Read and Tell Stories: For parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other loving adults

By Rosie Cutrer

A handbook for adults who want to pass on family stories to children in their clan, also useful for elementary and middle school teachers, grandparents, faith educators, and day care programmers

• Language: English
• Publisher: Parkhurst Brothers Publishers Inc
• Release date: May 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781624911545

Book preview

READ AND TELL STORIES

For Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Other Loving Adults

Ms. Cutrer has created a valuable book for strengthening the family through storytelling. The tales told to us at home shape the remainder of our lives.

—Elizabeth Ellis,

Circle of Excellence Storyteller and author of

Prepare to Scare: A Guide to Telling Scary Stories

READ AND TELL STORIES

For Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Other Loving Adults

ROSIE BEST-CUTRER

Parkhurst Brothers Publishers

MARION, MICHIGAN

© Principal text copyright 2020 by Rosie Best-Cutrer. All rights reserved under the laws and treaties of the United States of America and all international copyright conventions and treaties. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief passages quoted within news, blogs, reviews, or similar works, without the express prior written consent of Permissions Director, Parkhurst Brothers Publishers. The Publisher manages world rights to this work and retains the Susan Schulman Literary Agency of New York City, New York, U.S.A., to execute all rights transactions.

www.parkhurstbrothers.com

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Printed in the United States of America

First Edition, September 2020

Printing history:  2020   2021   2022   2022              8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1

Library Cataloging Data

         398.2 Folktales and related instruction

1.      Author—Best-Cutrer, American storyteller and author

2.      Subject—Folktales for family sharing

3.      Subject—Parenting – read-aloud and storytelling

         2020-trade paperback and e-book

ISBN:  Trade Paperback      978162491-153-8

ISBN:  e-book                       978162491-154-5

Parkhurst Brothers Publishers believes that the free and open exchange of ideas is essential for the maintenance of our freedoms. We support the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and encourage all citizens to study all sides of public policy questions, making up their own minds.

Cover design by                                                          Linda D. Parkhurst with a photograph Copyright Topeka Magazine / Sunflower Publishing, used by permission.

Page design by                                                            Harring Design

Acquired for Parkhurst Brothers Publishers by     Ted Parkhurst

Proofread by                                                                Bill and Barbara Paddack

092020

For Bill,

My Sweet William

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to all of the families in my life; the family I was born into and the other families that I chose. I especially want to thank all of the grandkids, nieces, and nephews who have told me how much my stories have meant to them.

To River and Prairie Storyweavers. The best storytelling guild in the world. They always provide a warm space to try out new ideas.

To the Tejas Storytelling Association where, over the years, I have presented workshops on family storytelling.

To the folks at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library who have hired me over the years to tell family stories and do storytelling workshops.

To the many coaches who have provided one-on-one instruction on how to improve my storytelling: Dr. Milbre Burch, Antonio Rocha, Bill Harley, Priscilla Howe, and Laura Packer.

To the National Storytelling Network for providing a place for storytellers from all over the U.S. and world to connect and learn with one another.

Contents

Introduction

Section One: Stories to Read and Tell

Stories for Younger Listeners

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

The Tailor’s Jacket

Mr. Wiggle and Mr. Waggle

The Goat in the Chile Patch

The Boy Who Hid Himself in a Peanut

The Little Red Hen

The Great Big Enormous Turnip

In a Dark, Dark Wood

I’m Coming Up the Stairs

How the Turtle Cracked His Shell

The Gunnywolf

Stories for Older Listeners

The Stonecutter

The Sled

The King With Horse’s Ears

The Wish

A Chinese Ghost Story

Raw Head and Bloody Bones

The Graveyard Voice

Section Two: Gathering the Clan Together

When and Where to Start

Story Party

Storytelling in the Car or While Waiting

Family Game and Story Night

Photograph Party

On Rainy, Stuck-in-the House Days

Storytelling on a Walk

Oral History Holiday Videos

Bedtime and Naptime Stories

Section Three: Public Speaking Makes My Hands Sweat

This Isn’t Broadway; It’s Your Family

Suggestions on How to Learn and Tell Stories

Tips on How to Begin

Section Four: For Those Who Want to Go Deeper

Personal Stories: Choosing Which One to Tell

Personal Stories: Through the Written Word

Personal Stories: Orally

Folktales and Traditional Stories

Choosing a Story

Working With Your Story

Appendix: Prompts for Oral Histories

About the Stories in This Book

Bibliography

Questions and Answers With the Author

Introduction

Let Me Tell You a Story

Take a moment to imagine with me the following scenario. It’s a Friday night and your grandchild (or niece or nephew, etc.) has come to spend the weekend. You’ve just settled him or her into bed. Being a good adult, you want to read him or her a bedtime story. You start to get out the same picture books that you’ve been reading to the children in your family forever. Memories come flooding back to you of when you read this book to other children—or perhaps the book was even read to you as a child. Your mind is filled with memories that you want to share with this little creature sitting next to you. So you put the book aside and say, Let me tell you a story. I guarantee that that child will look up at you in wonder and amazement.

At first, you’re a little shaky; the words don’t come quite as easily to you as you’d like, but that’s OK because your little one actually doesn’t care that the words coming out of your mouth aren’t exactly right. What they care about is the fact that you are taking the time and making the effort to create something especially for them—something that only you can give. Perhaps you’re telling them about the time their mom got gum stuck in her hair or when their dad tried to make breakfast and set off the smoke alarm. Perhaps you suddenly remember that jump rope rhyme that you learned as a child,

Cinderella dressed in yellow. Went upstairs to kiss a fellow . . .

Perhaps . . . Hey, why not!? You could tell the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You might stumble through it the first time, but you know that your little one knows the story, too. You can help each other retell it. The point of doing this isn’t to be perfect; the point is to create something together. Again, I guarantee that making the effort to tell these simple stories will make you a superhero. Fifty years from now, they might not remember who read them that fancy picture book . . . But they will remember the time you put the book down, looked them in the eye and told them a story.

If you still aren’t convinced how important family storytelling is, let