order to explain the Hindu religion, traders and priests may have used shadow plays, inspired by the Hindu poems of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Over the years, other religions, like Islam and Buddhism, became more common on the island, so the plays and puppets changed. Although the old stories are still performed, most plays are now about local events and politics because these topics are of interest to people today.

1The room darkens. A light comes on behind a white screen. Music fills the room and then a shadowy shape appears on the screen. Behind the screen, a puppet master controls the shape, which causes the story to come to life. This is the start of most shadow plays, or shadow puppetry—an old storytelling tradition in many countries around the world.

2Some believe that shadow puppets first started in China about 2,000 years ago. The story goes that a favorite wife of Emperor Wu had died. Because he was sad, he didn't want to do anything, not even lead the country. One of his workers thought of the idea of shadow puppets and made one to look like the emperor's dead wife. That evening, the worker surprised the emperor with a shadow puppet performance. As a result, the emperor was very happy, and shadow puppetry became a favorite type of entertainment in China, continuing until the early 20th century. Because of their popularity, these plays were often seen at weddings and religious festivals. Many of the shadow plays in China are about old stories and folktales, and the puppets are popular heroes from those stories or from Chinese history.

3Like China, Indonesia—especially the island of Java—also has a long history of shadow puppetry. Called wayang kulit, shadow puppets may have come from India around 800 CE. In order to explain the Hindu religion, traders and priests may have used shadow plays, inspired by the Hindu poems of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Over the years, other religions, like Islam and Buddhism, became more common on the island, so the plays and puppets changed. Although the old stories are still performed, most plays are now about local events and politics because these topics are of interest to people today.