August 2005

Dear Fellow Book Lovers:

SUMMER ACTIVITIES, PART III

Storytelling has always been an essential part of children’s programming in public libraries. Sponsor a workshop for families on the art of storytelling, and encourage them to include storytelling in their summer activities. For example, ask them to have each family member prepare a story to tell in the car as they drive to vacation spots. They may also include a storytelling time at night before everyone goes to bed, or when the family gathers around the dinner table. Tell participants that most of the stories that are told are folk tales, myths, legends, and fables that grew out of the oral tradition. Whether they originated in European nations, the Far East, South America, the Native American, or African American culture, these stories are filled with suspense, humor, and lessons to be learned.  

Begin the workshop by asking adults to share a story that they remember from their own childhood. Ask others in the group if their memory of the same tale is different. Explain that these stories have many different versions.  

Participants in the workshop may also want to create a legend based on an ancestor, or how their city or town began.

Young adults may be encouraged to take a character from a book like Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli and create a legend to be shared in a storytelling session. Since many legends and folk stories have heroes, younger readers may want to choose a character like Brian from Gary Paulsen’s Brian Series, Zachary from Kimberly Willis Holt’s When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, Phillip from Theodore Taylor’s The Cay, or Belle Prater from Belle Prater’s Boy by Ruth White, and write a legend or a ballad about them.

Make sure that workshop participants are introduced to folk stories that all families should know. Those from Random House include:

The Dark Thirty (ages 10 up) by Patricia McKissack and illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney

American Tall Tales (ages 9-14) by Mary Pope Osborne and illustrated by Michael McCurdy

Beowulf (ages 10 up) by Robert Nye

Borreguita and the Coyote (ages preschool-8) by Verna Aardema and illustrated by Petra Mathers

D’Aulaires Book of Great Myths (ages 8 up) by Ingri D’Aulaire and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire

John Henry: An American Legend (ages 4-8) by Ezra Jack Keats

Mirandy and Brother Wind (ages 5-8) by Patricia McKissack and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

New York ’s Bravest (ages 5-8) by Mary Pope Osborne and illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

The People Could Fly: The Picture Book (all ages) by Virginia Hamilton and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon

Public libraries with strong storytelling staff may provide a tremendous service to schools by offering a storytelling workshop with students, or with parents through the PTA. This way, the tradition of storytelling can become a vital part of family time, an experience that children will never forget.

You may email me at pscales@scgsah.state.sc.us.