From the beginning
of time, storytelling has been the means by which cultures and
societies have preserved and celebrated their memories, passed
on their values and belief systems, entertained, instructed and
reported. Long before there were written records, storytellers
taught through the oral tradition.
Today, teachers can employ this age-old educational tool with the assurance
that it still works! In fact, recent brain-based research supports
intuitive belief in storytelling with empirical evidence. In Making
Connections: Teaching and the Human Brain (Addison-Wesley, 1994),
Renate and Geoffery Caine state, "There is strong reason to believe
that organization of information in story form is a natural brain process...We
suggest that the brain research confirms that evidence and begins to
explain why stories are important."
Storytelling is a power tool for education. Everything we do in the
modern world is connected to story and the more adept we are at telling
stories, the more connected our society will be as it relates to all
forms of communication.
Every night when Billy Brown's mother puts him
to bed, she tells him to keep the covers on his
bed so he doesn't catch cold. And every morning
when she wakes him, he has kicked the covers off
the bed. Knowing how proud Billy is of his belly
button, his mother tells him that if he doesn't
keep the covers on the bed, the Belly Button Beastie
is going to pay him a visit and steal his belly
button. Billy makes a critical error when he disregards
his mother's advice.
Read more and order here.
Read a Picture Books review of Billy Brown and the Belly Button Beastie.
Visit
the August
House Publishers website for
more information on Billy Brown and the Belly Button Beastie and
more of your favorite tales of Anansi the spider (below) who is
too clever for his own good!
The Anansi Tales
Sherry and Bobby Norfolk take a lively new look at Anansi the
Spider's many adventures! Anansi
and the Pot of Beans, Anansi Goes to Lunch, Anansi and the Tug
'o' War, Anansi and the Sky Kingdom and Anansi and Turtle
Go To Dinner are part of
August House's exciting Story Cove series with
illustrations by Baird Hoffmire.
"Story Cove is a series of
very highly recommended stories and folk tales from around the
world for beginning readers that combines charming and colorful
artwork with simple, easy-reader texts ideal for children ages
4 to 8. These 32-page picturebooks emphasize different character
traits and values such as courage, sharing, citizenship, fairness,
and resourcefulness, and are further enhanced with a Story Cove
website offering series related movies, games, and more. The series
titles would make particularly good choices as school and community
library reading program incentive prizes."
-- Book Review from Children's
Bookwatch of the Midwest
Anansi and the Pot of Beans
by Sherry and Bobby Norfolk
When Anansi's
natural greed and cleverness lead him to disobey Grandma Spider,
he loses his dignity along with his hair! Bobby and Sherry retell
this Ghanaian folktale with playful rhythm and style. Downloadable
lesson plans available.
Watch
and Listen here! [Video on August House
website featuring Bobby Norfolk.]
Read more about the book & place an order
here.
Anansi and the Tug 'o' War
by Sherry and Bobby Norfolk
In this trickster
tale from Africa, Anansi proves to Elephant and Killer Whale
that in a battle of wits, brains definitely outdo brawn. Downloadable
lesson plans are available.
Watch
and listen here! [Video on August
House website featuring Bobby Norfolk.]
Read more about the book & place an order here.
Anansi Goes to Lunch
by Sherry and Bobby Norfolk
In the third book in the series, Anansi is invited to three parties. He wants to attend them all, so he ties a rope around his waist and gives each of his hosts a rope to tug when the food is served. His plan puts him in a tight squeeze!
Read
more about the book and place an order here.
Anansi and the Sky Kingdom
by Sherry and Bobby Norfolk
In this story, the world is dark and King Lion wants someone to go to the King of the Sky and ask for light. After many animals try and fail, Anansi the spider offers to go. In this timeless story from Africa, Bobby and Sherry Norfolk show us how Anansi uses his wits, his trickster skills, and the help of his friends to bring light to the world.
Read
more about the book and place an order here.
Anansi and Turtle Go To Dinner
by Sherry and Bobby Norfolk
Anansi knows the custom that he must share his food if he has a guest at a mealtime. So when Turtle drops by before dinner, Anansi must be polite and invite Turtle to join him. Anansi, however, figures out a way to trick Turtle and keep all the food for himself. When Turtle realizes what Anansi has done, he decides to teach Anansi a lesson! In this trickster tale from Africa, Anansi learns the value of being a good host and the truth of the old saying, "what goes around, comes around."
Read
more about the book and place an order here.
The Moral of the Story:
Folktales for Character Development
By Bobby and Sherry Norfolk
Throughout history, traditional cultures have
recognized the role of storytelling in teaching values to children.
Yet existing curricula indicates most educators have not fully
capitalized on the connection between storytelling, folktales,
and character education. The Moral of the Story provides a user-friendly,
hands-on approach to using storytelling and folktales in character
education. In addition to providing a rationale for this approach,
the Norfolks include twelve stories that are fun, time- and audience-tested,
and accessible to a wide range of listeners, from preschool to
high school. Each tale is followed by suggested activities or
informal lesson plans for extending and enhancing the character
education experience. Extensive bibliographies lead the reader
to additional sources of folktales suitable for such curricula.
The Moral of the Story shows that, through the use of folktales
and storytelling, character education can be fun, enjoyable,
non-didactic and remarkably effective.
Order
The Moral of the Story from August House.
Haunted Hearts:
Tales of Love and Tragedy
By Sherry Norfolk
Simple, potent, and direct to the heartstrings,
this mix of traditional and original tales draws the listener
into a transformational journey. The selfless love of the mysterious
suitor in "Song of the Shepherdess" transforms him from wolf
to man and back again; "Woman of the Wood" is brought to life
by creativity, beauty and intelligence, but given happiness when
she is allowed free choice. The six tales are woven together
by traditional and original hammer dulcimer music, setting the
emotional tone from one tale to the next. The stories and music
lead the listener on a voyage of discovery, pursuing the elusive
but priceless treasure of perfect love.
Order
Haunted Hearts from August House.
HOW TO ORDER these and more:
Link to:
August House Publishers website -
Sherry's Author Page.
You may also call August House Publishers at
1-800-284-8784.
