Creative Storytelling: Choosing, Inventing, & Sharing Tales for Children

by Jack Maguire

Quite simply, Creative Storytelling is one of the best and most comprehensive books on telling stories. This newly expanded, beautifully illustrated, step-by-step guide tells readers about sources and types of stories; how to gear stories toward children of different ages and interests; techniques for remembering and adapting stories; and how to use personal experiences to create new stories. One chapter takes a story through the complete storytelling process, with specific tips on tone, pacing, and atmosphere. A special section examines how storytelling leads to a wide range of other creative activities. This edition also features a new section on storytelling and environmentalism, with information on creating stories that foster environmental awareness.

Genres: Writing

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Tweety · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Book left me Full of ideas for telling stories well. I feel that it helped my storytelling to be entertaining, not as dull as it no doubt would have been. After all, my cousins didn't beg me to stop! Quite the opposite in fact.

Jack Maguire captured the true meaning of "Imagination". He showed just how much meaning pictures have for kids, and words can work the same way. I appreciated that there were many examples of different types of writing. Myths, Fantasy, Adventure, all of the styles that spark children's interest and perk their ears. For me the most helpful was the part on actually telling the tale and what to do if the story suddenly becomes too real for the kids.

Because of that help, I have yet to scare my cousins to tears. Or bore them. It even helped me to custom fit stories so that they would interest a particular child. If you are looking for ideas on storielines this won't really help, but if you are looking for guidelines, this book works wonders. It doesn't help in the actual forming of the story either, so view this book as what it is, A book on basic storytelling skills.

For me, it worked. And I will be using it in the near future as reference.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most helpful in telling my Spellbinder stories to children in the schools. Illustrations for effectively delivering the story as well as some of the stories themselves could be used in the classroom.

[Lindsay Evermore]

Hagaman