La Trobe

My Own Invention - Telling Tails: Children's Literature Goes to the Hospital

Download (151.74 kB)
Version 2 2025-06-30, 06:06
Version 1 2025-06-25, 04:35
journal contribution
posted on 2025-06-30, 06:06 authored by Gideon Koren
Gideon Koren describes the foundation and ongoing work of the Bear Theatre at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and its presentation of his play Tails.

History

Journal

The Looking Glass : New Perspectives on Children's Literature

ISSN

1551-5680

Volume

1

Issue

3

Publisher

La Trobe University

Section Title

Curiouser and Curiouser

Author Biography

Gideon Koren is an Israeli-Canadian pediatrician, clinical pharmacologist, toxicologist, author and a composer of Israeli popular music. In 1992 he founded the Bear Theatre at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, the only such theatre worldwide where health professionals perform weekly for hospitalized children and their families. The musical "Tails" -- script, songs, direction and children's book by Koren -- has served as a model for other hospitals. In July 2007 the theatre celebrated 15 years and 750 shows. At the hospital, Koren goes by the nickname "Gidi" and takes pride in wearing eccentric hats to the performances of "Tails."

Date Created

2017-11-29

Rights Statement

Essays and articles published in The Looking Glass may be reproduced for non-profit use by any educational or public institution; letters to the editor and on-site comments made by our readers may not be used without the expressed permission of that individual. Any commercial use of this journal, in whole or in part, by any means, is prohibited. Authors of accepted articles assign to The Looking Glass the right to publish and distribute their text electronically and to archive and make it permanently available electronically. They retain the copyright and, 90 days after initial publication, may republish it in any form they wish as long as The Looking Glass is acknowledged as the original source.

Data source

OJS data migration 2025: https://ojs.latrobe.edu.au/ojs/index.php/tlg/article/view/897

Usage metrics

    The Looking Glass

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC