Kamishibai Storytime for Children and Families!

Let's celebrate San Diego Comic-Con in the month of July by enjoying this special storytime program with books in a Japanese style of folktale storytelling called Kamishibai. This is a children's storytime that the whole family and all ages can enjoy!

Stories may include............ The Monarch Finds Her Home and The Odd Man in the Park and The Story of Tanabata.  Monarch is about the life cycle of a monarch butterfly and Odd Man is about a magician who conjures butterflies by the boatload and Tanabata (a Japanese holiday) is the story about a forbidden marriage so on the 7th day of the 7th month the young couple is banished to live the rest of the year on opposite sides of the Milky Way and can only re-unite that one day of the year.

Kamishibai brings international folk tales and other stories to life for people, from toddlers to teens and beyond. In this Japanese storybox style "street theater" storytelling tradition, a professional storyteller reveals a series of illustrations contained in a storybox as the narrative unfolds. Before TV & comic books existed in Japan, there was Kamishibai (kami = paper; shibai = theatre). With a wooden box, illustrations & a great narrator to tell the story, kiddos will be in for a treat!

That said, since San Diego Comic-Con does take place in July, we invite you to come early and/or stick around after the program to create your very own folktale comic book and then pick up a free comic book to take with you!  Costumes encouraged! Do you have a favorite super hero or comics or folktale character? Bring your camera for photo-ops! (Free comic books available while supplies last)

This Kamishibai storytelling program is presented by Walter Ritter of Write Out Loud San Diego. The Mission of Write Out Loud is to inspire, challenge and entertain by reading literature aloud to audiences of all ages.