Perfect Story PART THREE

Part Three: Telling to 6 to 9 Year Olds

This is a prime age for telling stories. They are out of the baby stage and yet the children have a wild imagination and are not inhibited at all. They love the sense of play inherent in storytelling. They have the attention span now that allows them to let the words…just the words…bring them into the story. Most of them are just beginning to read and can see the stories behind the words. But, there are some that are having a really hard time putting those black squiggly things into a story. They are too busy sounding out the word to let the story flow. One of the greatest joys of a storyteller is to ignite the reluctant child to want to read by listening to a story. There may be students who never learned to read with great fluency because they are dyslectic. What greater gift to give a child than a story. I remember telling to a child once upon a time. She was in third grade but could not read. She listened to me tell stories and then told them back to me. Her mother really worked on her by letting her tell stories…all the time. Like all age groups this one has its peculiarities and its unexpected rewards.

I. Earmarks of a good story to tell to 6-9 year olds

II. Good stories to tell

III. Tips for telling

IV. Bibliography and Websites

V. Appreciations

I. Earmarks of a good story to tell to 6-9 year olds

	Stories can be between 5 to 10 minutes long – even longer if the plot doesn’t get too complicated.
	Some stories can still have participation, but not all. They should be listening now and not jumping in every chance they get like they do in preschool. As the listeners approach 9 years old, they stop wanting to participate.
	Talking Animal stories, progressive stories, noodle-head stories are good. Examples - Br'er Rabbit and Anansi stories, The Old Woman and Her Pig, and Lazy Jack..
	Plots still need to be simple. The structure of repeating an action three times is still a good one but it can be longer. Progressive stories that build from one action to the next are also good. (Ex. The Old Woman and her Pig)
	The teller can start using some unusual words that the listeners can figure out from the context of the story. Some 8 and 9 year olds can listen to longer stories especially if they have experience in listening to stories. Some tellers feel it’s best to leave more sophisticated stories to the older students (10 on up), but others have had success in telling more complicated plots to younger students. My personal opinion is that it’s often not that the plots are complicated, it’s that the subject matter is not appropriate for young children. I want kids to be kids while they can.
	Stories that have a clear lesson that's unstated - How and Why Stories from many cultures and those that have morals that are stated like Aesop and Lobel's Fables.
	Avoid long legends, most tall tales, and really frightening stories.
	Scary stories like Ruby Red Lips (6 and older) and Tailypo (8 and 9) are fine. Make sure the good always succeeds over the evil.
	Avoid stories that have puns and ones that are fractured for 6-7 years olds. They (for the most part) won't see the humor or get the idea behind the fracturing. They will listen to them, but they probably won't "get it." At 8-9, they begin to see the humor.
	For 8 and 9 year olds you can introduce riddles as segues between stories. Most students won't get the correct answer, but you can talk about why the answer makes sense with the clues that were given. This will help students to make the transition into another level of thinking. This is the time that the students are starting to rely less on picture books. As they are starting to read chapter books, they no longer have the visual clues.

II. Good Stories to Tell for 6-9 Year Olds:

There are many variants of these stories. A good resource is the 398.2 section of the library – both in the picture book section and the older juvenile section.

	Sody Salliratus - Southern Folktale with picture book by the same name; version in Grandfather Tales by Richard Chase
	Lazy Jack - Southern Folktale with picture book by the same name; version in

Jack Tales by Richard Chase

	Anansi and the Hat Shaking Dance – Harold Courlander
	Br'er Raccoon and the Toad Frawgs – Botkins American Treasury of Southern Folktales
	Native American stories - Coyote Dances With the Stars (Cherokee) WhyPossom's Tail is Bare (Creek) Raccoon and and the Crayfish (Bruchac's Iroquois Stories Myths and Legends)
	Freedom Bird – a Folktale from India on a tape by Bill Harley “Monsters in the Bathroom” ( a favorite for 8-9 yr.)
	Tailypo - my version on-line and a book version by Paul Galdone
	Tiki-Piki Boom, Boom - my version on-line, an Anansi story from Jamaica
	Chit-Chat - African story version in Shari Lewis's One-Minute Folk Tales
	"Why Alligators Don't Like Dogs" a Cajun folktale. J. J. Reneaux's Why Alligator Hates Dogs also in From Sea to Shining Sea, Compiled by Amy L. Cohn.
	Abiyoyo collected by Pete Seegar
	The Old Woman and the Red Pumpkin Bangladesh story by Molly Bang
	Rumpelstiltskin - my version on-line and many versions in the 398.2 section

Folk Tales Every Child Should Know, edited by Hamilton Wright Mable, Doubleday, Page and Company, 1914, copyright 1910 (submitted my Mary lee Sweet) Many of these books are out of print, but the stories themselves can be found in other collections:

1. Hans in Luck - Grimms Fairy Tales

2. Why the Sea is Salty - from Popular Tales from the Norse by Sir George Webbe Dasent, DCL

3. The Lad Who Went to the North Wind - from Popular Tales from the Norse by Sir George Webbe Dasent, DCL

4. The Lad and the Devil from Popular Tales from the Norse by Sir George Webbe Dasent, DCL

5. Anansi and the Lion from Popular Tales from the Norse by Sir George Webbe Dasent, DCL

6. The Grateful Foxes from Tales of Old Japan by A.B. Mitford

7. The Badger's Money from Tales of Old Japan by A.B. Mitford

8. Why Brother Bear Has No Tail from Nights with Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris

9. The Origin of Rubies from Folk Tales of Bengal by Rev. Lal Behari Day

10. Long, Broad and Sharpsight - Translated from the Bohemian by A. H. Wratislaw, M.A., in Sixty Folk Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources.

11. Intelligence and Luck - Translated from the Bohemian by A.H. Wratislaw M.A. in Sixty Folk Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources.

12. George with the Goat - Translated from the Bohemian by A.H. Wratislaw, M.A. in Sixty Folk Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources.

13. The Wonderful Hair - Translated from the Serbian by A.H. Wratislaw, M. A. in Sixty Folk Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources.

14. The Dragon and the Prince - Translated from the Serbian by A.H. Wratislaw, M.A. in Sixty Folk Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources.

15. The Good Children - A little Russian story of Galicia. Translated by A.H. Wratislaw, M.A. in Sixty Folk Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources

16. The Dun Horse - From Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk Tales by George Bird Grinnell

17. The Greedy Youngster - from Norwegian Tales of Peter Christen Asbjorsen

18. Hans, Who Made the Princess Laugh - from Norwegian Tales of Peter Christen Asbjorsen

19. The Story of Tom Tim Tot - an old Suffolk Tale. Also known as Tom Tit Tot

20. The Peasant Story of Napoleon from the The Country Doctor by Honore de Balzac translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley

III. Tips for Telling for 6-9 Year Olds

	Although animation - gestures and vocal and facial expressions are important, they become more of a teller’s choice for each individual teller. Some choose to sit and let the story work its magic and others choose to be animated.
	Lead into the story with something relevant that is happening at the time. For instance, if you are at a school during Halloween talk about some of the artwork you saw when you came in. Tell them how this one picture reminded you of a story...
	You can tell to larger audience. A good number is 100 maximum but that is not always what you get. Sessions can be from 30 to 45 min.
	Depending on the size of the group and the room and the acoustics, you may need a mic.
	Of course, class visits are always the best, but most schools want assemblies. Sometimes the kids sit on the floor. Don't sit in a chair or those in the back won't see. I always sit on a tall stool that I bring myself. If the students are seated in the bleachers with the teller on the floor, make sure there is no activity going on behind you. This is where your friendly principal can help. Have him or her get the students settled down. Wait until they stop moving their feet around before you start. Make sure they have nothing in their hands when they come in.
	Have complementary study guides to go with some of the stories.
	Develop a packet to send to the schools with your flyer to put up on the walls, a photo, a list of ideas and Manners for the principal to implement to make the storytelling experience a memorable one. See the list of ideas collected by Jack's Mama on her website below.
	Have a clap and response ready. Every once in a while the teller may need to reign in the audience. This is a good non-threatening way to get them back into focus.
	Tell the group ahead of time that you will answer their questions at the end of the session, so you can tell more of the stories. Offer the option of giving your e-mail address to the teachers so they can e-mail a question.
	Ask before you visit if the classes are studying anything special at that time and try to throw in at least one story that goes along with their studies.

IV. Bibliography and Websites:

The 398.2 section of the library is full of collections of folktales from many different countries and cultures. Most of them will need to be reworked to fit the language of the teller and the age of the listeners. This section will include the collected fairy tales of Andrew Lang, the Brothers’ Grimm, Han Christian Anderson, and much, much more.

Books: The following bibliography courtesy of Karen Chace at www.storybug.net

Baltuck, Naomi, Crazy Gibberish and other story hour stretches

Czarnota, Lorna MacDonald, Medieval Tales, August House Publishing, Inc., 2000

DeSpain, Pleasant Eleven Nature Tales; A Multicultural Journey Little Rock, Ark.: August House 1996

* DeSpain, Pleasant. Thirty-Three Multicultural Tales to Tell. August House, 1997.

* DeSpain, Pleasant Twenty-Two Splendid Tales To Tell From Around the World Volume One August House 1994

* DeSpain, Pleasant Twenty-Two Splendid Tales to Tell From Around the World Volume Two August House 1994

Dockery, Richard and Judy. Favorite Scary Stories of American Children August House, 1990.

Forest, Heather. Wonder Tales from Around the World. August House, 1998.

* Hamilton, Martha and Mitch Weiss, Children Tell Stories, Richard C. Owen Publishers, Inc., 1990.

* Hamilton, Martha & Mitch Weiss. How & Why Stories: World Tales Kids Can Read and Tell. August House, 1999.

* Hamilton, Martha & Mitch Weiss: Noodlehead Stories: World Tales Kids Can Read & Tell: Little Rock, AR: August House, 2000.

* Hamilton, Martha & Mitch Weiss (1996) Stories in My Pocket; Tales Kids Can Tell Golden, CO: Fulcrum Pub.

* Hamilton, Martha & Mitch Weiss Through the Grapevine: World Tales Kids Can Read & Tell Little Rock: August House Publishers, 2001.

Harrison, Annette, Easy-to-tell Stories for Young Children Jonesborough, Tenn. National Storytelling Press, 1992.

* Holt, David and Bill Mooney Ready-toTell-Tales. August House, 1994

* Holt, David and Bill Mooney. More Ready-To-Tell Tales From Around the World Little Rock: August House, 2000

MacDonald, Margaret Read. Twenty Tellable Tales: Audience Participation Folktales for the Beginning Storyteller. Wilson, 1986.

MacDonald, Margaret Read. Earth Care: World Folktales to Talk About. North Haven, CT: Linnet Books, 1999

MacDonald, Margaret Read. Peace Tales: World Folktales to Talk About. North Haven, CT: Linnet Books, 1992.

MacDonald, Margaret Read, When the Lights Go Out: 20 Scary Tales To Tell [Bronx, N.Y.] : H.W. Wilson Co., 1988.

MacDonald, Margaret Read. Shake-It-Up-Tales! Stories to Sing, Dance, Drum, and Act Out. Little Rock: August House, 2000.

Miller, Teresa. Joining In: An Anthology of Audience Participation Stories and How to Tell Them Yellow Moon Press, 1988.

Raines, Shirley C. & Rebecca Isbell Tell It Again!: Easy-To Tell Stories With Activities For Young Children Beltsville, Md. : Gryphon House, c1999.

Raines, Shirley C. & Rebecca Isbell Tell It Again! 2: Easy-To-Tell Stories With Activities for Young Children Beltsville, MD: Gryphon House, 2000

BOOKS TO GUIDE YOU THROUGH THE STORYTELLING PROCESS & BEYOND

Brand Trostle, Susan and Jeanne M. Donato.
Storytelling in Emergent Literacy: Fostering Multiple Intelligences. Albany, New York: Delmar, 2001

Hamilton, Martha and Mitch Weiss.
Children Tell Stories: A Teaching Guide. Richard C. Owen, 1990.

Haven, Kendall. Super Simple Storytelling: A Can-Do Guide for Every Classroom,
Every Day. Englewood, CO: Teacher Ideas Press, 2000.

Lipman, Doug. The Storytelling Coach: how to listen, praise, and bring out people’s best. August House, 1995.

MacDonald, Margaret Read. The Storyteller’s Start-Up Book: Finding, Learning, Performing, and Using Folktales. Little Rock: August House, 1993

Sima, Judy and Kevin Cordi Raising Voices: Creating Youth Storytelling Groups and Troupes Libraries Unlimited 2003

WEBSITES:

	http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/BryStor.html
	http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/youth/classic/StoriestoTelltoChildren/Chap1.html
	http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/storfolk.html - an excellent resource for fables, myths and legends
	http://www.e-bookdirectory.com/books/storytelling.html - a list of stories, but no actual stories
	http://www.story-lovers.com/lists9-12yearoldstories.html
	http://www.story-lovers.com/listsriddlestories.html

V. Appreciations

Mary Lee Sweet. Cathy Mosely, Karen Chace, Bevery Comer, and others from the Storytell listserve.

 HOME                                                            PERFECT STORY                                              TEACHER/TELLER