Blog 2: Storytelling Experience Blog - Storytelling With A Book

Hello all,

This week’s genres were folktales and legends.  Legends was a fairly new genre for me.  I had a little trouble finding books that met the criteria, however I am sure that is in large part due to me being an overthinker.  I will find a book that I think meets the criteria, worry that it doesn’t, and then talk myself out of using it.  My children and I read these books together and our favorite legend story was The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors. 

Folktales are one of my absolute favorite genres.  Growing up, one of my favorite books was It Could Always Be Worse which is a retelling of a Yiddish folktale by Margo Zemach.  Due to the length of time since its publication I was unable to use it for this class, but I was very happy to find another more recent retelling of this story to use called The Crowded Farmhouse.  I believe that Zemach’s version will always be my favorite, but The Crowded Farmhouse is good, too.  This was a fun week for reading and I will definitely be including both of these genres in my future storytelling endeavors.

Storytelling Experience:  Storytelling With A Book

A Journey in 3 Parts

Image Created in Canva 

The Beginning:  Selection 

Selection was probably the most fun part of the experience for me.  My children are home for the summer so they are heavily involved in pretty much everything that I do and this was no exception.  We do the reading for this class together.  I was going to use my youngest daughter’s new favorite book, Mr. Complain Takes the Train, but once we read Bedtime for Bad Kitty they decided that this was the book for the job.  In addition to the positive feedback from the kids, I felt that Bedtime for Bad Kitty also had a lot of opportunities for using different tones of voice as well as for audience participation.  The pictures are also large and simple which I believe is helpful when you are holding a book up for an audience (or a camera) to see. 

Cover Art by Nick Bruel

The Middle:  The Setup

The middle part of my experience and probably the most difficult.   I went on a mission to find the most “well lit” spot in the house where the background wasn’t too distracting.  In addition to finding a well lit spot, I also needed to figure out how to film myself.  I decided to use my phone and then upload the video to flipgrid because the audio is better on my phone than on our Chromebook. 

Now that I had my well lit spot and recording device, it was time to figure out how to set up the phone to film.  I decided to prop it up and use the front facing camera.  This was tricky because my “well lit” spot ended up being at the bar in my kitchen so I needed something that was about chest height in order to show my face and the book.  After a few tries, I eventually came up with the perfect filming setup:  a laundry basket, something my oldest daughter made out of wood, and a candle holder.  I know that a tripod would have been a better solution, but when you are on a mission there is simply no time for a trip to Walmart.

I have included a time lapse of my search for a well lit area for your entertainment.  

The End:  Filming and Upload 

I practiced reading this book to my own children many times so I was not really nervous about reading it for the video.  It took me three read throughs on camera before I was happy with the result.  My first take was great except I said the author’s name was James Bruel instead of Nick Bruel.  The second take was good and I was happy with it but then my dryer went off in the background.  The third take I felt went pretty well.  My children watched the video and said that it was a good story so I decided to go with that take.  

One thing I did NOT anticipate was that I would not be able to upload the .Mov file to flipgrid.  I ended up having to convert it to an MP4 and then to compress it before I was able to upload it to flipgrid.  I had a little internal crisis thinking I was going to have to redo everything before I realized there was probably an app that could help me. Here is a photo of me contemplating every choice I have made prior to this moment.

"The risk I took was calculated, but man, am I bad at math."

-unknown

All in all It was a positive experience.  There was laughter, panic, and learning. I anticipate that next time will be much easier.  I will be going into experience two knowing where to record, how to set up my phone, how to convert / compress files, etc.  How did it go for you guys?  Do you feel better prepared going into experience two? IS THERE AN EASIER WAY TO COMPRESS AND OR CONVERT A FILE?!  Let me know in the comments!

Thanks again for reading my blog.

Lauren Jordan 

My Shares for this Week:

Author Nick Bruel reading Bedtime for Bad Kitty 

Author Wade Bradford read a snippet of Mr. Complain Takes the Train

My Reading Log for This Week:

Legend	The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors	Drew Daywalt
Legend	The Legend of King Arthur-a-tops	Mo O’Hara
Legend	The Legend of Iron Purl	Tao Nyeu
Legend	The Legend of Sea Glass	Trinka Hakes Noble
Legend	John Henry, the Steel-Driving Man	Virginia Schomp
Legend	The Sword in the Stone	Tracey Mayhew
Legend	Pecos Bill	Retold by M.J. York
Folktale	Such a Library! a Yiddish Folktale Re-imagined	Jill Ross Nadler
Folktale	Pacho Nacho	Silvia Lopez
Folktale	Helga's Dowry: A Troll Love Story	Tomie dePaola
Folktale	Martina: The Beautiful Cockroach / Martina, la hermosa cucaracha	Berta De Llano
Folktale	Yokki and the Parno Gry	Richard O'Neill
Folktale	The Crane Girl	Curtis Manley
Folktale	A Crowded Farmhouse Folktale	Karen Rostoker-Gruber

References:

Bradford, W. (2021). Mr. Complain Takes the Train (S. Britt, Illus.). Clarion Books.

Bruel, N. (2021). Bedtime for Bad Kitty (S. Bruel, Illus.). Roaring Brook Press.

Blog 1: Storytelling's History and Future in the Library, Media Center, and Beyond

Graphic Created By L. Jordan in Canva Using Stock Photos 

Hello all,

This week our reading genre group was picture books, fables, and fairytales.  I personally LOVE picture books because my children are 5 and 9 and they are both still really interested in sitting down to read a story with mommy.  Even though these are my favorite books to read, I believe that these would be the most difficult for me to translate into an oral story.  As I read Duck and Goose Go to the Beach to my five year old I tried to imagine telling the story without the book and it would be very difficult.  Some of the humor would be lost without the illustrations.  Fairytales and fables would be my go to genre to get started.  The reason is these have been around for so long that I don’t have to worry about getting lost or forgetting anything.  They also are familiar to most of the children (even if the storyteller changes up some details or puts a personal twist on it).  I think fables work especially well because most were originally shared orally and they are a good length for this format. 

canva stock image 

The textbook readings and lecture covered the history of storytelling in part one (Ch 1-3).  The historical component is interesting because it shows how storytelling is an ongoing part of the human experience from ancient Egypt through today’s library story hour.  Modern technology allows us to share through different mediums, but regardless of delivery method, storytelling remains at its heart about connecting and sharing with others.  To me, the most impactful part of this is the universality of storytelling across time and cultures.  

The second part of the textbook reading and lecture (Ch 4-6) switched gears to cover material selection and delivery.  I found this to be immensely helpful in feeling more prepared for future assignments.  Public speaking is not something I am entirely comfortable with.  It may seem odd to sign up for a storytelling class when I am nervous to speak in front of others, but it is important to step out of my comfort zone to grow professionally.  The tone of both the text and the lecture is very logical and practical in helping new storytellers.  I like that there is no “right way” or “wrong way” to prepare - different methods are presented (outline, cue card, etc.…) and you can experiment to find what works best for you.  I have been a little overwhelmed with the prospect of material selection, so the criteria of what makes a “tellable” story are extremely helpful for me as a total beginner. 

As a side note, I found the slide that covers types of stories and ages they appeal to hold true for my own children.  I had to smile about the fractured fairy tales because I loved the book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs as well as The Stinky Cheese Man as a child.  I think that these would both be cool choices to use for storytelling and there are a lot of opportunities for standards-based follow-up activities with these and other fractured fairytale selections.

I have very fond childhood memories of being read to and listening to stories.  As a child, I would be totally engrossed in whatever that reader or storyteller was sharing. In the article Why Storytelling Matters Unveiling the Literacy Benefits of Storytelling Denise E. Agosto describes this as the “storytelling trance phenomenon.”  I feel that many of us have experienced this as listeners without even realizing it and those of us that have watched young children listen to a story have also witnessed children in this state.  The two parts of the trance phenomenon that resonated with me the most is the “placeness” where the listener “goes somewhere else” and the time distortion where the listener is so engrossed that time seems to be moving at a different speed.  I distinctly remember those feelings as a child listening to story time.  I find it interesting that this is not just a condition of being interested but it is an actual physiological state that we enter.  

I find it surprising that few studies have been done on the impact of storytelling on literacy and vocabulary. In the article, Augusto shares the results of one small sample study showing four distinct benefits to storytelling.  

1. Visualization - students were able to describe or draw what they imagined various parts of the story to be like.  

2. Cognitive engagement - we are more motivated to understand things we are interested in.  The students in the study imagined alternative endings, created drawings that incorporated parts of the story, and were able to engage with the storyteller to explain what they felt the characters should do or predict what might happen next.  

3. Critical Thinking - students questioned events in the story instead of accepting them at face value 

4. Sequencing - students were able to put the events of the story in order

This is impactful to me because when I read these four benefits I see standards-based skills.  Anytime we can link standards to student enrichment everyone wins.  I believe that this article and study could be used to help validate using time and resources to bring storytellers into schools or to incorporate storytelling in the media center.  Public libraries can also use this information to promote the benefits of Storytime to parents and caregivers and help bring more young children into the library.  

We want to be sure that storytelling programs (and all library programs) are accessible to our users.  One of the ALA’s key action areas is “Equitable Access to Information and Library Services.”  If people cannot access library programs, they cannot benefit from them.  I know that the focus of The Evolution of Early Literacy A History of Best Practices in Storytimes Meagan Albright, Kevin Delecki, and Sarah Hinkle is the history of story time, but as I was reading the article the point that stuck with me most are their ideas on how we can make story time more accessible and inclusive.  A friend and I were recently discussing how the “toddler time” at our local splash pad is an 9-10 on Wednesday mornings, making this completely out of reach of most working moms.  When I was reading this article, it made me think about how these programs designed for the youngest of children are inaccessible to many of the children they would most benefit from.  The article gives the suggestion of “pajama story times.”  If evenings aren’t possible, a Saturday morning story time would work.  They also discuss the fact that some patrons that don’t speak English may be left out. This is where the librarian could work to bring in community partners if they are not bilingual.   One of the articles, The Children Sat and Listened, discussed the work of storytellers in Children's Mobile libraries.  Although the mobile library wasn’t the focus of the article, it made me consider the fact that many county libraries do have at least one mobile unit that attends events so adding story hour as part of the mobile library services might be another way to make storytelling more accessible and inclusive to more families.  

I have linked some additional resources that illustrate these ideas in action.

ALA's Mission Priorities - Key Action Areas - ALA’s Mission Priorities - key Action Areas

Making Room for Inclusion - A Resouces from American Libraries Magazine on inclusive story time.  While this does not focus on working families, it does focus on accessibility for more patrons 

Read in Your PJ's - how one library shares stories after hours 

Berkeley Mobile Library SC My County Library’s Mobile Library 

HCPLC'S Parent Tip of The Week: Helping Your Child Get the Most Out of Story Hour

you can share this with the parents of your listeners, especially the youngest listeners, to help them further enrich their child's storytelling experience

Thank you for taking the time to read my first entry.  What were your major takeaways this week?  Did you come across additional data that could be used to advocate for bringing storytelling to a school library?  Do you have thoughts on additional ways that we can make storytelling time at public libraries accessible for working families?  Let me know in the comments!

-Lauren Jordan

My Reading Table for Week 1:

Genre	Title of Work	Author
Picture Book	Duck and Goose Go to the Beach	Tadd Hills
Picture Book	Go, Pete, Go	James Dean
Picture Book	Wolf in the Snow	Matthew COrdell
Picture Book	A Big Mooncake for Little Star	Grace Lin
Picture Book	We are the Groovycorns	Rosie Greening
Picture Book	Mr. Complain Takes the Train	Wade Bradford
Picture Book	How to Catch a Unicorn	Adam Wallace
Fable	Mabel: a mermaid fable	Rowboat Watkins
Fable	Lion and mouse	Jairo Buitrago
Fable	Natalie Portman's Fables	Natalie Portman
Fable	Classic storybook fables	Scott Gustafson
Fable	The fable of the bully dragon	Jeffrey Dinardo
Fairy Tale	Endlessly Ever After	Laurel Snyder and Dan Santat
Fairy Tale	The Three Billy Goats Gruff	Retold by Mac Barnett
Fairy Tale	Little Red Gliding Hood	Tara Lazar
Fairy Tale	The Three Ninja Pigs	Corey Rosen Schwartz
Fairy Tale	Rapunzel	Bethan Woollvin
Fairy Tale	The Poisoned Apple: A Fractured Fairy Tale	Anne Lambelet
Fairy Tale	It's Not Little Red Riding Hood (It's Not a Fairy Tale Book 3)	Josh Funk

References:

Agosto, D. E. (2016). Why Storytelling Matters: Unveiling the Literacy Benefits of Storytelling. Children and Libraries, 21-26.

Albright, M., Delecki, K., & Hinkle, S. (2009). The Evolution of Early Literacy: A History of Best Practices in Storytimes. Children and Libraries(Spring), 13-18.

Greene, E., & Del Negro, J. M. (2010). Storytelling: Art and Technique (4th ed.). Libraries Unlimited.

Lwin, S. M. (2016, April). It’s story time!: exploring the potential of multimodality in oral storytelling to support children’s vocabulary learning. Literacy UKLA, 50(2), 72-82.

Mission Priorities: Key Action Areas. (2021, Jan). Retrieved from American Library Association : https://www.ala.org/aboutala/missionpriorities/keyactionareas