The Art of Storytelling is Alive in Braintree

A community storytelling event, sponsored by Community Care for Kids and the Massachusetts Family Network, for children under the age 6, took place on Friday at the 's Logan Auditorium.

The performance, called "Susie Magoozie's Winter Wonderland Tales," was an hour-long frolic of stories, music, puppetry and comedy. Susie Magoozy, who is Susie Lord of Lynn, charmed the audience; which consisted of 50-plus babies and toddlers and their moms, a handful of dads and a sprinkling of "Grammies."

Broken up into child-sized segments, Susie regaled the full house with a very silly story called "The Mitten" which was reminiscent of an old Marx Brothers movie, and in which more and more characters stuff themselves into a tiny mitten that they find in the woods.

Susie shrieked and screamed and held the attentions of this tough-to-hold age group, who often are more interested in the other kids than the production.

Pausing in between stories with two separate movement sequences, "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" and later, the age-old, yet timeless "Hokey-Pokey"; Susie was able to squeeze in four whole stories in just one hour. The second story, about "Froggy's" attempt to go out to play in the snow, got the children to participate by shouting out the names of his various wardrobe challenges.

The third story, entitled, "The Disappearing Snowman," utilized Susie's artistic background (as did the "Froggy" story), in which she exhibited a paper-cutting display during the telling.

In the finale, a story-in-rhyme entitled, "I Don't Care, Said The Bear," Susie exhibited her full arsenal of funny voices, dramatics, sound effects and lovable goofiness.

The event was made possible by state grants from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care and needed strong participation in order for future programs to receive funding. On that score, there was no problem, as Susie Magoozy played to a packed house, who reveled in her wild antics and raucous merriment.