‘Philharmonic Playdates: Games and Toys’

Just think of the orchestra as one big collection of playthings, and the musicians as pals: That’s the philosophy behind the latest season of the New York Philharmonic’s Very Young People’s Concerts. Titled “Philharmonic Playdates,” the programs will woo children 3 to 6 with pieces that highlight the fun in music. This one features Dvorak, Leopold Mozart and Vivaldi, along with a story. Hands-on activities with the players will precede and follow each performance.

‘The Amazing Max’

Max Darwin, a.k.a. the Amazing Max, may come across like the M.C. at a raucous bar mitzvah party, but he does know his craft. In this hourlong magic performance, revived for the holiday season, he performs feats like mind reading, making objects disappear and then reappear in unexpected places, and sending coins raining from various parts of the body. The show, which has been updated, includes lots of audience participation.

Winter’s Eve at Lincoln Square

In “A Christmas Carol,” Scrooge’s spiritual opposite was Fezziwig, his genial boss of long ago who knew when to put aside workaday concerns, throw open his doors and invite everyone to a grand party. Something similar will happen in New York on Monday evening, but the companies offering the revelry will be modern corporations in the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District. This annual festival will offer many children’s events and activities, including a tree lighting; concerts by the Suzi Shelton Band; a performance by Jack Frost of the Big Apple Circus; a holiday card workshop with the New York Society for Ethical Culture; and screenings of “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center.

‘Peace, Love, and Cupcakes: The Musical’

Vital Theater Company has again revived this show, which takes place on one of the most treacherous, complicated and unrelenting battlefields to which America has sent its young: middle school. An attempt to attract audiences as old as 12, it draws on the first novel in a series by Sheryl Berk and her young daughter, Carrie Berk. Though not always plausible, the production, written by Rick Hip-Flores, offers a brisk, entertaining and well-acted hour as it explores what happens to the misfit heroine, Kylie Carson, when she starts a cupcake club that threatens to become even more popular than the reigning mean girl at school.

‘Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas’

Vital Theater Company, which gave eager young audiences “Fancy Nancy: The Musical,” has now returned with a new show starring that inimitable little diva. Based on the book written by Jane O’Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, “Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas” deals with Nancy’s fancy expectations for the holiday season. With a book by Cara Lustik, music by Randy Klein and lyrics by Matthew Hardy, the production revolves around Nancy’s purchase of a grand decoration for the top of the Christmas tree, and what ensues when her trimming dreams don’t turn out quite as planned.

WeBop Family Jazz Party: ‘Painted Beats’

Everyone bops at the rousing celebrations offered by the WeBop Family Band of Jazz at Lincoln Center, whose educational programs introduce this vibrant American music to the youngest of potential fans. In this concert for ages 3 to 8, presented by the Jewish Museum, the “painted beats” are to be found in the canvases in the museum’s exhibition “From the Margins: Lee Krasner/Norman Lewis, 1945-1952,” focusing on two artists greatly influenced by jazz. Young listeners will explore the relationship between the music and the paintings.

360 Allstars

What would happen if you got seven young performers from all over the world to reinvent the circus? That’s essentially what the members of 360 Allstars have done in this 75-minute production at the New Victory Theater. Imagine break dancers instead of acrobats, a BMX biker replacing a unicyclist and a basketball freestyler taking the spotlight where a juggler might be. And live hip-hop music throughout.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Family Concert: ‘Who Is Tito Puente?’

Nothing less than Latin musical royalty, that’s who. Puente, the bandleader who died in 2000 at 77 and was known as El Rey de Salsa (the King of Salsa) and the King of the Mambo, will be introduced to children 6 and older at this concert. The bassist Carlos Henriquez, who played with Puente, will host the event, which will feature the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and include pre-performance art and music workshops. Young listeners are encouraged to bring their own instruments for the preshow activities.

Black Violin

Imagine a hip-hop adaptation of Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concerto No. 3. Wilner Baptiste, known as Wil B, and Kevin Marcus Sylvester, a.k.a. Kev Marcus, have. Calling their duo Black Violin, these classically trained musicians combine the brashness and beats of hip-hop with the soaring lines and fleet finger work of orchestral virtuosos. Recommended for ages 8 and older, this family concert may forever change your mind about musical categories.

Mummenschanz

They do not speak. They do not sing. They do not play music. But they do move and act, to great effect. They are the members of Mummenschanz, the Swiss troupe renowned for the stories it tells with masks, lighting, puppetry, props and objects as ordinary as toilet paper. The company has returned to New York with a limited run of a 70-to-80-minute show that includes both signature bits and brand-new sketches, including a world premiere piece developed just for local theatergoers, both big and little.

Baby Loves Disco: Pajama Party Jam

Mommy and Daddy often love disco, too, and they can enjoy these afternoon dance parties — with bona fide D.J.’s and nostalgic hits — along with their offspring. (The target age range is 6 months to 7 years.) Unlike clubs, these disco gatherings often feature diaper-changing stations, and unlike playgrounds, they usually have snacks and beverages for adults. This one, at Le Poisson Rouge, is a special pajama party, with prizes for the best family PJs and a jumping on the bed dance contest.

‘Skippyjon Jones’

How would Don Quixote behave if he were a cat? This musical, from Theatreworks USA, suggests an answer: Its title character, a Siamese, envisions himself as a noble, swashbuckling Chihuahua. The show, by Kevin Del Aguila and Eli Bolin, follows Skippyjon, rechristened El Skippito Friskito, on an adventure in the Mexico of his imagination. Based on the children’s book series by Judy Schachner, this is a revival of a high-spirited hourlong production that should entertain young cat lovers and dog lovers alike.

Step Into: Thanksgiving

The coming holiday may be associated with the turkey, but at this event, a goldfish plays a starring role. The group Play Me a Story, which does interactive tale telling with original music and homemade props, will present “The Magic Goldfish,” a fable about a fish that grants a man wishes in exchange for sparing its life. Visitors can also make autumn crafts and enjoy an interactive concert featuring Timbalooloo, the clarinetist Oran Etkin’s preschool music program.

‘Great White Shark’

Seeing this new Imax film at the American Museum of Natural History may inspire fear — not for the safety of humans, but for that of sharks. Shown in both 2-D and 3-D, this documentary explores the fate of great white sharks, which have been driven to the brink of extinction by the market for shark fin soup. Filmed in waters off Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and the California coast, the work captures sharks in their habitats, including a sequence in which great whites are shown breaching in 3-D.

‘The Amazing Adventures of Harvey and the Princess’

Making Books Sing has changed its name to New York City Children’s Theater, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t still turning children’s books into innovative musicals. Its latest venture, with score and lyrics by the young people’s pop sensation Laurie Berkner, and a script by Barbara Zinn Krieger, the organization’s founder and artistic director, is an adaptation of “Harvey the Child Mime,” by Loryn Brantz. For ages 3 through 8, the show illustrates that Harvey’s imagination will take him anywhere — including Pink Mountain Island, where he encounters a princess in need of some help.

The FunkeyMonkeys

These aren’t zoo residents but a band formed by Joshua Sitron, composer and musical director for the Nickelodeon show “Dora the Explorer.” The members make up stories and do comic bits along with their music, which is funky, of course. And their intended audience — those 2 to 6 — can sing along and dance to tasty tunes like “Cupcake” and “Baba Ganoush (Do You Want to Eat a Pita?)”

‘Our Town’

Grover’s Corners is a far cry from Manhattan, but for the next two weekends, you can find its humble truths right in Midtown, as the St. Bart’s Players present Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Our Town.” Young people who have encountered George Gibbs, Emily Webb and the rest of the townsfolk only in English class can now meet them onstage.

Children’s Book Fair

The bookish side of Brooklyn will be on display at this annual event, which will feature more than 30 authors and illustrators who hail from the borough, as well as work that ranges from picture books to young-adult novels. Those offering readings will include Adam Auerbach, Peter Brown, Scott Menchin and Sophie Blackall. Young bookworms can also make art and take pictures.

‘Tobias Turkey’

Tobias is a turkey with determination. He is also reported to be funny, and you have to respect a turkey who can keep his sense of humor around Thanksgiving. Shadow Box Theater brings his story to life in this interactive mini-musical by Sandra Robbins, for children in preschool through second grade.

Holiday Train Show Benefit Preview

Some trains arrive in Grand Central Terminal only once a year. Those are the intricate Lionel electric toy trains — models of the Metro-North Railroad, New York Central and subway lines — that emerge from a miniature Grand Central and zoom along a 34-foot-long two-level layout in the Holiday Train Show. At this benefit party, which raises funds for the New York Transit Museum’s educational programs, families can see the show before it opens to the general public on Sunday. They can also enjoy hot chocolate and holiday treats and see displays of vintage trains and advertisements.

Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players

Mr. Roberts, once the leader of the indie band Pimentos for Gus, as well as a former Montessori preschool teacher, is now putting his professional talents to use by performing music for the youngest rockers. At these concerts, part of the Just Kidding series at Symphony Space, he and his group will play tunes from his forthcoming summer release, appropriately titled “Recess,” as well as hits from previous family albums like “Lullaby” and the Grammy-nominated “Jungle Gym.”

‘Monday Night Magic’

This show bills itself as the longest-running Off Broadway entertainment of its kind. (It opened in 1997.) Every Monday a different group of magicians appears (or disappears, as the case may be), offering illusions, sleight of hand and an occasional thrill, like knife throwing. The performers planned for this Monday are Ben Nemzer, Hiawatha Johnson Jr. and Chris Capehart.

‘The Gazillion Bubble Show: The Next Generation’

Children love bubbles, and this interactive show promises not just a gazillion but also some of the largest ever blown, along with light effects and lasers. The stars are the members of the Yang family: Fan and Ana Yang and their son Deni and others, who rotate as M.C.’s for the production. Audience members may even find themselves in bubbles of their own.

‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’

If the children of the Pevensie family could travel to the magical land of Narnia through something as simple as a wardrobe, why shouldn’t two hard-working actors be able to play them and all the characters found there? That’s what Abigail Taylor-Sansom and her husband, Rockford Sansom, are attempting in the Off Broadway Family Theater’s first production, le Clanché du Rand’s adaptation of C. S. Lewis’s classic novel. (The run is open-ended.)

‘The Magical World of Maurice Ravel’

Ravel’s world initially seems more maddening than magical to the young pianist at the heart of this onstage story. Worn out from trying to master one of that composer’s more difficult pieces, the boy falls asleep, only to be visited by Ravel in his dreams. Of course, the master knows a few secrets to understanding his work, which he shares with the hero — and the audience. Part of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Meet the Music! series, created by Bruce Adolphe for children 6 and older, the event will also include a chance to meet the instruments: a preconcert '‘petting zoo’' in which children can handle them.

‘Theatresports’

It may involve actors, but it’s still a competitive event: The members of Freestyle Repertory Theater, an improv troupe, are once again thinking fast on their feet. They break into two teams and perform skits based on suggestions from the audience. Children will not only vote to determine the contest’s winner but also participate onstage.

Family Friday: ‘Bead Geometry’

And you thought beads were all about art. In this program at the National Museum of Mathematics, part of its Family Friday series, children will learn that beads — and the structures you make from them — are all about geometry. Gwen Fisher, a mathematical artist, will guide participants in exploring pattern, symmetry and shape.

Disney on Ice: ‘Frozen’

Let it go? Not a chance. Young fans of Disney’s hit film “Frozen” are going to be clamoring to see this theatrical version, staged on some very real ice. And in addition to the story of the sister princesses Anna and Elsa — it’s Elsa who has that hard-to-control talent for freezing everything — the ice-skating version will be hosted by Mickey and Minnie Mouse, with appearances by other Disney royalty. (Before it arrives in Brooklyn, where it runs through Nov. 16, “Frozen” is playing at the Nassau Coliseum in Hempstead, N.Y.; after its Brooklyn run, it goes to the Prudential Center in Newark and the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., closing on Nov. 30.)

‘Minimón’

Minimón means “small world” in Catalonian, and this one is also meant for small people: children 1 to 4. A production from Mons Dansa, a dance company based in Barcelona, the show features a solo performer, Sarah Anglada, who comes upon a room filled with the remnants of a child’s dream. Music, video projections and movement help bring the stories she discovers to the little theatergoers, who are invited to explore the room in a workshop after each show.

Family Films: ‘Through Thick and Thin: Forging Friendships’

Sometimes you can find a buddy in the most unexpected places. This program of short films at the Museum of Modern Art celebrates some unusual comrades, including a toy cat and a toy dog (in “Macropolis,” from Britain) and the title characters in “Rabbit and Deer” (from Hungary). But perhaps the most intriguing match-up occurs on the New York subway in the American film “Low Down Underground,” which features a blues musician, a punk artist, a 9-year-old and an elderly woman, in a tale told by contemporary rappers.

Salzburg Marionette Theater: ‘The Toy Box’

Who knows what all those playthings are up to when left to their own devices? In Debussy’s children’s ballet, “The Toy Box,” romantic intrigue and even war are not beyond the possibilities. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Salzburg Marionette Theater will perform the story — it centers on a love triangle involving Pulcinella, a ballerina doll and a toy soldier — with the score played live by the pianist Orion Weiss. The abridged matinee performances are especially for young audiences; the evening program will feature other musical pieces.

‘Tico Tales’

An adventure in Costa Rica usually requires New Yorkers to board a plane, but this one comes courtesy of Literally Alive, a theater company that has made the country the subject of one of its latest productions. Written by Michael Sgouros and Brenda Bell, the musical “Tico Tales” adapts traditional Costa Rican drumming and rhythms along with the culture’s folklore, incorporating characters like the colorful quetzal bird and Cira, a princess whom love turns into a volcano. A free art workshop takes place an hour before each performance.

‘Tunes With Tina’

That’s Tina deVaron, a jazz musician and singer, whose musical brunch for young people at the Measure Lounge at Langham Place, Fifth Avenue, a hotel in Midtown Manhattan, has returned for another season. Ms. deVaron, who often sings show tunes for children, also improvises and gears her performances to the audience. This month’s program is “Broadway Sundays,” in which she’ll feature an artist from Broadway performing with her at each brunch. Arriving at 11 is encouraged, as there will be an opportunity to meet the guest star both before and after the show.

Fall Forest Weekend

New York City has its own forest primeval: the Thain Family Forest at the New York Botanical Garden, the city’s largest remaining tract of old-growth forest (meaning that it has developed without disturbance for many years). The garden is honoring this woodland treasure with special activities: tours of the forest; tree-climbing demonstrations by arborists; guided canoe trips on the Bronx River; a Saturday bird walk and, on both days, bird beat-boxing (think of it as a hip-hop variant on bird calling) and, at 1 and 3 p.m., demonstrations with live birds of prey, during which visitors will encounter hawks, owls and falcons and learn about their adaptations. Through Nov. 13, children can also visit the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden for “Tree-rific Trees,” a program in which they can observe sections of a giant sequoia and a white oak and learn how trees develop and age.