Hamilton,
Martha and Mitch Weiss. Through the Grapevine: World Tales Kids Can
Read & Tell. Illus. by Carol Lyon.
Bob Barton, a Canadian storyteller
“par excellence”, once wrote: “I am convinced that storytelling is an art form
which can be practiced by anyone who has the desire.” But where do you start?
If you want an introduction to storytelling that you can use with children, this
collection of tales might be just the book for you. The authors selected these
stories from twenty-nine countries and traditions around the world. Each short
story is written clearly, using age-appropriate vocabulary. Following each
story are two sections: The first, “About the Story”, explains the genre and
gives further examples; the second, “Tips for Telling”, gives help with
gestures, body movement, and voices.
A very useful section called “General
Tips for Telling Stories” appears at the end of the book. Included are:
“Choosing a Story”, “Learning a Story”, and “Telling a Story”. The section
called “Follow-up Activities” encourages the child to delve further into the
stories through such activities as writing, drama, art, and puppetry.
An extensive bibliography covers
folktale collections by such well-known compilers as Joanna Cole, Diane Wolkstein, and Michael Rosen. Finally, “Story Sources” is
fascinating—probably more to adults than to children—due to the information
regarding sources and folklore motifs.
The authors’ enthusiasm, wit, and love
of stories are an inspiration to anyone who would like to try storytelling. The
authors state: “It’s only when stories are passing
from one person to another that they really come alive. It’s the living story—the
one told directly to us by someone else—that grabs our attention and touches
our hearts.”
Since this book contains only one
Jewish story, I would hesitate to buy it for my synagogue library. However, the
storytelling techniques may be applied to other collections of Jewish folklore
for children, and is therefore recommend for public and Jewish day school
libraries. Grades
© Anne Dublin.
Originally
published in AJL Newsletter,
Sept/Oct. 2002.
All rights
reserved.