Lance Somerfeld

One of my favorite activities as a parent is reading books with my son, Jake, 4. I get incredibly animated, use lots of silly voices and sound effects, and try my best to make the stories to come to life. Consequently, we have an extensive children's library at home and read together frequently. Two of our favorites are classics by Eric Carle—The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?—so, it's no surprise that our family was giddy with excitement last weekend when the award-winning Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia brought its epic production Treasured Stories by Eric Carle to the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Symphony Space on the Upper West Side.   Our family adventure started with an exclusive behind-the scenes tour of Symphony Space—a modern, sleek performing arts facility that was definitely designed with families in mind. As we traversed the different locations in the intimate theater, it was apparent that every seat in Symphony Space is a good one. Our first stop on the whirlwind tour included a discussion with the light technician for the theater. My son loves cause-effect relationships, so of course he enjoyed operating the theater's light-control panel while sliding the various switches and changing the colors onstage, as well as turning spot lights on and off. Next stop: the stage! On tage, we got to meet the "hungry caterpillar," "brown bear" and members of the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, who patiently answered the exhausting interrogat