Desoto Appeal May 11th 2003
FILLING A VOID IN TV LAND
By Jennifer Biggs
Nesbit Mom films
videos for kids
“Mr. Rogers is
gone. Shari Lewis...there’s no Captain Kangaroo”
Lori Reeves believes something is missing in children’s
television.
“They have no human mentor right now. Mr. Rogers is gone, Shari
Lewis is gone, there’s no Captain Kangaroo,” the Nesbit Mother of
one child said on Saturday.
She thinks she
might have the solution in Miss Lori and her mascot pig, Sqedunk.
On Saturday,
Reeves set up in the Desoto Civic Center Theater with her crew to
film her second video, Miss Lori Live.
Young children
from around the area were on hand to sing along with Reeves as she
led them through some of their favorite songs. There was Little
Bunny Phoo Phoo, Five Monkeys jumping on the bed and the
favorite, Ten Little Indians.
Liked that one
best,” said Tristan Scarbrough, 4, of Lakeland. She was one of
the 10 children selected to don feather hats and join Miss Lori on
the stage to sing the popular song.
Mic Scarbrough
said he heard about the performance on the radio and that the trip
to Desoto County was well worth it.
Finger plays
don’t include finger puppets, but is a form of acting out songs
and skits that involve hands, like the pinky to thumb twists in
Itsy Bitsy Spider.
The children were
also treated to a reading of Reeves’s book, Sqedunk takes a tub
tub.
When his mother
adds bubbles to Sqedunk's bath, a bubble machine sent cascades of
the soapy orbs raining down on the children.
After the book,
Sqedunk himself came on stage to dole out the hugs to the
squealing children.
Reeves, 38, who
said she’s in negotiations with studios about the Miss Lori
character, plans to take the show on the road after the video is
released.
She said she is
blessed to have the opportunity to do the work she does. “I’ve
always been able to capture children’s attention,” she said.
“They love to interact with a human face, with a big smile.
The public is
invited to attend another taping of Miss Lori Live at 2:00
pm today at the civic center theater.
The show lasts
about 90 minutes and Reeves said there will be gifts for mothers
to celebrate the day.
-Jennifer Briggs |