Storytelling Rescources 3 – Books

 

Websites and other digital sources are great places to locate resources and ideas for storytelling performances, but some details can best be gleaned from books. Below, I have listed several books to help find stories and others that help with storytelling tools, arts, crafts, and most Together, these resources can help make a storytelling performance an event where kids and adults connect with the stories. They remember them, remember the songs, and remember the tools used to help bring the stories to life. I hope these books can help.

 

Books for Stoytelling:

1. Treasury of Greek Mythology – Napoli, Donna Jo – ISBN: 9781426308444

This book gathers the gods, goddesses, creatures, and heroes of Greek mythology together in once book. Culture, history, geography, and constellations teach history to the readers about the stories.

2. Norse Mythology – Gaiman, Neil – ISBN: 9780393609097

With the skills honed by his bestselling books, Neil Gaiman presents the history of the Norse gods from their inception to Ragnarock. Using a novel format, the stories unfold with giants, beasts, and more.

3. Native American Mythology – Olhoff, Jim – ISBN: 9781617147173

The author tells stories from many Native American tribes. He notes their similarities and their differences to showcase the different tribes.

4. African Mythology by Olhoff, Jim – ISBNL 9781617147166

Delve into Africa with tales of their gods, goddess, creation tales, and tricksters. Olhoff presents the information with care and great skill that is great for beginners to grasp.

5. Great Irish Legends for Children –Carroll, Yvonne and Lawrie, Robin – ISBN: 9781589803459

Irish tales and legends that have been told for hundreds of years find a home in this six-volume set. The wide variety of topics and the pronunciation guides will help make these stories a vivid part of storytelling.

 

6. The Storytelling Handbook– Pellowski, Anne – ISBN: 9781416975984

Though geared toward younger audiences, this complete book on storytelling contains many tools that will help a new performer. It comes with funny, uplifting, and fun stories to tell.

7. Transmedia Storytelling: A Librarian’s Guide – by Hovious, Amanda S. ISBN: 9781440838484

A complete guide that teaches librarians how to aid digital storytelling to their programming. The focus is on K – 12.

8. Engaging Community Through Storytelling by Norfolk, Sherry – ISBN: 9781440850691

This book covers the impact of storytelling on communities through libraries. There are guidelines, help, and resources to create long-reaching events with resonance.

9. Storytelling: Art and Technique by Greene, Ellin – ISBN: 9781591586005

This book covers everything need for a great story session. Not only are there books and resources, but the book  discusses promotion, seating arrangements, and effective cue cards.

10. Improving Your Storytelling by Lipman, Doug – ISBN: 9780874835304

This book delves more deeply into storytelling, moving beyond the basics.  Using stories for events, work, and play are covered with teaching a performer to think on their feet.

 

 

Images

 

Boboshow. “Image – Athena”. Accessed 29 April 2018.  https://pixabay.com/en/goodness-athena-europe-athens-2258249/

Creative Commons. “Image – Njordr”. Accessed 28 April 2018.  https://pixabay.com/en/statue-figure-bronze-nj%C3%B6r%C3%B0r-514829/

Pixaby. “Image – Magic Book”. Accessed 27 April 2018.  https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-reading-a-book-256546/

 

 

Storytelling Resources 2: Folk Tales

 

To continue our look into resources to help with storytelling, we’re going to look at websites that feature folk tales. This goes beyond common stories but pulls folk tales from all over the world before you attention. Folk tales like Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan have good company from across the world and can make a storytelling performance more entertaining, nuanced, and educational.

Check out the sites listed below. Keep in mind this is only a very small sampling. The internet has thousands of sites that include stories that can be used in a storytelling environment. If nothing resonates with you, if it doesn’t fit what you want to tell, did deeper and see what you can find.

Exploring, learning, and growing are some of the best ways to hone skills.

 

Folk Tales

1. Storytelling in the Classroom: http://www.storyarts.org/classroom/retelling/findingtales.html

This site has a focus on the library section, 398.2, where fairy tales and folk tales are housed. There are resources, stories, and links to other resources that might help.

2. Aaron’s World of Stories: http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/folk.html

This site is hosted by a storyteller who has gathered resources for stories and tales from all over the world and genres for others to use. There is a section for shorter stories if you need something fast and stories written by Aaron himself.

3. American Folktales and Stores: http://www.americanfolklore.net/sindex.html

Stories from America, Mexico, and Canada can be found on this searchable website. There are folk and tall tales, myths and legends, and even riddles and tongue twisters that can add fun to a performance.

4. Stories for Children Around the World: https://www.worldoftales.com/

Folk tales for children from across the world are gathered in one site that makes it easy to search. There are books A to Z and useful links that will help expand a storytellers collection.

5. Folklore and Mythology: https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html

Hosted by the University of Pittsburg, this site has a large collection of folk tales arranged in alphabetical order.

Images

Susannp4. “Image – Old Woman’s Shoe”. Accessed 28 April 2018. https://pixabay.com/en/shoe-boots-home-boots-house-1519804/

 

Storytelling Reources: Fairy Tales

Oral storytelling can be a rewarding experience for both the performer and the audience. There can be issues that night keep a person from trying to incorporate storytelling into their classrooms, their storytimes, and large events. Over a series of posts, I’m going to try and offer some resources that might help a new storyteller find what works best for them.

We’re going to start by looking at resources that can help spur inspiration, creativity, stories, crafts, and music. There are just simple overview to get someone started as I’m still learning to craft my own storytelling performances. We can learn together.

Our first look is going to talk about fairy tales and websites that can help you locate them. This is a brief overview as there are endless resources to help locate fairy tales from all countries and cultures across the world.

Fairy Tales Resources:

1. Fairy Takes Around the World: http://fairytalesoftheworld.com/all-stories/

Fairy tales and fables gathered from all over the world. Can be searched by location and author.

2. Folk Tales and Fairy Tales for Storyelling: http://www.thestorytelling-resource-centre.com/Folktales.html

A gathering of fairy and folk tales that are favorite stories of modern storytelling.  Resources for events and parties for kids are also included.

3. Fairy Tales for Children: http://www.kidsgen.com/fables_and_fairytales/

Collections of stories for kids grouped by subject such as: fairy and folk tales, moral stories, and fables.

4. World’s Largest Collection of Fairy Tales: https://fairytalez.com/

This site has more than 2500 stories to look through. They can be sorted with location and author or collections. They also include an option to upload what you’ve written.

5. Sur La Lune Fairy Tales: http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/

This site includes fairytales along with their histories and modern interpretations. They also list similar fairy tales from different regions,

6. Story Nory Fairy Tales: https://www.storynory.com/category/fairy-tales/

Not only does this story include fairy tales, but it also has classic authors, music and poems, and myths from around the world. All these can be used to enhance a performance.

Images

Emerly, James. “Image – Fairy Tale Window”.  Accessed 28 April, 2018 https://www.flickr.com/photos/emeryjl/1156283325/in/photolist-2LbfKp-5j1z6d-4hyDo1-UU7doY-bZGb31-bWymjH-8s29QL-9hRghX-wQzCxr-YfyFQa-qeBFfh-McwGG1-McwGGG-o1kGdu-23LQpmU-22sKUqn-onf51b-8NSsCR-bZGeqN-7cGri8-5xboQd-bF9q5r-axMWow-g4Pm7-7emYhk-bZD1x9-7eruUc-7emfCr-6MKiQz-q7frfL-4UBF4A-hraPaw-7eq9mQ-7FG1MP-bZCZZJ-4VYrDD-6WuCkc-pQUvp7-mGWnw4-rbxb5j-YUiV3G-nfPbMK-Ve2B1m-cZ6Pc5-4VUp29-75KRd4-Z7b7xU-my5mUD-9Er728-227DK8o

 

Lassaffa. “Image – Little Red Riding Hood”. Accessed 28 April 2018  https://pixabay.com/en/fairy-tales-rotk%C3%A4ppchen-wolf-weird-3355276/