At the moment in writing we are focusing on imaginative writing. It was super beneficial for the students on how to craft ideas and how to be creative.Moree PS, NSW about 2022's adaptation of The Detective's Guide to Ocean Travel by Nikki Greenberg
Engaging for the students at their level, reinforcing the importance of being kind. The Q&A helped clarify and unpack the story beautifully.Mount Samson State School, QLD about 2025's adaptation of Small Acts by Kate Gordon & Kate Foster
SYNOPSIS
Inked is about a kid who just wants to blend in and an opera-singing octopus who loves to stand out! Can these frenemies find a way to work together?
This marks the first time Meerkat Productions has adapted a graphic novel for the stage, bringing its visual storytelling into live performance to strengthen inference and narrative understanding through a new modality.
Graphic novels like this align with the Ochre Education Reading Spine by offering high-quality multimodal texts alongside explicit, systematic teaching of reading strategies, and from a Science of Learning perspective they support dual coding, manage cognitive load for developing readers, and build comprehension through repeated retrieval of meaning across visual and verbal cues. This makes them a rigorous complement to chapter books.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
“...readers will be surprised and delighted by thoughtful character development, witty dialogue, and Jake A. Minton’s warm, polished artwork... An excellent, wildly entertaining read for ages 9+.” Readings
ABOUT THE SHOW
Each year, in celebration of Book Week, we adapt two books nominated by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) for the Book of The Year Awards.
We choose one book from the Picture Book category & one book from the Younger Readers Chapter Book category and create two 40-minute musical productions including original songs and puppetry.
As far as we’re aware, we’re the only company adapting both a picture book and a younger readers chapter book each year; therefore, ensuring age appropriate performances for all students.
We also support Australian authors by paying royalties for every child that attends a performance of one of our adaptations.
Includes a teacher resource pack and a targeted, structured question time with the performers which explores the themes of the books and performances and also supports Inquiry learning as we discuss how the shows were produced and how the puppets and props were made.
ABOUT OUR SHOWS
All of our shows are fully staged musicals lasting 40 - 45 minutes (plus Q&A) including original songs and puppetry.
We encourage audience participation and active engagement in all of our performances and we use puppetry to fully engage the students and to broaden the possibilities of the way we stage our shows.
Our post-performance Q&A is structured and focused on the themes raised in the show and a behind the scenes insight into how our set, props, puppets, etc. work and how they were made.
"Was great how it was run by you and not just the kids asking random questions. (10/10)" - Bargara State School, Bargara QLD
We also provide a teachers resource pack to support our incursion both before and after we've been to the school and host a targeted, structured and informative Q&A session with the performers which which supports the school's delivery of the Critical and Creative Thinking curriculum and explores the themes of the book and performance and also supports Inquiry learning as we discuss how the shows were produced and how the puppets and props were made.
We provide all of the staging and sound requirements, all we need from you is a performance space 5m by 3m, plus enough room for the students to sit and watch the showand one power socket.
60 min set up, 45 min pack up.
Produced by Meerkat Productions
The movement throughout the room was incredible. Every student had their attention fixed the entire time. The Q&A session where the kids got to ask questions was excellent.St Michaels PS, North Melbourne, VIC about 2016's adaptation of Run, Pip, Run by JC Jones
...very powerful and opened many doors for discussion.St Kilda Park Primary School, VIC about 2018's adaptation of The Elephant by Peter Carnavas
A fantastic show with so many positive messages that kept students engaged, and the Q&A was a great addition.Spotswood Primary School, VIC about 2025's adaptation of Small Acts by Kate Gordon & Kate Foster
Really enjoyable and professional show. Loved the way the stage was set out, allowing the audience to be fully immersed. ...the content of the show allowed full understanding of the text to come through.St Joseph's Catholic School, Cairns QLD about 2023's adaptation of The Way of Dog by Zana Fraillon
BOOKINGS
To make a booking or enquiry, simply press the GREEN Enquiry/Booking Request Button above right to directly contact the booking team. They will answer you promptly to discuss your booking including when payment will be required.
Shows for Schools not only gathers all the great available shows, it also makes booking easier!