This book begins with a short story about Magic Story Dust and how stories first came to be. This story leads directly into how a young aspiring storyteller can begin to create original stories. ...a very nice beginning!

If a young aspiring storyteller reads this book and does the notebook activities, he or she will have a story to tell! Of course they could then create a story about learning to tell stories! The possibilities are endless.

This IS a BASIC book, and it does fall down a bit in some areas. This can be easily remedied, though, by supplementing this book with other books, literature experiences, and a trusted adult.

Of the four children's books on storytelling that I've read for my Master's project--and two more books of which I am aware--this is the only one that guides them to creating their own stories from their own experience. It is very much worth the purchase!

You might also want to check out this author's storytelling website for children which is listed in the back of the book.

Happy Story-Making!

This book is a wonderful supplement to one of the author's other books, Create Your Own Storytelling Stories. It begins with a VERY brief history of storytelling. From there the author writes about where and why kids are telling stories, and how the reader can join the fun.

Then there are several chapters about choosing stories for different situations. For instance, a storyteller might want to tell ghost stories or nature tales when at camp. A babysitter might want to use "creative toy stories" or "helper stories." There are simple project suggestions included in a few of these chapters.

In the next several chapters, the author presents some information on "how to tell a good story." This includes such topics as learning, practicing and telling the story. There is also information on using different types of props in one's storytelling, and a chapter on "mastering the art."

The final three chapters discuss the following topics:
1) how to hold a storytelling party
2) how to start a storytelling club
3) how to hold a young storytellers' festival.

This book, along with the book Create Your Own Storytelling Stories, would be a very good start for any young aspiring storyteller. It would also be helpful for the reader to have the help and encouragement of a trusted adult.

Check out the author's storytelling website for children. This is listed in the back of either book.

Happy Storytelling!

You probably need a teacher or parent to guide the child through the activities such as using an overhead projector for storytelling. Reading level is for an older child, but the overtly cute sprites and rather tame stories may not appeal to that age group. Art work is rather clumsy, detracting from the books potential.
On the positive side, there are a variety of techniques that might spark ideas for teachers and librarians who do storytelling. The crafts have easy-to-follow instructions. The Read More About It sections include useful bibliographies, websites and resources.