World Storytelling Day, Part One: The Question

Once Upon a Time…

...there were no books in the world.  It’s practically unimaginable, isn’t it!  So needless to say, there was no Facebook, or Google—not even a Kindle in sight.  Yes, this was a long time ago—perhaps when your parents were little.

So do you think, since there were no books back then, that there were no STORIES?  We did have stories, and those stories were carried by the storytellers.  Thanks to the art & practice of storytelling, there were entertaining, educational, and even culture-building tales that often happened to feature popular recurring characters.  Did you know Spider-Man originated about this time?  It’s true (well, in a way)!  That trickster Anansi the Spider is a popular character from Western Africa who was at times a spider, at times a man—and sometimes, sort of a spider-man!  The tales spread, grew & changed through years of telling & retelling from person to person.  Filled with the excitement of a tale, anyone could take a turn as a storyteller.

But now we have books.  Do we still need storytellers & storytelling?   Why?

Read Up! Readin' o' the Green

On March 17, a lot of people seem to enjoy eating & drinking green things.  How about some green food for the mind: books!  These are a few titles I like:

Lizette’s Green Sock

Catharina Valckx

Lizette is out on a walk, when she finds a single green sock laying on the ground.  She puts it on.  Will Mommy scream when she finds out?  That’s just one question to be answered over the course of this silly little adventure.  What we never do learn is the identity of the sock’s original owner!

Little Green

Keith Baker

The art is reminiscent of Eric Carle’s in this very colorful book with simple rhymes following a boy’s thoughts as he watches a hummingbird at work.  The boy sits in the window of his room, painting as he watches.  Is he painting a picture of the hummingbird?  Read & find out!

Grandpa Green

Lane Smith

The “Grandpa” of the title creates amazing topiary tableaux depicting what seem to be stories from his life & his imagination.  The amazing garden helps the boy narrator learn his elderly relative’s story, and he helps Grandpa Green carry it on.  You’ll enjoy exploring & talking about the amazing images together.

If you think that the titles so far are lacking in Irish-ness, you may be right-- so here's a great book version of an Irish folktale (even though it's not so green):

Mrs. McCool and the Giant Cuhullin: An Irish Tale

Jessica Souhami

What a girl-power story this is!  Oona McCool’s husband is a giant scaredy-cat, and there’s a giant bully stomping about Ireland, but the quick-witted Oona has the entire situation under control in the space of a single afternoon!  It’s like she says: “Big is big.  But brains are better!”

 Surf on over to your local library's website & reserve your copies of these fun books--and enjoy your readin' o' the green!  Are there any "green" books that are favorites of yours?  Please let me know!

Caution: Storyteller at Work

A trio of snapshots from my March 10 performance at the Sunnyvale Public Library.  I'm excited to be returning quite soon; I'll be there again on April 14, as part of the library's annual Storytelling Festival!

 

Read Up: Two at random

Ready for a couple of more fun reads?  Here are two of my picks-- one fiction, one non-fiction.

“Eat!” Cried Little Pig

Jonathan London & Delphine Durand

The first time I read Little Pig’s hungry tale aloud at a library, the small children were laughing hysterically.  Part of this was surely the squeal-y voice I gave the character, and my wild gesticulation—but the words and images make this kind of telling easy for any reader, I think.  Little Pig’s first word was “EAT!” And “he ate off his plate, and he ate ON his plate”—and there was food everywhere!”   Funny pictures and an increasing mess make this a very attractive book; more straight-laced grownups will appreciate that everyone cleans up nicely in the end.

Life-Size Aquarium

Teruyuki Komiya

A big draw of this book is its huge—yes, life-sized—photographs of aquatic animals including penguins, sea otters, and dolphins (no, the entire animals do NOT always fit on the page; some of them, like the Humphead Wrasse, need a four-page spread)!  The book is great for sitting together with a child or two on the couch, because the margins are absolutely filled with facts that children will find fascinating (for instance, did you know that the dugong—a manatee relative—poops about two pounds a day?  And that each of those is shaped like a sausage?  Make any face you want, but you know children will find that fascinating).  Huge, beautiful images, & lots of learning along the way, make this a fun read-together.  Also check out Life-Size Zoo.

Upcoming Events

Public events!  STORYTELLING appearances are in red,

and STORYTIMES at the Livemore Public Library are in brown.

Saturday, January 7
Sunday, January 8
CHILDREN'S FAIRYLAND
Lake Merritt, Oakland
Storytelling at 1:30 and 2:30 each day

Monday, January 9
Livermore Public Library, Civic Center
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime
Theme: "Storytime to Go"

Friday, January 13
Livermore Public Library, Rincon Branch
10:30 Baby/Toddler Storytime
11am Preschool Storytime

January 13-15, 2012: Attending Asilomar Reading Conference (Santa Clara County Reading Council)

Friday, January 20
Livermore Public Library, Rincon Branch

10:30 Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Monday, January 23

Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center

7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

"Storytime 'til the Cows Come Home"

Friday, January 27

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Monday, January 30

Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center

7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

"Once Upon a Storytime"

Friday, February 3

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Monday, February 6

Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center

7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

"Storytime is a Zoo"

Friday, February 10

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Monday, February 13

Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center

7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

"A High-Flying Storytime"

Friday, February 17

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Friday, February 24

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Monday, February 27

Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center

7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

"Froggy Goes to Storytime"

Friday, March 2

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Monday, March 5

Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center

7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

Friday, March 9

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Sunnyvale Public Library

Storytelling at 3pm

Monday, March 12

Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center

7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

Friday, March 16

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Monday, March 19

Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center

7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

Friday, March 23

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Saturday, March 24

Sunday, March 25

CHILDREN'S FAIRYLAND

Lake Merritt, Oakland

Storytelling at 1:30 and 2:30 each day

Monday, March 26

Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center

7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

Friday, March 30

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Monday, April 2

Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center

7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

Friday, April 6

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Monday, April 9
Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime


Friday, April 13
Livermore Public Library, Rincon
10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime
11am Preschool Storytime

Saturday, April 14

Sunnyvale Library Storytelling Festival

Many tellers, many tales!

Time TBA

Monday, April 16
Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center
7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

Friday, April 20

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Monday, April 23

Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center

7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

Friday, April 27

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Monday, April 30

Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center

7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

Friday, May 4

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

Monday, May 7

Livermore Public Libary, Civic Center

7pm Pajamatime Family Storytime

(Final Spring Pajamatime Family Storytime)

Friday, May 11

Livermore Public Library, Rincon

10:30am Baby/Toddler Storytime

11am Preschool Storytime

(Final Spring Storytimes)

Saturday, June 16

San Leandro Main Library

Storytelling at 5:30pm

Thursday, June 28
Alameda Free Library, West End Branch
788 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda
Storytelling at 2pm

Saturday, June 30

Sunday, July 1

CHILDREN'S FAIRYLAND

Lake Merritt, Oakland

Storytelling at 1:30 and 2:30 each day

Thursday, July 12
Daly City Library, Westlake Branch
Storytelling at 10:15am

Thursday, July 19
Milpitas Library
Storytelling at 3pm

Thursday, July 26

Tracy Public Library

Storytelling at 4pm

Tueday, July 31

Fremont Main Library

Storytelling at 7pm


Other recent or upcoming events include storytelling & education for Little Flowers Montessori, Acorn Learning Center, Saint Cyprian School, Arrroyo Seco Elementary, Brentwood Elementary, Brier Elementary, Longwood Elementary, Hacienda CDC, and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.  Private events (for schools, etc.) do not show up in listings above.  For regular updates, connect with me on Facebook!

2011: A Look Back

I’m starting off 2012 with a look back at 2011:

January:

Having just returned from Hawaii, where I performed at the Honolulu Aquarium & the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center, I kicked off 2011 with a weekend of professional development at the Asilomar Reading Conference in Monterey County.  A new year of storytimes for toddlers, preschoolers & family groups begins at the Livermore Public Library; I marked my first performance of 2011 at Children’s Fairyland; and I did some classroom storytelling in San Francisco.

February-March:

More storytime fun in Livermore, including a few Baby Storytimes, which are always a sweet change of pace.  I had the pleasure of sharing more stories on the Emerald City Stage at Children’s Fairyland, and I also got to perform at a couple of my favorite events—Family Reading Nights—at elementary schools in Brentwood & Fremont.

April-May:

I began a series of performances at branches of the San José Public Library, and I also got to perform twice for the Sunnyvale Library: once on my own, and once as a part of its annual storytelling festival.  More library fun: I got to do my thing in San Leandro, and of course there were the ongoing storytimes in Livermore.  There were also storytelling sessions at preschools in Milpitas, Palo Alto & Santa Clara; another trip to Children’s Fairyland; and I visited Livermore elementary schools to tell students about the library’s summer reading programs.

June-August:

Summer is always my favorite time of the year—and not just because I thrive on the warm weather & long days—it’s Summer Reading season!  At the Livermore Public Library, I get to shake up my regular routine by presenting School-Age Storytimes (as well as the evening Family Storytimes I love), AND I book & present a season of very special family programs.  This year, I also made time for a nice variety of storytelling appearances: preschools & school-age groups in Alameda, Danville, & Lafayette; a gym daycare; a Girl Scout Day Camp in the East Bay hills; another San José Library; and my first storytelling trip to Palo Alto’s famous Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital!  And yes, I was even able to fit in a weekend at my beloved Children’s Fairyland.

September:

The end of the Summer Reading Program is always a huge letdown for me, but this year I had something big to look forward to: a trip to Asia to attend the Singapore International Storytelling Festival & Asian Congress of Storytellers! Professional & personal development time, as I was exposed to hundreds of teachers, storytellers & other early childhood professionals & volunteers from throughout the region & also far-flung locations including Australia, Spain & the U.S.  The seminars were very much like teachers’ conferences I’ve attended over the years right here at home, as were many of the concerns & questions brought up by the attendees.  The festival portion of the event included one of the most amazing storytelling performances I’ve ever seen: the epic Indian tale of the Ramayana, told by six very different tellers.  So glad I finally made it to this big event; hope to be finding myself back!  I also took a lot of time to explore as much of Singapore as I could, and took advantage of a Hong Kong layover on the way home to explore that island for a couple of days—and even briefly took in the local Disneyland.  This was a fitting end to a trip that in fact did reinforce that people are so much the same—it’s a small world, after all.   Within a couple of days of my return, I was back to storytimes in Livermore!

October:

Another first-time event for me: storytelling at a mall! I also conducted a course in classroom storytelling for preschool & elementary school teachers, and shared stories for families at an Oakland preschool’s Halloween party.  Of course, I also did my thing at Children’s Fairyland & the Livermore Library!

November-December:

Winding down the year with classroom storytelling in Pleasanton & San Jose, a final pair of events for Children’s Fairyland (the second a special performance for the park’s annual “Fairy Winterland” celebration), and the last storytimes of 2011 at the Livermore Public Library!

So what’s ahead for 2012?  January kicks off with another round of professional development in Asilomar, another visit to Children’s Fairyland, and a new year of library storytimes in Livermore.  Beyond that?  Stay with me & find out!

Happy New Year!  Wishing you much health & happiness in 2012.

Read Up: Jojo Eats Dim Sum

 

 

Jojo is so lucky! She gets to have her favorite breakfast every Saturday.  It’s not pancakes she wants; she doesn’t care for cinnamon rolls or sugary cereals, either.  What Jojo loves to eat is dim sum!  I love dim sum, too, and I love the new book Jojo Eats Dim Sum, by James Kye.

The book is oversized: not wide, but extra-tall so it can accommodate large orders of dim sum and tall appetites. The super-sized pages let the reader’s eyes move hungrily around the page, taking in the food and the action--not to mention the delicious art.  Whimsically-drawn cartoon people interact with perfectly-photographed food, sharing space on pages where words grow and shrink as characters in their own right.  Together, author/illustrar Kye and designers Janet & Edwin McKelpin have created a work that’s exciting to look at, whether or not one can read the words on the page.

Jojo Eats Dim Sum packs a lot not just visually (and in the dim sum carts); there’s a lot going on in the story, too.  There’s the trip to the dim sum restaurant, with its particular atmosphere and foods; within that, we get subtle lessons on the Cantonese language, being willing to try new foods, and learning new cultures.  Something not put into words--but made clear to me in the illustrations--is that Jojo’s mother seems to think Father’s habit of reading the newspaper at the restaurant table is very rude.  I agree!

A newspaper, in case you are too young to remember, is what people utilized to ignore one another at meals before the smart phone was invented.

But I digress.

The way the book ends, and the way the its title is presented, lead me to believe that there may be more culinary adventures with Jojo to come.  That’s fine, but this single serving is satisfying all by itself, and I recommend it highly.

 

I want every single thing this lady has in her cart, and I want it right now, mm goi!

 

Wonderful words

"You are a joy to watch and do a tremendous job with the children.  Livermore Library is lucky to have you and so are we!  Have a wonderful holiday!  Thanks for being you."

     Some days, it's really worth the effort to come to work.  Actually, I'm lucky enough to love my job almost every day, but to be the recipient of the wonderful words on the card given to me last night by one of my regular storytime families-- my heart feels full.

Read Up: Back to Bed, Ed!

     Sure, Santa Claus made an appearance at my Family Storytime last night, but I think the REAL star of the show was Sebastien Braun's book, Back to Bed, Ed! 

     The book's subject matter is a situation with which I think most families can relate: a young child having a hard time transitioning to sleeping in his own bed.  Every time I read it, I flash back to the nights when I would be so tired from the struggle I'd somehow fall asleep down the hall next to the little bed--and to the mornings when I'd wake up with an extra little someone in my own bed!  The yelling at the door, the feet in the face--the events in Back to Bed, Ed may not measure up to the high drama you might've experienced in your own household, but I think they will ring true & take you right on back!

     For families going through "the change" right now, I think this is a great book to read & maybe even keep around.  There are no bad guys in the story; it just seems like Ed is facing a challenge, and that he may need time & a little help.  As I share this book at storytime, I ask the children, "will Ed stay in bed this time?"  We talk about whether those things Ed sees under his bed are real, and I point out how tired poor Daddy & Mommy look.  The discussion as we make our way through the story helps build empathy for all three parties, & I think by the end, everyone is rooting for Ed to stay in bed!  Will he?  Ever?!?

Braun's illustrations are simple & effective.  Just look at Ed, with a foot in one parent's ear, and an arm pushing the other parent off the bed!  And with a baby in a crib at the foot of the bed, you know those grownups might not be getting a decent night's sleep for QUITE some time...

A Book on Every Bed

     Lucky me: I grew up with a father who read to me, living in a home where the books always threatened to crowd out the people (pound-for-pound, we were always outnumbered).  This situation, of course, predisposed me toward having a houseful of books as an adult, and toward reading to my child regularly (as well as accompanying him to library & bookstore storytime events whenever possible).

  Lucky me.

   Other children are not so lucky: at least half of this country's children don't get read to regularly, and many don't even have books of their own at home.  This was pointed out by nationally-syndicated advice columnist Amy Dickinson in her December 8, 2011 column.  The facts she was highlighting are bleak, but her point was to offer a solution: A Book on Every Bed.  Here's Dickinson:

Introducing books and reading very early in life will write indelibly on a child's future. Here's how it works:

Take a book.

Wrap it.

Place it on a child's bed so it's the first thing the child sees on Christmas morning (or whatever holiday you celebrate).

That's it.

Well, I think it's brilliant, don't you?  It starts at home, and it starts with one book at a time--brilliant and simple!  "A Book on Every Bed" is an initiative of the New York-based Family Reading Partnership, a community nonprofit promoting early literacy.  Although the organization does accept donations to provide books, Dickinson makes it clear that is not the point of her column:

This is not a fundraising appeal. This is not about selling or buying books (the book you give can be passed down). "A Book on Every Bed" is an appeal to spread the love of reading from parents to children. We also want to encourage families to share books by reading aloud.

    Whether that gift of a book is going on a bed or under a tree, on December 25 or (insert random date here), it is a very powerful, important gift. The book may have been free to you, but that additional gift of reading it aloud with a child is absolutely priceless.

     I think this can be a very fun new tradition.  And I think it can be even more fun: let's put the every in "every bed!"  Sure, every child should get a new book--but so should every adult!  Whether the books are coming from a local bookseller, your favorite online new or used bookstore, or the local Friends of the Library Sale, keep the adults in mind as well as the kids--and don't forget yourself!  Even if it means wrapping a book for yourself and "sneaking" it onto your bed before you turn in for the night, do it!

     Check out the video of Amy Dickinson celebrating "A Book on Every Bed" with her granddaughter, and please let me know: do you have any traditions (holiday or otherwise) surrounding books?

Same, Same but Different

     Do children still have pen pals?  Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw's Same, Same but Different makes a wonderful case for restarting the trend!

     Elliot lives in the U.S., and he starts trading notes & drawings with Kailash, who lives in India.  We get to see both of their worlds--how different they are, and how very much the same.  Kostecki-Shaw's art--a combination of drawing, painting & collage--draws us beautifully into each child's world.  You may end up wanting a pen pal of your very own!