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Crash Course in Storytelling
Storytelling can be easy, fun, and above all doable, especially with the simple, easy-to-follow directions given by these two master storytellers. This book provides everything you need to become a master storyteller yourself. Simple examples and summary directions for exercises and games reinforce and demonstrate key concepts. Step-by-step plans help you choose a story, and learn it in preparation for presentation to an audience. Audience management, practice activities, and the authors' motivation exercises are offered as are techniques to guide you through any of the possible major telling problems. Storytelling extras (props to puppets including costumes) and lists of grade-appropriate, time- and teller-tested stories are provided.
This basic guide by experienced storytellers provides all that is needed to encourage any novice storyteller to take the plunge. Lists of never-fail stories and simple techniques for managing an audience go a long way to dissolve the angst. Practice activities and motivation exercises as well as tips for overcoming the major problems and catastrophes that might be encountered pave the way for a smooth first storytelling experience.
This basic guide by experienced storytellers provides all that is needed to encourage any novice storyteller to take the plunge. Lists of never-fail stories and simple techniques for managing an audience go a long way to dissolve the angst. Practice activities and motivation exercises as well as tips for overcoming the major problems and catastrophes that might be encountered pave the way for a smooth first storytelling experience.
136 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 22, 2012
Chapter 1: Delves into librarians as story tellers. There are different levels: informal (conversational), community (story time type audience), professional (very performance oriented, probably someone who is paid)
Chapter 2: Why tell stories? They're developmentally helpful; through evolution we're hardwired to tell/listen to stories and the structure is pretty consistent; stories provide a context, etc.
Chapter 3: Practical storytelling; you don't have to look like a pro; the gist is important, not getting it verbatim; Interesting mention about the "What Makes It Real" activity based on "To Tell the Truth" show in which 3 people would prep for a few minutes and all tell the same story and the audience would have to decide who it actually happened to. Reviewed what people look for in a story. The difference between reading to and telling a story.
Chapter 4: Info about choosing stories to tell; stories you like; how to evaluate, etc.
Chapter 5: Tips for learning stories. The basics and extras if the basics just don't cut it for you.
Chapter 6: The exception to the no-memorization rule is Literary Tales (those w/ authors, in the fiction section, like Rudyard Kipling, etc.)
You need to work up to these; they gave suggestions of authors' stories that would be good for this; don't forget to express your emtions, etc. since you're concentrating so hard on telling what you've memorized.
Chapter 7: Practice; tell about the story before telling it; practice pieces of the story, not the whole thing at once; don't use a mirror (why?); you may want to story board if that helps.
4 tips: 1) best way to learn the story is to tell it; 2) it's ok if it feels weird at first; 3) just do it; 4)less is more.
Chapter 8: They give tips for immediately BEFORE the performance like creating the space, getting someone to help manage the audience, setting the stage/scene before hand. There were tips for DURING the performance and AFTER like don't apologize! And keep track of what you've told and when and how it went - reflect!
Chapter 9: First aid. More about why you shouldn't memorize, that it's ok to forget, be sure to smile, and how to fix it when you do forget, like working chunks of story back in if you forgot. If you do it right, they'll neveer know you forgot, like saying, "But what you don't know is..." and "Before we go on I should tell you that..." or "But unlike the troll under the bridge, we know that..."
Chapter 10: Using other techniques to enhance what you know/have learned about story telling. Things like voice, rate, pitch, volumes, and gestures are explained w/ do's and don'ts.
Chapter 11: Accessories and their pluses and minuses are explored, such as:
flannel boards, props, costumes, puppets, audience participation, and "cast of thousands."
Chapter 12: Where to start? Ideas for special programs like a story telling workshop for staff and/or patrons, story telling festival, etc.
Appendix 3: I was glad to see that copyright issues were covered in this appendix b/c the last storytelling book I read didn't discuss this issue at all. The rule of thumb that the authors mentioned is that if you can find three versions of the same story in different source books, you're in the clear w/o seeking permission from the author. Copyright doesn't affect folktales, fairy tales, traditional tales, myths, legends, tall tales. Copyright does affect literary tales.
Appendix 4: This contains definitions of traditional tales (anecdote, epic, fable, fairy tale, folk tale, legend, myth.
Bibliography of books cited, story telling advice books, storytelling research, reliable collections of tales, family stories, partipciation stories, song, movement, webliography.
Chapter 2: Why tell stories? They're developmentally helpful; through evolution we're hardwired to tell/listen to stories and the structure is pretty consistent; stories provide a context, etc.
Chapter 3: Practical storytelling; you don't have to look like a pro; the gist is important, not getting it verbatim; Interesting mention about the "What Makes It Real" activity based on "To Tell the Truth" show in which 3 people would prep for a few minutes and all tell the same story and the audience would have to decide who it actually happened to. Reviewed what people look for in a story. The difference between reading to and telling a story.
Chapter 4: Info about choosing stories to tell; stories you like; how to evaluate, etc.
Chapter 5: Tips for learning stories. The basics and extras if the basics just don't cut it for you.
Chapter 6: The exception to the no-memorization rule is Literary Tales (those w/ authors, in the fiction section, like Rudyard Kipling, etc.)
You need to work up to these; they gave suggestions of authors' stories that would be good for this; don't forget to express your emtions, etc. since you're concentrating so hard on telling what you've memorized.
Chapter 7: Practice; tell about the story before telling it; practice pieces of the story, not the whole thing at once; don't use a mirror (why?); you may want to story board if that helps.
4 tips: 1) best way to learn the story is to tell it; 2) it's ok if it feels weird at first; 3) just do it; 4)less is more.
Chapter 8: They give tips for immediately BEFORE the performance like creating the space, getting someone to help manage the audience, setting the stage/scene before hand. There were tips for DURING the performance and AFTER like don't apologize! And keep track of what you've told and when and how it went - reflect!
Chapter 9: First aid. More about why you shouldn't memorize, that it's ok to forget, be sure to smile, and how to fix it when you do forget, like working chunks of story back in if you forgot. If you do it right, they'll neveer know you forgot, like saying, "But what you don't know is..." and "Before we go on I should tell you that..." or "But unlike the troll under the bridge, we know that..."
Chapter 10: Using other techniques to enhance what you know/have learned about story telling. Things like voice, rate, pitch, volumes, and gestures are explained w/ do's and don'ts.
Chapter 11: Accessories and their pluses and minuses are explored, such as:
flannel boards, props, costumes, puppets, audience participation, and "cast of thousands."
Chapter 12: Where to start? Ideas for special programs like a story telling workshop for staff and/or patrons, story telling festival, etc.
Appendix 3: I was glad to see that copyright issues were covered in this appendix b/c the last storytelling book I read didn't discuss this issue at all. The rule of thumb that the authors mentioned is that if you can find three versions of the same story in different source books, you're in the clear w/o seeking permission from the author. Copyright doesn't affect folktales, fairy tales, traditional tales, myths, legends, tall tales. Copyright does affect literary tales.
Appendix 4: This contains definitions of traditional tales (anecdote, epic, fable, fairy tale, folk tale, legend, myth.
Bibliography of books cited, story telling advice books, storytelling research, reliable collections of tales, family stories, partipciation stories, song, movement, webliography.
February 2, 2022
I believe I know a good story when I see one. Unfortunately, I don't always see what makes a good story good. So, I was intrigued by this book's title. The words crash course in the title suggested loads of practical advice on building stories. Thus, I had hoped it would offer practical how-to suggestions on harnessing language to that end. I was looking for practical advice on planning structure (story architecture), building substance (story writing) and crafting style (story cohesion). I was looking for the practical how-to advice that authors like William Zinsser, Joseph Williams, or EM Forster, EB White, George Orwell, Steven Pinker, and Stephen King had offered in their work. This book will not offer the practical how-to advice of building a story. My impression is that it is meant to help readers learn from the authors' experience in delivering stories. My bad, I should have seen this clearly in the book's title. This book is about storyTELLING not storyBUILDING. A good book if that is what you are looking for. But that was not my need, and in my opinion not what most people need. The first need and most important need is to write a good story.
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July 1, 2019Like its title suggests, this book offers a "crash course" in how to incorporate storytelling (as opposed to reading a story verbatim out of a printed book) to a library's programs. The book is full of practical information to develop presentations, including a look at the pro's and con's of different props and approaches, and comprehensive analysis of the essential elements of a story.
One important distinction emphasized by the book is that the library storyteller should not try to live up to a "professional" storyteller's highly polished and formal presentation. (As explained by the authors, there are levels of storytelling -- and just as people who enjoy cooking can prepare a holiday dinner for their family without being a professional chef, storytelling "has room for everyone who wants to tell a tale.")
One important distinction emphasized by the book is that the library storyteller should not try to live up to a "professional" storyteller's highly polished and formal presentation. (As explained by the authors, there are levels of storytelling -- and just as people who enjoy cooking can prepare a holiday dinner for their family without being a professional chef, storytelling "has room for everyone who wants to tell a tale.")
December 30, 2017
For a crash course, this textbook certainly succeeds in its efforts. It provides resources, suggestions for various types of tellers, and ways to help improve one's storytelling. It's a great tool and resource for beginners (like me!) and it's clear as to why this book was chosen for our class syllabus. It's comprehensive and is just in general a great place for information about the storytelling hobby and profession.
Review cross-listed here!
Review cross-listed here!
September 7, 2023
This book was geared more for librarians rather than storytellers as a whole. While I am interested at the time of this review in public library work, Haven and Ducey's approach does limit their audience to that sphere. They provide tips and information to guide the reader into what would work best for them as tellers, along with performance do's and don't's. That will come in handy when I get nervous during future assignments for the class I read this for. This book was also the first time I noticed plenty of typos in an academic textbook setting, and they unfortunately were distracting.
January 23, 2012
Very simple, easy-to-use guide for beginning storytellers. The chapters are concise, easy to read, and provide useful information, not only on the dos and don'ts of storytelling but also on how to get started. Also provides some tips about mixing up your storytelling presentations, and the bibliography in the back is top notch. I especially liked the advice regarding practicing and coming up with your storytelling ideas, as well as what to do when you (inevitably) forget something. Highly useful resource for future - and present! - librarians interested in incorporating storytelling into their programs.
February 20, 2009
This book is pretty super. It's got lots of concrete advice for learning and telling stories and for how storytelling can be used in library programming. The chapters are short, which is really nice if you're just looking for a quick overview. Also, there are appendices with all sorts of useful stuff.
October 8, 2014
I learned all the stuff in this book when I took a course from Margaret Read MacDonald; however, this book is concise and offers a quick review of storytelling techniques. I especially liked Appendix 2, offering tidbits of research showing the value of storytelling. The multiple bibliographies are very helpful too.
January 16, 2016
Great for would-be tellers. Targets librarians and teachers and provides a wealth of tips and practical advice. References research studies and their findings. Excellent overall. Storytelling, choosing a story, presentation tips and techniques, audience management, props, lists of tested stories. Bibliography.
March 1, 2013
Easy read with a lot of suggestions for beginning storytelling. The authors give simple concepts to follow. Great confidence builder for those in the beginning stages of storytelling, librarians, or those who want to improve the stories they tell to family members.
October 19, 2010
This was a very easy read. Short chapters. Concise, to the point. Very insightful. And it has a great bibliography I'm eager to peruse.
January 20, 2011
Fantastic book for beginning storytellers!
January 27, 2012
If you'd like to incorporate more storytelling into your work, look no further. Clearly organized, practical and straightforward, and a strong advocate for the place of storytelling in the library.
October 6, 2012
Pretty much common sense - nothing much new there.
Read
August 22, 2011For my summer class.
April 14, 2017
This was an okay read... Definitely an easy read. Informative yet lacking in examples. The author "tells" more rather than "shows" how. I think it would have been a better text if it included examples of successful storytelling with specific stories as well as lessons that could go along with those stories to utilize in the library with students.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews