P   Pamela's First Musical
                                Wendy Wasserstein    ISBN 0-7868-0078-X
 
In this book, young Pamela spends her birthday with her Aunt Louise (who reminds me a great deal of Mame) and is lead on a wonderful journey through the world of theater.  Wasserstein does a wonderful job of taking the reader back to a time when the American musical played a far more important role in life than it does today, and in the process makes reference to many of the people who made musical theater what it is today.  The book resonated much more strongly with my female students, but not solely with them...it is certainly a book that many of the boys do not take as their first pick during their free time.
 
The Princess and the Pea
                                    Janet Stevens          ISBN 0-823-40442-0
 
This might seem like an odd book to have in a collection of music books, so let me explain.  I'm very involved in musical theater.  Therefore, I turn a lot of my experiences into lessons.  A while back (don't make me say how far back) I had the pleasure of being in a musical called "Once Upon a Mattress" which is a comedic version of the Princess and the Pea story.  Since I have a really good working knowledge of the show, I own the CD (which has some really good tracks for the students to listen to), I bought this book to compare the story with the musical.  The book itself is at a very simple level with illustrations jungle animals as the court (even dressed in Renaissance finery).  This, of course leads to further discussions.  So, while a bit specialized, it's a good book to have if you would like to do a similar lesson.  And, if you'd like to check out the CD, click on the following title.  Once Upon A Mattress - New Broadway Cast.