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Show Me a Story: 40 Craft Projects and Activities to Spark Children's Storytelling
Encouraging children to let their imagination run wild, Emily K. Neuburger offers 40 inventive projects and activities that will inspire kids ages 5 to 12 to express themselves through storytelling. Younger children will love making story stones and a storytelling jar, while older kids will open up and thrive as they embark on guided story walks and inspiring journaling exercises. Sparking creativity while developing a child’s love of language, Show Me a Story will kindle a lifelong passion for both writing and telling original stories.
144 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
March 22, 2022
This book is an excellent resource for classroom teachers, reading specialists, parents, and anyone else who works with children in a formal or informal setting.
The book is divided into chapters entitled:
-- Preface
-- Introduction
-- Story Starters
-- Story Evolution
-- Story Activities
-- Story Play
From page 1 of the book the knowledgeable author gives the reader logical explanations and concise instructions for the how and the why for each of her ideas and projects.
The author believes that children should tell more stories because 'they're good for you'. (page 12) The rest of the book is designed to get children actively engaged in storytelling using a plethora of handmade items which are reusable and which are made using as many recycled materials as possible.
The publisher has generously provided access to a PDF file of several of the activities from the book which you can download at the link shown below:
LINK TO ACTIVITIES FROM THE BOOK COURTESY OF THE PUBLISHER:
https://www.storey.com/files/download...
The majority of the materials in the book can be made by children with or without assistance from a teen or an adult. I liked the simple, consistent format for each project's instructions: Time to make, Ages to make, Ages to use, Players, Materials, How to Make, How to Use, Other Neat Ideas.
The photography throughout the book includes children making and using the various materials. The models in the photos represent a diverse population of children in various ages.
The photography is colorful and appealing. The stepped-out instructions and diagrams are user-friendly and helpful. Back Matter includes templates, color puppets for children to cut out and use, and some puppet theater backgrounds which can be removed from the book to be used by the children.
Highly-recommended! I borrowed this book from the non-fiction shelves in the children's section of the local public library.
###################
The book is divided into chapters entitled:
-- Preface
-- Introduction
-- Story Starters
-- Story Evolution
-- Story Activities
-- Story Play
From page 1 of the book the knowledgeable author gives the reader logical explanations and concise instructions for the how and the why for each of her ideas and projects.
The author believes that children should tell more stories because 'they're good for you'. (page 12) The rest of the book is designed to get children actively engaged in storytelling using a plethora of handmade items which are reusable and which are made using as many recycled materials as possible.
The publisher has generously provided access to a PDF file of several of the activities from the book which you can download at the link shown below:
LINK TO ACTIVITIES FROM THE BOOK COURTESY OF THE PUBLISHER:
https://www.storey.com/files/download...
The majority of the materials in the book can be made by children with or without assistance from a teen or an adult. I liked the simple, consistent format for each project's instructions: Time to make, Ages to make, Ages to use, Players, Materials, How to Make, How to Use, Other Neat Ideas.
The photography throughout the book includes children making and using the various materials. The models in the photos represent a diverse population of children in various ages.
The photography is colorful and appealing. The stepped-out instructions and diagrams are user-friendly and helpful. Back Matter includes templates, color puppets for children to cut out and use, and some puppet theater backgrounds which can be removed from the book to be used by the children.
Highly-recommended! I borrowed this book from the non-fiction shelves in the children's section of the local public library.
###################
May 4, 2021
5-10 year olds. Great ideas like story cubes, story discs (and necklace), story dice, story city, magnetic story board and magical mailbox. More for imaginative play than physically writing, but the parents can go as far with it as they want to.
October 3, 2021
Super handy for inspiring open-ended play and encouraging language development.
November 24, 2012
A book with ideas to encourage children to cultivate and share their stories. Sections include: intro, story starters, story evolution, story activities, and story play. Some of the ideas overlap and are very similar, but there are still plenty for fun and creativity. The ones I specifically want to remember -
p 29, "Cut and Tell" (Cut 5" squares from magazines / etc. Each person is given 10 face-down squares to gradually work into a story.)
p 63, "Memory Cards" (Decide on a memory, then write & illustrate the memory as it is spoken.)
p 69, "Storytelling Jar" (Creating a scene inside a glass jar.)
p 87, "Storytelling Walk" (Includes going on a walk and the child finding / observing / mentally collecting 5 things to weave into a story.)
p 101, Word lists / prompts: every color in the rainbow; create a character & make a word list for him based on his personality; "A bird knows..."; "The ground knows..."
p 103, "The Reference Desk" (Open reference book randomly, place finger on passage, work that into story.)
p 29, "Cut and Tell" (Cut 5" squares from magazines / etc. Each person is given 10 face-down squares to gradually work into a story.)
p 63, "Memory Cards" (Decide on a memory, then write & illustrate the memory as it is spoken.)
p 69, "Storytelling Jar" (Creating a scene inside a glass jar.)
p 87, "Storytelling Walk" (Includes going on a walk and the child finding / observing / mentally collecting 5 things to weave into a story.)
p 101, Word lists / prompts: every color in the rainbow; create a character & make a word list for him based on his personality; "A bird knows..."; "The ground knows..."
p 103, "The Reference Desk" (Open reference book randomly, place finger on passage, work that into story.)
April 23, 2013
Lots of ideas, accompanied by color photos, for creating story prompts for creative and not-so-creative imaginations are shared in these 140 or so pages.
I plan on using some in craft "summer reading" activities which I host at my library.
1) Story Stones (pages 57-59)describes how children can collect some smooth palm-size stones and "mod-podge" pictures onto the rocks and then "tell a story" with them. We do a "rock painting" activity every summer, which is hugely popular. This will add to the menu of clever things to do with rocks.
2) Traveling Puppet Theater (pages 60-62) shows a large sheet of paper (could use a large envelope) painted with green grass and blue sky. Some horizontal slits have been made to accommodate figures glued or taped to popsicle sticks. Other suggested background scenes include a lunar-scape, a colorful ballroom, a desert scene.
Be sure to encourage your young story tellers to write down at least one of their narrations! Or just film them making their stories. What fun!
I plan on using some in craft "summer reading" activities which I host at my library.
1) Story Stones (pages 57-59)describes how children can collect some smooth palm-size stones and "mod-podge" pictures onto the rocks and then "tell a story" with them. We do a "rock painting" activity every summer, which is hugely popular. This will add to the menu of clever things to do with rocks.
2) Traveling Puppet Theater (pages 60-62) shows a large sheet of paper (could use a large envelope) painted with green grass and blue sky. Some horizontal slits have been made to accommodate figures glued or taped to popsicle sticks. Other suggested background scenes include a lunar-scape, a colorful ballroom, a desert scene.
Be sure to encourage your young story tellers to write down at least one of their narrations! Or just film them making their stories. What fun!
February 10, 2024
Though I’m not a teacher, I am an artist and a writer (though I am an amateur and do it as a hobby). This book is a treasure trove of great ideas for children and adults alike. I enjoy making things and writing stories. This book combines both worlds in creative ways I haven’t considered previously. Now I can’t wait to try making my own story starters for when I am stuck in my writing!
March 14, 2018
Great ideas for inspiring storytelling. Beautiful photographs.
May 20, 2019
Full of good ideas for writing and storytelling. Could be used with a variety of ages and abilities.
July 27, 2019
I ADORED this book! There are so many fun, engaging ideas in this book to spark creativity, not just for children but adults who want to take a whimsical approach to writing.
December 4, 2019
Fantastic. Fun and colourful. Plenty of creative ideas and activities to get imaginations working. Great adaptable tool and resource for any age.
December 9, 2024
my face appears several times in this book, so naturally it deserves five stars
August 25, 2019
Easy to do, Easy to use, Easy to Explain and above all FUN approaches to storytelling for kids: this book includes easy ways to use creative thinking for kids, it gives timeline of how long they take, age/comprehension level, supplies and what the point is.
The book offers lots of visuals and inlcudes patterns at the end of the book. A very handy resource for librarians, teachers and homeschool parents
The book offers lots of visuals and inlcudes patterns at the end of the book. A very handy resource for librarians, teachers and homeschool parents
August 27, 2012
Show Me a Story: 40 Craft Projects and Activities to Spark Children's Storytelling by Emily K. Neuburger is a guide to creative exercises you can do with a child to make up stories.
Children love to make up stories with their toys, friends and in play. This book helps make a regular and thoughtful pattern of it. While it's meant for adults to do with children, a lot of the activities will work with children of all ages.
The craft projects include cards, decorated rocks to work as figures, small paper puppets and creating small scenes. One of my favorite things in the book is the number of projects that are portable so you can make up stories on long car trips or any place else you might have to sit quietly.
My favorite projects are very interactive, and use storytelling prompts like decorated dice. It turns storytelling into a fun game and conversation starter. Also the part about exploring with a camera and a notebook to collect things to turn into a story is a very good one.
The author also talks about the basic structure of a good story, having a beginning, middle and end, and ways to help develop that part of a story.
They are easy projects, they don't require that you have to be an artist to do them. The author has taught creative writing and used some of these techniques with high school students. While it's aimed for children, the writing prompts and exercises will also work with adults, and can be used as a great problem solving tool or communication tool.
My family has been putting some of these ideas into practice and it is a lot of fun for the whole family. The book is well-written with clear language and ideas. It's one that I don't just recommend to parents and people who take care of small children, because a lot of the exercises will work well with tweens and young adults. I also think (hope!) the tips in here will make me a better blogger.
[I received a complimentary copy of the book to review on my craft blog- Don't Eat the Paste. My reviews are always my honest opinion]
Children love to make up stories with their toys, friends and in play. This book helps make a regular and thoughtful pattern of it. While it's meant for adults to do with children, a lot of the activities will work with children of all ages.
The craft projects include cards, decorated rocks to work as figures, small paper puppets and creating small scenes. One of my favorite things in the book is the number of projects that are portable so you can make up stories on long car trips or any place else you might have to sit quietly.
My favorite projects are very interactive, and use storytelling prompts like decorated dice. It turns storytelling into a fun game and conversation starter. Also the part about exploring with a camera and a notebook to collect things to turn into a story is a very good one.
The author also talks about the basic structure of a good story, having a beginning, middle and end, and ways to help develop that part of a story.
They are easy projects, they don't require that you have to be an artist to do them. The author has taught creative writing and used some of these techniques with high school students. While it's aimed for children, the writing prompts and exercises will also work with adults, and can be used as a great problem solving tool or communication tool.
My family has been putting some of these ideas into practice and it is a lot of fun for the whole family. The book is well-written with clear language and ideas. It's one that I don't just recommend to parents and people who take care of small children, because a lot of the exercises will work well with tweens and young adults. I also think (hope!) the tips in here will make me a better blogger.
[I received a complimentary copy of the book to review on my craft blog- Don't Eat the Paste. My reviews are always my honest opinion]
July 29, 2016
Subtitled “40 Craft Projects and Activities to Spark Children’s Storytelling”, this book is a terrific addition to your professional bookshelf. Neuberger clearly articulates the benefits of storytelling and imaginary play in helping children exercise creativity, expand their emotional awareness, practice communicating, make connections, solve problems, and develop moral thinking – and then she provides instructions for forty knock-your-socks-off crafts that encourage kids to create, imagine, and tell. Most of the crafts are designed for school-age children, but if you work with preschoolers, don’t let that stop you from checking out this terrific book – language-fostering activities like “Story Pool”, “Story Sparks”, and “Magical Mailbox” would be great additions to a preschool storytime or classroom if you pre-make the pieces. Elementary teachers will find lots here to liven up language arts lessons, and for public librarians, well – you’ve got all you need right here in this little book for a weekly hands-on-storytelling program for school-age kids. Our favorite project: “Storytelling Jar” (which Neuburger describes as “a storytelling terrarium”), a thing of beauty AND a story starter. Though each of the crafts here is a bit more detailed than your typical storytime fare, each is eminently doable (even for the non-crafty) and uses everyday materials.
January 12, 2013
A perfect resource for elementary librarians who are looking for ways to create meaningful lessons for their students around the art of storytelling. Each example has more than an adequate instructions/supply list on how to pull off these exercises of fun. The author thought of everything necessary for her reader and crossed all of her Ts and dotted all of her Is with a wonderful set of templates in the back of the book. Although I checked this book out from the library, it will definitely be one that I purchase for my own personal collection.
July 6, 2016
This book is beautiful and full of fun ideas to get kids telling stories. I would love to spend some crafty time making some of these for my library. Minus a star because a lot of the crafts seemed more labor intensive for adults-it's hard to envision younger kids working well with tiny fabric collage and mod podge on rocks. If kids DID do these things I'd like to see more photos of kids' work (many were obviously made by artistic adults). That's just my preference as an educator reading activity books.
December 19, 2016
Really more 4.5 stars but I decided to bump it up because I broke down and bought the book. I had borrowed it from the library and after combing through it this afternoon, there were so many ideas I wanted to try that I felt like I had to purchase it.
The story discs are my favorite idea. Inexpensive, full of imagination, and I like the variety of ideas the author gives to go with them - either to create them or to change their use, like a necklace. I think my 7 yo daughter will love to create them and I can't wait to try them, along with other ideas, with her.
The story discs are my favorite idea. Inexpensive, full of imagination, and I like the variety of ideas the author gives to go with them - either to create them or to change their use, like a necklace. I think my 7 yo daughter will love to create them and I can't wait to try them, along with other ideas, with her.
August 12, 2016
This book is beautiful with so many wonderful ideas! I got this one from the library, but it is definitely a book I would like to add to my own collection - once William is a little older. For now, I have a handful of great things to try with William and will absolutely revisit this book down the road.
Some of the ideas I plan on trying with William:
Traveling Puppet Theater
Story Mat
Story City
Magical Mailbox
Magic Pebbles
Some of the ideas I plan on trying with William:
Traveling Puppet Theater
Story Mat
Story City
Magical Mailbox
Magic Pebbles
November 18, 2015
A truly fantastic work! I use this for my job at the library regularly and can't wait to use with my own kids. And I really appreciate the economy of the projects - you can literally do any of them with found things around the house. The only purchase, really, is modge podge and wooden discs (which you can work around no problem if you really needed to).
I hope to see another volume by this author - indispensable to libraries!
I hope to see another volume by this author - indispensable to libraries!
September 21, 2012
A great resource. I'm already excited to use some of the ideas in storytimes and class visits to our library. All of the ideas are great, even if not applicable to the library environment. I can see myself doing some of the larger scale projects with my own kids, and others would be perfect in the classroom.
August 15, 2013
Gorgeous photography and page design are just the icing on the cake for a book filled to the brim with insanely endearing, imaginative ideas. I can't help but think that the world would be a better place if all children had the opportunity to be raised with such an emphasis on individual and group creativity.
August 16, 2013
Neuburger provides a collection of marvelous ideas. Unfortunately, most of them won't work for my 6th grade novel study class. But, luckily, they will work for the Kiddie Lit college class that I teach in the spring. Also some terrific ideas to use with my granddaughters in the not too distant future.
January 12, 2015
Show Me a Story is filled with wonderful ideas to get those stories flowing. Kids of all ages will enjoy making the crafts and the finished products will entertain for years to come. Author, Emily Neuburger, does an excellent job explaining and inspiring, while keeping each story project simple and fun. Great for programmers, teachers, and parents!
August 12, 2014
I just added this book to the ol' digital queue and wasn't expecting too much. But I was pleasantly surprised to find some excellent craft/storytelling ideas inside. I especially like the adventure packs and the story stones. I really like how Neuburger uses recycled and found items for the craft projects. Looks like I need to invest in some Mod Podge.
September 17, 2012
fantastic resource for parents, teachers and librarians. Great ideas, some better for small groups and classrooms but still some great ideas I plan to try for storytime. I'm definitely making the traveling puppet theater for my outreaches.
January 2, 2013
This book will be a great addition to the collection at this library. There are lots of homeschool families and I see these activities as being really great for those families. It would also work well in a classroom. I've gotten a few ideas from it that I plan to incorporate in programs too.
February 17, 2013
Packed with ideas to jump start writing and storytelling, this book is a great tool for elementary teachers. I'll be using some to the ideas here in my digital storytelling class. A good addition to a professional collection.
July 17, 2013
i like this book for ideas for crafty kids (finding different ways for the kids to tell a story)...plus it has great ideas for creating my own "props" for story time. (It's all about saving money where you can.)
August 6, 2014
We're homeschoolers and I think this book will be a helpful resource for us. I've been looking for some ways to help spark creative storytelling with my children and this book gave me some new ideas. I'm looking forward to doing these activities with them!
August 4, 2014
This book is more about creating stories than about "telling" stories. (Storytellers tend to make that differentiation.) The crafts are accessible to young tellers and somewhat older tellers alike. I am enjoying the book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews