The Jumbo Book of Drama

David E. Kemp, a former professor of drama at Queen’s University, is
the author of The Pleasures and Treasures of the United Kingdom.

Deborah Dunleavy is a musician and performer who has been conducting
drama and music workshops for children and teachers for more than 20
years. The Jumbo Book of Drama is an activities book for children aged
seven and up. There are close to 120 drama-related activities and
sections dealing with mime, masks, clownwork, puppets, reader’s
theatre radio plays, melodrama, comedy, tragedy, and “behind the
scenes.” Each section includes about 10 two-page activities and these
are attractively illustrated.

The book’s problem is that it tries to do too much. It explores
nothing in any kind of depth and is unsophisticated to the point of
being simplistic. In the “Dance Drama Section,” for example,
there’s a two-page section called “Jump for Joy” in which Isadora
Duncan is dismissed in nine lines, classical Indian dance in four lines,
and ballet in six lines.

There are drama books in which experiences in different aspects of
drama are used to allow participants to discover important things about
themselves, the people around them, and the world in which they live.
The Jumbo Book of Drama is not one of those books. Not recommended.