RECOMMENDED STORYTELLING BOOKS FOR YOUR LIBRARY

Members of the Planning Group of Peterborough Storytellers recommend these books, cd’s and other sources of inspiration for your storytelling activities in 2013. While we are suggesting you can find these books with on-line suppliers like Chapters-Indigo in Canada and Amazon in the United States, check out your favourite local book store first or your community library!

v  Favourite Folktales From Around The World

By Jane Yolen.

Yolen is a prolific author of many story books for kids of all ages. Favourite Folktales, published in 1988 is a popular collection of over 160 stories of varying length from over forty cultures and traditions that lend themselves well to telling. Published by Pantheon it can be ordered from www.chapters.indigo.ca. Approximate cost is $17 Cdn.

v  In The Ever After – Fairy Tales and The Second Half of Life

By Dr. Allan Chinen.

The final part of a successful triology by Chinen exploring the three stages of life, this book contains 16 wonderful, short tales about elders that you could easily add to your telling repertoire. One reviewer describes this book as ‘simply a delightful read, highly informative.’ One of the members of Peterborough Storytellers told a story from this book about a year ago and it was an instant hit with the audience. Published by Chiron Publications in 1989 and now hard to find, your best bet is to get it from www.amazon.com. Approximate cost is $25 Cdn.

v Suddenly They Heard Footsteps – Storytelling For The Twenty-First Century

By Dan Yashinsky

A classic book by Canada’s best known storyteller and pioneer. Every teller must have this book in their active library. Not only is it chock full of wonderful stories from many genres, but Yashinsky engagingly shares his ideas and experiences about the renewal of the art of storytelling in our modern age. One reviewer describes this book as follows: ‘if the word awesome had not been rendered meaningless by trendiness, it would be the adjective for this book. As it is, spell-binding will do.’ Published by Knopf Canada in 2004, you can find it in most bookstores but it’s also available from www.chapters.indigo.ca or www.amazon.com. Approximate cost is $25 Cdn.

If you are a fan of ghost stories, check out Yashinsky’s Ghostwise, published in 2006. Available from www.amazon.com for $15 Cdn.

v  The Healing Heart – Families

Edited by Allison Cox and David Albert

This is an interesting book that you won’t find on many storytellers’ recommended lists but it’s one of our favourites. The Healing Heart is packed with folk tales, personal stories, games, songs and many other helpful materials that storytellers can use to promote resiliency, healthful behaviours, self-esteem and mutual respect. 

A reviewer writes: ‘this labour of love weaves magical connections. If newscasters were to read aloud to their listeners one of the stories from this treasury each night for 1,001 nights, we would all lose our fear and be healed, recapturing real security in our homeland.’ Published by New Society in 2003, it’s in your local bookstore but also available from either www.chapters.indigo.ca or www.amazon.com. Approximate cost is $27 Cdn.

There is a companion book to Families that you may also find helpful. It’s called The Healing Heart – Communities which would also be a rich source of great stories suitable for telling and talking about with groups. 

v  The Dreamer Awakes

By Alice Kane

In her recommendation for this book, one of our storytelling group writes: ‘My hands-down favourite. (Kane’s) choices are unerringly excellent – every story has a good plot, interesting and often imperfect characters and almost always a transformative event that drives home a universal truth. The stories are folk and fairy tales and they stand the test of time’. An on-line reviewer remarks: ‘Astonishing, gorgeous storytelling’. 

Alice Kane is one of Canada’s most cherished and accomplished tellers and you just have to check out this book. And there is lots more about one of Canada’s most distinguished educators and storytellers on the internet. The Dreamer Awakes is published in 1995 by Broadview Press It is still available at both www.chapters.indigo.ca and www.amazon.com. Price varies from $30 Cdn to $45 Am.

v  Elders From Canada’s Storytelling Community

Available from Storysave at Word Press.

This is a unique collection of the recorded voices and performances of ten of Canada’s elders of storytelling. You must check out this amazing archival resource. On the site you can click and listen to any of the tellers and you can order some of their cd’s. This is special service collection offered by Storytellers of Canada (www.storytellers-conteurs.ca) through www.storysave.wordpress.com. 

You can also go the SC-CC webpage and explore the many links to discover other stories and tellers. If you go to the section ‘Member Organizations’, then visit some of the sites for storytelling groups across Canada, each one will have further links to local tellers and lots of stories just waiting for you to learn and tell them in your own community.

v  Storytelling Toronto

www.storytellingtoronto.org

One of the oldest and largest storytelling groups in Canada, Storytelling Toronto is definitely a ‘must visit’ site on the internet. Not only does ST offer skill building courses for beginners and masters, but their site will also link you to many professional tellers. Of particular interest to some members of Peterborough Storytellers, is ‘Pippin’, the quarterly newsletter of the group. It has been published for eighteen years, so you will have lots of archived on-line editions to browse for ideas, stories and articles about the craft of storytelling. And it’s free! Click the 'Newsletter' button.

And In Conclusion...

For storytellers in search of a special story to tell, regardless of the genre you prefer, the internet is surely among the two or three next best things to come along since people first gathered around a campfire on a dark night!

WHEN THE CHILDREN TELL YOU STORIES

“My dear sweet little Billy Goats, there is not enough sweet green grass on this side of the river. Let us cross the Troll’s bridge to the other side of the river to eat the sweet green grass there.”

These are the words I said to the nursery school children as we began our end of the year performance of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. As their teacher, I played the role of the mother Billy Goat and they played my little ‘Kids’. In coaching them to perform I would have one instruction, Stay with the Story.

What a happiness there was for both teacher and child when we could tell a story together. These plays were grand tellings. They took place before an audience of proud parents. Afterwards, the children bowed with smiles and the parents smiled with claps.

The Small Stories

But un-grand tellings produced equal happiness in me. For instance, I would often tell stories using felt pieces at group time. Then I would let the children use the pieces to tell their own versions of the story. I remember once telling the story of the Three Little Pigs and having a four year old boy who often got into trouble saying at the end, “but the wolf was really a good wolf.”

Free Form Story telling

Creating opportunities for the children to make free form stories with toys was an important part of their free play time. I would say, ‘let’s make up a story’.

‘Once upon a time’ and then the children would choose a toy and the story would begin. I would prompt them saying, ‘What happened next?’ or ‘How will it end?’ For younger children I would contribute parts of the story content and we would work out the story together.

The Achievement

There is a feeling of achievement for human beings in creating and telling stories. Perhaps in the old times, stories kept us alive. You might have shared a wolf story to have the child steer clear of wolves. Now, stories keep both adult and child alive in another way. They speak to balancing our emotions and our hopes and dreams. This balancing is particularly important for young children who have limited ability to use logic to think and plan. But all of us are young children in certain parts of our psyche.

Six years ago I retired from teaching young children. It was a difficult time in my life and often in my mind I would repeat the beginning words of the Billy Goats Gruff play:

“My dear sweet little Billy Goats there is not enough sweet green grass on this side of the river. Let us cross the troll bridge to the other side of the river to eat the sweet green grass there.”

The image of the children and I in our Billy Goat ears and tails crossing the Troll’s bridge to get the sweet green grass would instruct me with hope of nourishment and fine places to come. I would remember myself and the children smiling and bowing and then I would feel glad.

Author: Rita Grimaldi (A member of Peterborough Storytellers)

COMING SOON...

We are putting together a post of our favourite sources for told stories from all genres. It will appear here by December 21st. You won't be disappointed at our recommendations. Check back then. 

If you have a favourite source for your stories, please send us a note at peterboroughstorytellers@cogeco.ca. Tell us the name of your book or cd, publisher, date of publication or release and give us a brief recommendation blurb about why you like it.