Twenty Tellable Tales: Audience Participation Folktales for the Beginning Storyteller

ALA Member
$38.70
Price
$43.00
Item Number
978-0-8389-0893-8
Published
2004
Publisher
ALA Editions
Pages
240
Width
6"
Height
9"
Format
Softcover

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  • Description
  • Table of Contents
  • About the author

"If you love a story and love sharing it with your audience, the gift of story you give is of great value."
—Margaret Read MacDonald

MacDonald's classic storytelling how-to primer returns, filled with updated resources, classic stories from around the globe, guidelines to tell them with gusto, as well as advice on finding, learning, and telling new tales. Twenty stories, complete with suggestions for chants, songs, dialects, repeating lines, and audience participation, make these multicultural tales easy to learn and tell while satisfying young audiences.

A master of communicating in the story format, MacDonald engages readers just as she does her young audience members in story circles worldwide. She shares a goldmine of practical advice so that both veteran and inexperienced storytellers can:

  • Find your unique voice to make the stories your own
  • Build up a sure-fire story repertoire quickly, and expand it easily using McDonald's recommended resources
  • Identify traditional story variants to wow audiences
  • Prepare and rehearse for success using techniques honed over 40+ years
  • Find the best tales for your style and audience

A new generation of school and children's librarians, storytellers, and folklorists can get ready to be inspired! Use this classic handbook to create maximum impact around the story circle—for tellers and listeners alike.

PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A NOTE TO THE TEACHER OF STORYTELLING
PART I : TALES
A Whale of a Tale
Coyote's Crying Song
Coyote's Rain Song
Little Crab and his Magic Eyes
Groundhog Dance
Old One-Eye
Parley Garfield and the Frogs
The Little Rooster and the Turkish Sultan
The Gunny Wolf
How to Break a Bad Habit
Sody Sallyrytus
Turkey Tale
Jack and the Robbers
Roly Poly Rice Ball
Udala Tree
The Rabbit and the Well
Hic! Hic! Hic!
Mr. Fox
Punia and the King of the Sharks
The Magic Fox

PART II : NOTES
Finding, Learning, and Telling Tales
Origins of the Folktale Text
Storytelling Styles

PART III : SOURCES
Researching Tale Variants
Type and Motif Indexes for Folktale Research
Building Background in the Folktale
Collections with Texts Close to their Oral Origins
The Picture Book as a Story Source
Media Folktellings
Basic Books for the Beginning Storyteller
Bibliography of Works Consulted

Margaret Read MacDonald

Margaret Read MacDonald, long-time librarian, is a master storyteller and folklorist, dubbed by School Library Journal “a grand dame of storytelling.” MacDonald has traveled the world sharing stories with children from Australia to Argentina, Japan to Luxembourg, and across the U.S. She is the author of more than thirty books on storytelling as well as several children's books, including the award-winning Peace Tales. Currently she teaches storytelling at University of Washington Information School and conducts retreats and workshops for storytellers. She holds a Ph.D. in Folklore from Indiana University and M.L.S. from the University of Washington.