This video is from my mini-Binghamton Tour a while back.
There were about 300 young people, all of them very enthusiastic!
One note: I’ve found that some parents get upset with the accident at the beginning of this version. Since then, I’ve tended to omit it. In the book, we moved it several pages in.
It was the summer 1989.
What was I doing in East Berlin with a truckload of watermelons?
Ending the cold war!
This may be the only true story I tell. It’s really something that reaches across generations.
“The Boy Who Hated Pizza” is featured on the CD Classic Stories for Boys and Girls and in the book “Stories for Peace“. A variation called, “The Boy Who Hated Fried Matzah” is also part of the program and on the CD A Holiday Present
One of my “jobs” as a storyteller is to discover the origins of ideas. “Chiri Bim” was one of my favorite songs growing up, because I didn’t need to learn any other words. It’s featured in my book Stories for Peace and it’s part of my new program “From Many, One.” I’ve told this story in churches and synagogues, community centers and schools, theaters, festivals, coffee shops and even in an Irish pub!
A word of warning, the video and sound quality is about what you’d expect from somebody holding a phone up at the back of a coffee shop…
I’ve always been amazed at how reshaping a well-known story can capture the attention of even the most jaded listener.
In a time fraught with fear, there is a simple message of joy…
Yes, it’s a bit tongue in cheek, but it’s heartfelt too.
And get a printable copy of the lyrics…
Who threw the first holiday party? What happened in the bakery on New Year’s eve? What did Jack really get from the magic man?
Seven stories from around the world: Christmas, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, Ramadan, Diwali, Solstice and the New Year. Plus an awesome multicultural song!
Recorded live before an audience of K-5, this is a perfect non-denominational celebration of the holidays.
The Zombie Cat includes seven stories plus a full length chapter book (novella).
NEW: also available in Dyslexie Hardcover