Since April 2 marked International Children’s Book Day—instituted in 1967 to celebrate children’s literature and promote the love of reading—we're taking a moment to reflect on ways our Center for the Arts 2025–26 season performances share connections with children’s books.
Peppa Pig, the popular British animated TV show, for preschoolers began airing on Channel 5 in May 2004, and was released in the US in 2005. Since then, the show has been translated into more than 40 languages and broadcast in 180 countries. There are more than 300 episodes of the show, and more than 300 officially licensed books based on it, with titles including Peppa's Perfect Day, Peppa Loves to Bake, Peppa's Magical Unicorn, Peppa Pig's Big Feelings, and Peppa Goes to the Zoo.
On Saturday, April 11, the Center for the Arts Family Series presents Peppa Pig – My First Concert. Bring the preschoolers in your life for some screen-free fun and a "magical musical journey,” (The Live Review) introducing them to the joys of live music!
On Jan. 31, also as part of the Family Series, the Center for the Arts presented a musical called Curious George: The Golden Meatball, inspired by the books featuring everyone's favorite mischievous monkey and his friend in the yellow hat. The Curious George series includes more than 100 books, the first of which was published in 1941. Read more about the origins of the series, as well as the musical inspired by it and produced by Wishing Star Productions, LLC, in this article.
The Center welcomed in March the Silkroad Ensemble and its artistic director, Rhiannon Giddens, for a fourth year as Mason Artist-in-Residence. Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur "Genius" Grant Award-winner Giddens has also written two children's books:
- Build a House with cellist and Silkroad founder Yo-Yo Ma (who also performed at the Center on Dec. 6).
- We Could Fly, a companion to Build a House. Giddens generously signed and gave copies of both books to the Center for the Arts during her residency, and the books will be donated to a local elementary school to benefit area children.