THE STORYTELLING HANDBOOK
A Young People's Collection of Unusual Tales and Helpful Hints on How to Tell Them
by Anne Pellowski & illustrated by Martha Stoberock
A renowned storyteller offers a manual of techniques specifically aimed at young novices. Pellowski (Hidden Stories in Plants, 1990, etc.) has relatively basic advice—pick a story, practice it before a live audience as often as possible, slow down, stay away from theatrics, study the experts—but she draws specific examples, sometimes from her own experience, more often from a child's, to reinforce each suggestion. She also discusses how to deal with distractions, what to do when something crucial is accidently left out of the tale, how to use dolls and other props, when to memorize and when not to, and how to evaluate a performance. All of this comprises only a third of the book. Stories, chosen or composed by young people, make up the rest: cumulative tales, holiday tales, tales enhanced by props or costumes, tales best memorized. Stoberock's small, simple black- and-white ink drawings are at once decorative and instructive. Sound advice? Definitely. Just for children? Definitely not! With Naomi Baltuck's collection Apples from Heaven (see review, above), storytellers of all ages will be well-equipped and ready to go forth. (notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10+)