Montjoy_Emily_StorytellingReflectionBlog

 Story Telling Experience Reflection

By: Emily Montjoy

My first storytelling experience was a read aloud session with a book. You can listen to my recording here Storytelling Experience with a Book  I appreciate the list of books for read alouds that was shared in our text book on page 67.  Stories: A List of Stories to Tell and to Read Aloud, published by the New York Public Library.  This resource will be helpful when selecting stories to tell in the future.  During this session I chose to read aloud How to Catch a Witch by Alice Walstead.  When I was planning my storytelling session with a book, I used several tips from our textbook, Storytelling Art and Technique by Ellin Greene.

"The storyteller must take the story from the printed page and blow the breath of life into it." 

(Greene, 2010, page 59)

Selection

"The storyteller, then, must enjoy the content, mood, or style and must have a desire to share this enjoyment." (Greene, 2010, page 59)  First of all, I wanted to choose a book that I enjoyed reading aloud.  I also wanted to choose a book that the content, mood, and style fit my audience.  In this case I was reading aloud to my graduate classmates, but I imagined I was reading it aloud to children.  I chose this book too because October is just a couple of weeks away, so this book fit the current season.  Greene also lists several characteristics of a good story for storytelling:

1. a single theme

2. a well-developed plot

3. style (look for vivid word pictures, pleasing sounds, rhythm)

4. characterization

5. faithfulness

6. dramatic appeal

7. appropriateness for the listener (Greene, 2010, page 61-62)

Preparation

"Live with your story until the characters and the setting become as real to you as people and places you know." (Greene, 2010, page 80)

Greene (2010) suggests, "Read the story from beginning to end several times.  Read for pleasure first.  Then read it over with concentration.  Analyze the story to determine where the appeal lies, what the art form is, what word pictures you want your listeners to see, what mood you wish to create." (page 80-81)  Greene (2010) also suggests reading the story and timing it as well as observing the sentence structure, phrases, unusual words and expressions. (page 81)  While I was preparing for my storytelling session, I read the book multiple times.  I practiced reading it aloud to my daughter to see what parts caught her attention the most.  I read the book and timed myself to be sure I was around five minutes so it met the time requirements.  This was also important when I was picking out the book, not to pick a book that was too long.  I also wanted to practice to be sure I felt comfortable enough with the story so that I didn't read too fast and so that I pronounced words correctly and paused in the correct places since this book did have rhyme and rhythm.  If I didn't read the story with the correct rhythm, it could make the story offbeat, which if you've ever heard someone sing or clap offbeat, it's pretty awkward.  I also looked up the pronunciation for ghouls to be sure that I was pronouncing it exactly right, especially if a rhyming pattern depended on my pronunciation.  I recorded myself once and listened to the playback so I could correct anything that was not clear or precise.  I also wanted to be sure I was loud enough because I do tend to be more soft spoken when reading aloud.  Additionally I wanted to be sure that my tone of voice, breathing, pauses, emotion, expression, gestures, etc. added to the story in a natural way that complemented the characters, story, tone and mood while also not distracting the listener.

Presentation

When planning the setup, I chose to read aloud and record my storytelling experience in front of a little cozy area with bookshelves in the background.  I also displayed other Halloween, fall, pumpkin, and scarecrow themed books on the shelves behind me to help give my set up and presentation the same mood and theme as the story I had chosen to read.  If I were not recoring this for my classmates and had been reading aloud to children in a library setting, I would have had a similar setup and backdrop to create and match the atmosphere to the storytime experience.  I wanted the environment to reflect the storytime theme and complement my story choice. However, it is also important to remember that you do not want your background to distract or overpower the actual storytelling.  Greene (2010) suggests, "Look directly at your listeners.  As you tell, let your gaze move from one to another so that each child feels involved in the telling of the story." (page 95)  It's easy to forget to make eye contact when you are reading aloud a book to children and you're holding the book in your hand.  It is especially easy to forget to make eye contact when you are reading aloud to an imaginary audience and recording yourself!  This was something I continued to remind myself in my head to look back to the camera after every page or every couple of pages to engage my audience and make eye contact.  I also stopped and asked questions, and paused for my listeners to think about the story while I was reading.  Because I was videoing myself and the camera was showing about waist up, I also displayed the book pages closer to the camera so the viewers could get a better look at the illustrations because they were hard to see from the set up location and distance of the camera, but they were interesting and important to the story so I wanted to zoom in to show the important illustrations to the story.

Green (2010) also suggests, "Speak in a pleasant, low-pitched voice with enough volume to be heard easily by listeners in the last row.  Speak clearly, distinctly, smoothly, and at a pace suitable for the story." (page 96) I really tried to speak loud enough to be heard, clearly, and at a pace that was suitable for this storytelling experience.  The story is a fun, upbeat story, so I wanted my pace to give a peppy read aloud experience and not a slow-paced tone.  However, it is also important to be sure not to read to fast so that the audience isn't given enough time to hear, process, and comprehend the story.  There is a fine balance to consider.  Greene (2010) also instructs, "The storyteller extables the mood of the storytelling program.  Physical appearance, a pleasant expression, a smile, personal warmth, and pleasure in the story--all of these give a sense of enjoyment.  Sometimes new storytellers wonder what to wear.  Dress comfortably and simply." (page 96)  When planning for my presentation and recording of my storytelling experience, I decided to wear all black so that my clothing was not clashing or distracting from the storytelling experience and the viewing of the story and illustrations in the book.  Also, I made sure that I remembered to smile at the audience and used a pleasant expression.  This is something I need to remind myself of more when reading aloud to children so that my expressions and smile create a pleasant, warm mood and atmosphere so that the reader has a pleasant and enjoyable storytelling experience.

Closing/Reflection

When closing my story, it was a little awkward because you don't know how to end it, what to say, what not to say, and even more so when you are recording yourself reading to an imaginary audience, but your graduate class is listening to the recording.  I didn't think much about how to end the story or what to say to conclude the storytime experience.  Greene (2010) suggests, "End with the ending of the story.  When the story is over, its spirit remains.  Honor the story with a minute of two of silence.  Do not ask questions about the story or try to elicit comments.  Let the children leave with their own private thoughts.  Do not invade their privacy.  After a few minutes of silence, a simple 'Thank you for coming' is a good conclusion to a program held in a public library or recreation center." (page 105)  I think the teacher in me wants to wrap up the storytelling experience with a teachable moment and ask questions, discuss their thoughts, and teach a standard.  This will be important for me to remember when closing a storytelling experience that is strictly for the enjoyment of a story and not intended to be used to teach students a standard.  I appreciated the feedback that I received from our professor and classmates.  

"Storytime should be an interactive experience where librarians share the sheer joy of telling tales with their young audiences." -(Christie Underdown-DuBois, 2011)

Citations:

Greene, Ellin & Janice Del Negro. (2010). Storytelling : art and technique. Libraries Unlimited.

Underdown-DuBois, Christie. (2011). Bringing Storytime Alive with Acting and Storytelling Techniques: an Interactive Article. 61(2), 2.

5 Fairy Tales

Last week I collected five (or six!) new-to-me fairy tales, and this week I read six folktales.  I really had a great time searching for new titles that I have not read and titles that have been recently published.  I am looking forward to adding many of these titles to my school library.   Fractured fairy tales are some of my favorites to share with children.  We've all seen this spin of a a retelling from a different perspective, but I had no idea there were 20 books in this series, or collection, called  The Other Side of the Story. I chose to read a newer title in this collection that I had never heard of before, Honestly Our Music Stole the Show.

Wordless picture books are great to use in libraries to help teach students to infer and predict.  I found this retelling of The Little Red Riding Hood called, Red. I found the author Jed Alexander just recently published another wordless picture book retelling of Goldilocks called, Gold.

I love comparing different versions of the same story.  I also read Rapunzel and Little Red both by Bethan Woollvin.

You Choose Your Own Adventure books are always a hit!  There are fairy tale versions written in the You Choose format-- Rapunzel

Graphic Novels are always a hit!  Here is an example of a fairy tale written in a graphic novel format.

Some students love a scary story.  This series takes a scary spin to the traditional fairy tale.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Mac Barnett published in 2022

This is one that I definitely want to add to my personal library, Reading Beauty.

6 Folktales

The Wolf Suit by Sid Sharp

The Skull: a Tyrolean Folktale by JonKlassen 

 The Ghoul  an Arabic folktale by Taghreed Najjar

Peng's Vase: a Chinese Folktale by Paolo Proietti

A Crowded Farmhouse Folktale

The Incredible Shrinking Lunchroom

Montjoy_Emily_ReadingReflectionBlog1

 Storytelling & FABLES

What is storytelling?  Lewis Carrol called stories "love gifts". (Greene, page 42) "Storytelling is no longer just for children... as we seek to understand one another, what binds us together is beginning to seem more significant than what makes us different." (Greene, page 10)

"When our ancestors first tried to understand the world around them, they told stories."  "Stories have power, and the stories we tell today do just as much to try to explain our world as did the myths of so long ago."  "Storytelling is a part of who we are as humans." Best Practices in Empowering Learners and Teachers: The Importance of Story and Storytelling in the Classroom by Wayne R. Cherry Jr. Cherry also shares in his article that storytelling encompasses the 4 C's created by the National Education Association: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.  Additionally, he explains that the brain acts differently during storytelling, "The brain actually experiences the story in the same way it would as if you were inside the narrative itself."  (Cherry, 2017) This creates empathy for others and more understanding and compassion as well.  As a librarian, the benefits of storytelling are numerous.  Storytelling helps explain ideas and the world we are living in and shares the history of our ancestors so we can connect the past to the present.  Storytelling engages the listener in an authentic way, tapping into areas of the brain that young listeners need to develop.  Storytelling is a fun and creative way to do that in the library!  Storytelling builds empathy and compassion for others which are important traits all children and young adults need to develop as they learn to interact with the diverse world around them.

As a school librarian, any aspect of literacy that I can use to support teachers and students in the library is going to be a win-win for us all.  In the article, "Why Storytelling Matters: Unveiling the Literacy Benefits of Storytelling" by Denise Agosto, I was excited to see someone sharing the research behind storytelling and it's positive effects.  She writes, "storytelling helps children to become better listeners and better readers while building vocabulary."  (Agosto, 2016) She also mentions that children have a deeper engagement with live storytelling than with traditional reading aloud.  I would have to agree because students are more drawn to active demonstrations and performances.  They seem to always need to be entertained as teachers and librarians are competing with games and technology for their attention. Other studies have found, "storytelling to build community among students and teachers, to enhance memory recall, to support early literacy development, and to promote creative thinking."  (Agosto, 2016) There seems to be ample evidence to support storytelling in our libraries.  Agosto also shared several follow up activities to use in response to the storytelling time that will be great additions to close and wrap up a storytelling session: follow up questions, personal connection building, reenactments, retellings, connections to books, connections to other stories, response drawings, and response writings.

Agosto writes, "Live storytelling can bring joy to children and encourage them to view libraries and literacy in a positive light." (2016)

In chapter two of our textbook, the authors quote Anne Carroll Moore, "Poor story-telling is more disasterous than poor story-writing." (Greene, page 14)  This line jumped out to me because I thought of the numerous benefits of storytelling, but if the storyteller is boring, you risk losing the audience and all of the amazing benefits that come with storytelling.  Finding authentic, engaging, and interactive storytellers is important for librarians to consider when inviting a storyteller into the library.  Additionally, if teachers and librarians conduct their own storytelling sessions, it is imperative that they too encompass characteristics of a quality storyteller.

The authors also pointed out that during the early 1900's immigration was widespread, and "librarians looked on storytelling as a way of integrating many diverse heritages and of teaching English and the English language orally." (Greene, page 24)  As a teacher and now a school librarian, I come in contact with many nonEnglish speaking students.  When I read that librarians from the 1900s were using storytelling to teach English and incorporate various cultures into their storytelling arena, I thought, what a perfect way to reach my own students who do not speak English.  Many books are available in bilingual publications.  One example is this book written in dual English and Spanish text.  Because fables are very short, storytellers could use these with ease when stepping into the storytelling area to share diverse text and expose the audience to various cultures.  Also using diverse storytelling experiences not only introduces other cultures to your audience, but also is a way to create an inclusive environment and storytelling experience for all of your students and patrons.

"Stories are told as spells for binding the world together." - John Rouse in The Completed Gesture

One of the most important elements of storytelling I believe is the ability to connect individuals.  In chapter one of our textbook the authors write, "Perhaps storytelling fills the need for intimacy not easily found in our mobile society." (Greene, page 10)  People are naturally social beings.  Our world today is so technology-driven that often we lose the personal touch and connection due to the advanced world we live in.  Although it makes many aspects of our lives more simple and efficient, one area that has suffered is physical connection between people, face-to-face interactions and conversations, and the ability of people to tell, share, and retell rich stories.

"Storytelling is a deathless art, lively and diverse,, which like music, refreshes and revives those whom it touches even in its farthest reaches." -Frances Clarke Sayers

This week I read a collection of fables.  As an English Language Arts teacher, I always enjoy reading fairytales, folktales, tall tales, fables, myths, and legends to my students, but I have very little experience with actual storytelling (memorized storytelling without a book or text) to my students other than those tried and true go-to tales that I have heard a million times, stored in memory, and can share with my daughter.  Previously, I was a 4th grade teacher for 17 years, and I was always pretty surprised when some of my students had not heard traditional tales and stories like The Tortoise and the Hare or The Boy Who Cried Wolf.  Using fables in the library is a great way to use storytelling and capture your audience.  Not only are they entertained with a great story, they may learn a lesson, or moral, to apply to their own lives.  Aesop's Fables are the most well known and are often retold with variation.  I appreciate when fables (and fairy tales and folk tales) are told with a different cultural spin.  This website provided several examples of retellings of traditional stories, like Burro's Tortillas, a southwestern retelling of The Little Red Hen.

Diverse Fables & Folktales

Also, many authors take traditional tales and retell them with their own original spin, like The Little Red Fort, a retelling of the classic story, The Little Red Hen.

I love to see how authors will take an old Aesop Fable, and turn it into a beautiful picture book.  This wordless picture book, The Lion and the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney won a Caldecott Medal.  

Eric Carle's retelling of the Tortoise and the Hare is called The Rabbit and the Turtle.  The illustrations are vibrant and unique to Carle's own art style.

This fable, But Who Will Bell the Cats was one that I had never read before.  I found two different authors who retold this fable.  I thought an interesting lesson would be to compare and contrast these two retellings allowing students to find similarities and differences and critque the author's story.

The Whale Who Wanted More was another new-to-me fable.  I loved the message the reader takes away from this story, and I think it would be an important one that could be shared with students.

Using fables in your storytelling arena can be beneficial because it exposes your audience to classic and traditional stories and are short enough for the storyteller to memorize and short enough to engage the audience without losing their interest with a long story.  Also, as I mentioned earlier, they are benficial because they provide an opportunity to teach a lesson as well.  Also since fables are shorter, they can easily be retold with a different spin.  This is a fun activity that librarians could challenge their patrons to choose a fable and practice telling it as a story, and writing and sharing their own retelling with a personal twist.

"Unfortunately the current emphasis on "teaching to the test" too often means literature-sharing in the classroom is neglected. (Green, page 39) "By making a connection between storytelling and books--by telling a story and indicating the book from which it comes and pointing out that hundreds of other wonderful tales can be found in books--the storyteller is introducing the reading as a source of enjoyment throughout life." (Greene page 43)  Librarians have an important role in student and patrons' lives, helping to foster a love of reading and creating life-long readers and lovers of stories. 

Citations:

Agosto, D. E. (2016). Why Storytelling Matters: Unveiling the Literacy Benefits of Storytelling. Children and Libraries, 14(2), 21. https://doi.org/10.5860/cal.14n2.21

Cherry, Wayne R. (2017). Best Practices in Empowering Learners and Teachers: The Importance of Story and Storytelling in the Classroom, 46(2), 50-55. 

Ellin Greene, & Janice Del Negro. (2010). Storytelling : art and technique. Libraries Unlimited.