For my first storytelling experience, I contemplated a book that I was familiar with and enjoyed. Greene and Del Negro (2010) stress the importance of selecting a book that the storyteller will enjoy telling and not only teaching (p. 60 – 61). I am most familiar with the kindergarten ages, so I wanted my book to be appropriate for four – to - six year olds. In addition, I am most comfortable reading picture books because I have been doing it for fourteen years with my own children.
Selection
I finally chose the book The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. This is a story that I have read many times to my own children and also kindergarten students. I have a comfort with this book and am passionate about the story. I enjoy how Elizabeth, the princess, solves the problem and rescues the prince. Then at the end, the prince feels that she is not a picturesque princess and she replies “Ronald, you are a bum.” I find the storyline inspiring for young children, especially young girls, to realize that you don’t have to always fall for the prince, like traditional fairy tales. Elizabeth is an inspiring and smart heroine.
Setting
After I settled on the book and practiced, I had to find a place in my home that was appropriate for the reading. This was not an easy feat with three children and a dog, plus an extra dog because I was dog sitting! I first started reading on my back porch, which was delightful. Then a neighbor started yard work, and proved to be very distracting. I settled down in my kitchen which provided good lighting, but had to instruct my family members NOT to enter the kitchen. I enjoyed how some classmates were able to utilize actual children’s library settings or studies. I am going to work on a more soothing atmosphere for my next storytelling experience.
Recording
I found it very helpful and informative to record the storytelling experience. I really dislike listening to myself, don’t we all? The recording assisted me with holding my book at a better angle and displaying the pictures for a longer time so that the audience could see them. Also, the recording helped me with slowing down my speech. For my next storytelling experience, I am going to work on a more pleasant, soothing voice (Greene and Del Negro, 2010, p. 96). Watching myself in the recording allowed me to add movements to the story telling. I did not realize that I needed to switch the FlipGrid settings to mirror view for the viewers.
Conclusion
I am proud of my finished product; this was the very first time that I have recorded myself with reading a story. I have a few areas that I would like to tweak. Choosing a more comfortable setting is the first area. I would like to work on my voice and make it more low-pitched for listeners. In addition, I want to tweak some of the features on FlipGrid to make my presentation appear more user friendly.
Upon further research of The Paper Bag Princess, I found an article discussing that the rights have been sold to make a movie of the book. The film will be produced and directed by Elizabeth Banks. It appears that Princess Elizabeth will be empowering young girls all over the world with her spunky and smart attitude.
I first began reading to my children when they were in the womb. Our days were consumed with reading at nap and bed time, or whenever they wanted to read. We would go to library story hours and bring home huge shopping bags of books, weekly. I had picked up the importance of reading to my children from family relatives that were also educators. The readings this week substantiated my strong convictions that children must be told stories and read to at a young age.
Pictures of my children during an outside reading session in 2020
I related to the articles regarding story hours held at local libraries because I witnessed my own children’s development, socially, verbally, and cognitively at these events. Bamkin et al. (2013) found that children experience a peak in their imagination, learning and participation when listening to stories (pp. 63 - 64). Through story telling at libraries, children are encouraged to ask questions about the story, often the storyteller will pause to ask children about their predictions of what will happen next (Bamkin et. al, 2013, p. 72). Furthermore, through story-telling, children learn vocabulary and the inference words (Lwin, 2016, p. 80). The library story hours model positive reading behaviors for caregivers, like dialogic reading, and encourages more reading to children in the home (Albright et al., 2009, p. 15). Librarians can demonstrate through story hours the skills that children receive through read alouds, like phonological and print awareness (Albright et al., 2009, p. 15).
This is a picture of my son, Anthony and I, participating in a storyhour at our library in Southampton, MA. It was featured in the local paper.
The readings for the week also guided me on how to be a successful story teller. Underdown – Dubois (2011) encourages the story teller to be expressive and use your body. The storyteller should feel like they are comfortable with the ages of the group and the group size (Underdown – Dubois, 2011). Greene and Del Negro (2010, p. 59) stress the need for the storyteller to be comfortable with the story and most of all to enjoy the story that you are telling (p. 59). “The storyteller must take the story from the printed page and blow the breath of life into it,” (Greene & Del Negro, 2010, p. 59). I found these tips to be informational with my own storytelling. In addition, much of the research focused on the selection of stories, especially in regards to the ages of the listeners.
Greene and Del Negro (2010, pp. 62 – 63) point out the different stories that children of varying ages enjoy listening to. I would argue that students ages five to six, in kindergarten, enjoy learning facts about non-fiction topics. In my kindergarten classroom, I assisted with a unit about researching polar animals. I conducted a read aloud with pictures about polar bears and almost all of the students in class, approximately 20, sat attentive and eager to learn. The non-fiction unit sparked questions from the students and more in-depth engagement. Greene and Del Negro (2010, p. 62), highlighted that these readers, aged five, six, and seven, enjoy traditional fairy tales and folktales. However, I have found through my own personal experiences that the non-fiction genre should be included with this age group. In addition, Greene and Del Negro (2010, p.63) discuss nine – eleven year old children preferring more sophisticated folktales. I would also argue that this age group enjoys historical fiction that allows them to fantasize about historical events. I have found that both of my boys, ages eleven and fourteen, have an affinity for historical fiction and learning about historical events.
As I read the assigned readings about fables, I contemplated when and where I was as a child when I first heard fables. I read The Brothers Grimm’s fable, Tom Thumb, which is a common name and term that one may hear, but I could not remember if I had ever heard the original fable. The fable was relatively new to me and I did not remember the intricacies. I reflected on a reference that I made to a kindergarten student this school year about tattling. I told the student that I could not take them seriously when they always told me all the minor inconveniences that another child infringed upon them. And I used the term “the boy who cried wolf.” The student stared at me perplexed and did not get my reference. So, I attempted to tell them the story, which still the student could not relate to. Storytelling helps perpetuate the morals and culture of our society (Greene & Del Negro, 2010, p. 47). Linning (2022), expands upon this further with the extension of our fables and folklores from around the world, which helps lay a strong framework for appreciating literature (p. 13).
I have not engaged in much formal storytelling; my experience is mostly with read alouds. Through the research this week, I have garnered a deeper appreciation for storytelling and I am beginning to think of ways to incorporate the theories presented in my kindergarten assistant role. I enjoyed reading how the children listening to stories entered into a “trance like state,” as described by Bamkin et al. (2013). I presume that the children can merely focus on the words of the story teller and draw their own imaginations and conclusions of the story without pictorial accompaniments. In addition, I know from experience, that I may fumble with pages or trip over words when reading from a book. Learning and memorizing a story would prevent some of these discrepancies that take away from the fluency of a story. I am going to leave this video here for your pleasure; it is a Ted Talk by Josh Campbell. Campbell discusses how you can apply storytelling in your everyday life.
References
Albright, M., Delecki, K., & Hinkle, S. (2009). The evolution of early literacy. A history of best practices in story times. Children and Libraries, 13–18. https://doi.org/10.5860/cal
Bamkin, M., Goulding, A., & Maynard, S. (2013). The children sat and listened: Storytelling on children’s mobile libraries. New Review of Children’s Literature and Librarianship, 19(1), 47–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614541.2013.755023
Greene, E., & Del Negro, J. M. (2010). Storytelling: Art and technique (4th ed.). Libraries Unlimited.
Linning, L. (2002). Telling traditional tales: Some thoughts and experiences. Orana, 13 – 19.
Lwin, S. M. (2016). It’s story time!: Exploring the potential of multimodality in oral storytelling to support children’s vocabulary learning. Literacy, 50(2), 72–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/lit.12075
Underdown - DuBois, C. (2011). Bringing storytime alive with acting and storytelling techniques: An interactive article. Tennessee Libraries. https://www.tnla.org/page/426
Reading List
Picture Books
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Musch
Imogene's Antlers by David Small
Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo
Piggie Pie by Margie Palitini
Fables
Tom Thumb by The Brothers Grimm
The Shepherd Who Cried Wolf by Aesop
The Frog and the Ox by Aesop
The Magic Boots by Hans Christian Anderson
The Cat and the Mouse by Aesop
Hans in Luck by The Brothers Grimm
Fairy Tales
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
The Three Little Pigs by Joseph Jacobs
Rumpelstiltskin by The Brothers Grimm
The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Anderson
The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson
