Storytelling Thursday

Telling stories is important for so many reasons.  When you tell stories to a small child, you teach them cause and effect, values, vocabulary.  And you engage in a personal way.  When you read a book, the words are the same every time you open the book.  That is the way it should be.  But when you tell a story, you invite the listener to mold the story along with you.  It is a communion and an art.

Telling stories in books is wonderful, too.  My love of books springs from my love of stories.  Devouring books is necessary for me because no one can tell me stories fast enough.  Stories can be real - tales of your own life, or pretend - made up stories with fantastic beasts and flying people.  The best stories are all true.  If they are not true, no one wants to repeat them.

Heather Forest is a storyteller who encourages people young and old to engage in telling stories, real or pretend stories, alone or in groups.  Her Story Arts website has resources for teachers and tellers, games, lesson plans, books, CDs, and, of course, stories.

 Heather was a featured teller at the Lehigh Valley Storytelling Festival (now StoryFUSION) a few years ago.  She was engaging and informative and inspiring.  Check out her site to learn more.