11 years ago
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Danny Kaye: Storyteller!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Dream of Sheep
Some of you know that I'm obsessed with a wooden sheep that I saw at the New Brunswick Museum when I was about six years old. I was with my mother and she told me that she remembered that sheep standing in front of a yarn & wool shop when she was a little girl. Years later during a family trip with Beryl, Phil, Sandy, Julia and Sarah, I needed to find my sheep, so I got dropped off in front of the old museum on Douglas Avenue and ran up the stone steps in the rain. Inside, I found that the old building was now offices, archives and administration. No displays. All of the museum displays had moved to the new museum down by the newly touristy and splashy waterfront. (Sarah and I spent an afternoon there and it was awesome. I have a saber tooth tiger magnet on my refrigerator.) BUT the nice people there told me that the museum still owned the sheep and that she was in storage (phew-she's safe!)
Recently I tried to find out more about my sheep. And today I finally found a picture on the museum website!!! (So I "stole" it for posterity 'cause it wasn't there last time I looked.)
Anyway-I have included the caption from the site...
sculpture : The Davidson Wool Shop Sheep
Robert Graham
Canadian
c 1875
painted pine
78 cm x 32 cm x 104 cm
Gift of John Alexander Davidson, 1961 (1961.22)
So far I have only found a fragment of detailed information, but it's pretty cool. In a story from Ruby M. Cusack, a genealogy buff living in New Brunswick, Canada ("Whittling Away the Winter", published in the ESCAPADE Section of the Telegraph Journal on Saturday, February 17th, 2007), the children in the family had been doing some wood carving and they showed their work to their grandfather who "related to Dad an old tale told by Joe from Primrose about Tommy Moran accidentally decapitating the wooden sheep in front of Davidson's Wool Store on Union Street one night when he'd had too much too drink. If the story told by Gramp is true, the sheep had his head reattached, as I remember it standing on guard in front of Davidson's as a 'trade sign'. Carved by Robert Graham in or around 1875, it is now part of a New Brunswick Museum collection." So I learned a little bit about the man who carved my sheep and a funny story about my sheep's eventful life.
So-here's a neat article that I found during my quest: How fibre arts have developed in New Brunswick and around the world No wonder I'm all textiley!
And, in a totally unrelated tangent, here's a great quote from Robin Mckinley's blog:
"Please. Buffy isn’t television."
Anyway-I have included the caption from the site...
sculpture : The Davidson Wool Shop Sheep
Robert Graham
Canadian
c 1875
painted pine
78 cm x 32 cm x 104 cm
Gift of John Alexander Davidson, 1961 (1961.22)
So far I have only found a fragment of detailed information, but it's pretty cool. In a story from Ruby M. Cusack, a genealogy buff living in New Brunswick, Canada ("Whittling Away the Winter", published in the ESCAPADE Section of the Telegraph Journal on Saturday, February 17th, 2007), the children in the family had been doing some wood carving and they showed their work to their grandfather who "related to Dad an old tale told by Joe from Primrose about Tommy Moran accidentally decapitating the wooden sheep in front of Davidson's Wool Store on Union Street one night when he'd had too much too drink. If the story told by Gramp is true, the sheep had his head reattached, as I remember it standing on guard in front of Davidson's as a 'trade sign'. Carved by Robert Graham in or around 1875, it is now part of a New Brunswick Museum collection." So I learned a little bit about the man who carved my sheep and a funny story about my sheep's eventful life.
So-here's a neat article that I found during my quest: How fibre arts have developed in New Brunswick and around the world No wonder I'm all textiley!
And, in a totally unrelated tangent, here's a great quote from Robin Mckinley's blog:
"Please. Buffy isn’t television."
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Mr. Rogers
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Chase Your Tail!
Summary:
In this workshop, children will learn about sequencing and story line using circle stories. They will also practice storytelling as collaboration through round robin storytelling.
Publicity Blurbs:
1.
Round Robin Circle Storytelling Workshop
Circle stories—like “The Stonecutter” or “The Fisherman & His Wife”—can teach us lessons in irony, but mostly they are just plain fun! Play a rousing game of “Round Robin” storytelling and then create your own Circle Story Hat to share with family, friends & classmates. The workshop will last 1hour. (I did this with Grades K-1 at Minds in Motion-2005, I think)
2.
Chase Your Tail! A Storytelling Workshop
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Higgins Room
3:30 - 4:30pm
Grades K-2
Circle stories can make you dizzy, but mostly they are just plain fun! Come play a giddy game of “Round Robin” storytelling and then create your own Circle Story Hat to share with family & friends.
Introduction with Demo Story #1 :00- :05
Introduce yourself to the group and have the children do the same. Tell the story of "The Stonecutter", "The Fisherman and His Wife" or "The Wonderful Cat" (see resources.) This one can be fairly elaborate since you are using this story to engage the children and ignite their interest, so use your own style and embellish freely. All three of these are circle stories that (usually) use magical transformations as a plot mechanism. Just for fun, why not have everyone say “Poof!” all together each time there is a transformation in the story!
What is a Circle Story? :05 - :10
Have the students identify the different things that happen in the story. For instance, depending on which version of “The Stonecutter” that you tell, the stonecutter becomes a prince, the sun, a cloud and a mountain before he goes back to being a stonecutter. Draw a quick doodle of each story element on a pad or a whiteboard (or tape up photocopies from a book if you are uncomfortable drawing) and try to place them in a roughly circular form. When every story element has been identified, draw a line through or around all the pictures to unite them in a circle. Point out how the story ends as it began so that the stonecutter has traveled “full circle.”
Ask the children to stand up all together and look straight ahead at some object in the room. Have them turn around slowly until they end up where they started. A circle story does exactly the same thing—it ends up where it started!
Round Robin Game (Group Story) :10-:20
Sit on on the floor in a circle. Give each child a puppet or a stuffed animal and tell them that they are going to invent a circle story together. Each child should think about their animal a little bit so that they have some ideas when their turn comes up. What does each animal like? What would be the most fun about being that animal? The group leader needs two puppets to begin and end the story. This game is really fun if the first animal is something small, like a mouse or a ladybug, and the final transformation goes from something big and powerful, like a dragon or a lion, back to the initial tiny creature. The group leader controls the beginning and the end of the story by controlling the first and the last puppets. (Say “Poof!”)
Demo #2 with Story Hat and Story :20 - :25
Demonstrate a very simple circle story using a story hat created ahead of time. Make this a circular transformation story that is similar to “The Stonecutter” except that it only uses three animals. The story hat should be circular. I was able to get child-sized “gangster” hats with a brim (available in neon colors where party hats are sold.) I punched three holes in the brim and used brightly-colored string to suspend three wooden disks from the hat brims (I pre-drilled holes in the disks and painted them black.) I allowed one of the disks to hang down in my face and spaced all three two evenly around the hat. I chose three brightly-colored animal cutouts and affixed one to each disk—the first animal in my story hangs down in front of my face. The basic idea here is to use the hat as a storytelling prop, turning the hat as you tell the story. A paper plate or a big circle of cardboard with three animals pasted around the edges would work just as well (hold your disk up with the first animal at the top and rotate the disk—each time an animal transforms--as you tell the story.)
Children Work on Project :25 - :40
--Materials:
-a selection of pre-cut animal shapes—three for each child
(foam shapes with self-adhesive backs are ideal, but paper shapes and glue sticks are fine)
-round hats
(alternatively you may use paper plates or cardboard circles cut to fit over the crown of a child’s head and rest above the ears—however, anything circular will work, even if it is not a hat and is just something that the child will hold up for the audience while storytelling)
Allow the children to select three animals each to create their own circle stories (or have them draw their own animals.) Remind them that they should think about the things that make each of these animals special or different from each other. Help them affix their animals to their hats or their circles.
Story Pals Share Stories :40 - 1:00
As the children finish their projects, pair them up to tell their stories to each other. If there is time when everyone is through, ask the children to share their stories with the whole group.
More ideas:
The circle story hats can also be used to create different stories by starting with any of the animals and moving the circle clockwise or counterclockwise .
Resources:
The Stonecutter, by Demi (Crown, 1995)
The Stonecutter : A Japanese Folk Tale, by Gerald McDermott,
(Viking Press, 1975)
The Stonecutter : An Indian Folktale, by Patricia Montgomery Newton
(Putnam, 1990)
“The Stonecutter” from Multicultural Folktales: Stories to Tell Young Children, by Judy Sierra & Robert Kaminski (Oryx Press, 1991), pp. 104-105.
Stories in My Pocket: Tales Kids Can Tell, by Martha Hamilton (Fulcrum, 1996)
Includes a short version of “Stonecutter.”
The Fisherman and His Wife: A Tale, by Jacob Grimm (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1980) illustrated by Margot Zemach
“Too Many Wishes” from Paper Stories, by Jean Stangl (Fearon, 1984),
pp. 73-76.
This is a “fold & cut” version of “The Fisherman and His Wife.” If the mechanics with the paper prop are too daunting, just tell the story straight.
The Power of Storytelling: A Step-by-Step Guide to Dramatic Learning in K-12, by Harriet Mason (Corwin Press, 1996)
“Circle Story”, pp. 47-49.
“The Queen’s Favorite Pet: An Asian Folktale” from Terrific Tales to Tell: From the Storyknifing Tradition, by Valerie Marsh (Alleyside Press, 1997), pp. 41-43.
“The Wonderful Cat” from Read for the Fun of It: Active Programming with Books for Children, by Caroline Feller Bauer (H.W. Wilson, 1992), pp. 148-149.
“The Extraordinary Cat: A Chinese Tale”
from Twenty-Two Splendid Tales to Tell From Around the World, Volume Two,
by Pleasant DeSpain (August House, 1994), pp. 15-16.
In this workshop, children will learn about sequencing and story line using circle stories. They will also practice storytelling as collaboration through round robin storytelling.
Publicity Blurbs:
1.
Round Robin Circle Storytelling Workshop
Circle stories—like “The Stonecutter” or “The Fisherman & His Wife”—can teach us lessons in irony, but mostly they are just plain fun! Play a rousing game of “Round Robin” storytelling and then create your own Circle Story Hat to share with family, friends & classmates. The workshop will last 1hour. (I did this with Grades K-1 at Minds in Motion-2005, I think)
2.
Chase Your Tail! A Storytelling Workshop
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Higgins Room
3:30 - 4:30pm
Grades K-2
Circle stories can make you dizzy, but mostly they are just plain fun! Come play a giddy game of “Round Robin” storytelling and then create your own Circle Story Hat to share with family & friends.
Introduction with Demo Story #1 :00- :05
Introduce yourself to the group and have the children do the same. Tell the story of "The Stonecutter", "The Fisherman and His Wife" or "The Wonderful Cat" (see resources.) This one can be fairly elaborate since you are using this story to engage the children and ignite their interest, so use your own style and embellish freely. All three of these are circle stories that (usually) use magical transformations as a plot mechanism. Just for fun, why not have everyone say “Poof!” all together each time there is a transformation in the story!
What is a Circle Story? :05 - :10
Have the students identify the different things that happen in the story. For instance, depending on which version of “The Stonecutter” that you tell, the stonecutter becomes a prince, the sun, a cloud and a mountain before he goes back to being a stonecutter. Draw a quick doodle of each story element on a pad or a whiteboard (or tape up photocopies from a book if you are uncomfortable drawing) and try to place them in a roughly circular form. When every story element has been identified, draw a line through or around all the pictures to unite them in a circle. Point out how the story ends as it began so that the stonecutter has traveled “full circle.”
Ask the children to stand up all together and look straight ahead at some object in the room. Have them turn around slowly until they end up where they started. A circle story does exactly the same thing—it ends up where it started!
Round Robin Game (Group Story) :10-:20
Sit on on the floor in a circle. Give each child a puppet or a stuffed animal and tell them that they are going to invent a circle story together. Each child should think about their animal a little bit so that they have some ideas when their turn comes up. What does each animal like? What would be the most fun about being that animal? The group leader needs two puppets to begin and end the story. This game is really fun if the first animal is something small, like a mouse or a ladybug, and the final transformation goes from something big and powerful, like a dragon or a lion, back to the initial tiny creature. The group leader controls the beginning and the end of the story by controlling the first and the last puppets. (Say “Poof!”)
Demo #2 with Story Hat and Story :20 - :25
Demonstrate a very simple circle story using a story hat created ahead of time. Make this a circular transformation story that is similar to “The Stonecutter” except that it only uses three animals. The story hat should be circular. I was able to get child-sized “gangster” hats with a brim (available in neon colors where party hats are sold.) I punched three holes in the brim and used brightly-colored string to suspend three wooden disks from the hat brims (I pre-drilled holes in the disks and painted them black.) I allowed one of the disks to hang down in my face and spaced all three two evenly around the hat. I chose three brightly-colored animal cutouts and affixed one to each disk—the first animal in my story hangs down in front of my face. The basic idea here is to use the hat as a storytelling prop, turning the hat as you tell the story. A paper plate or a big circle of cardboard with three animals pasted around the edges would work just as well (hold your disk up with the first animal at the top and rotate the disk—each time an animal transforms--as you tell the story.)
Children Work on Project :25 - :40
--Materials:
-a selection of pre-cut animal shapes—three for each child
(foam shapes with self-adhesive backs are ideal, but paper shapes and glue sticks are fine)
-round hats
(alternatively you may use paper plates or cardboard circles cut to fit over the crown of a child’s head and rest above the ears—however, anything circular will work, even if it is not a hat and is just something that the child will hold up for the audience while storytelling)
Allow the children to select three animals each to create their own circle stories (or have them draw their own animals.) Remind them that they should think about the things that make each of these animals special or different from each other. Help them affix their animals to their hats or their circles.
Story Pals Share Stories :40 - 1:00
As the children finish their projects, pair them up to tell their stories to each other. If there is time when everyone is through, ask the children to share their stories with the whole group.
More ideas:
The circle story hats can also be used to create different stories by starting with any of the animals and moving the circle clockwise or counterclockwise .
Resources:
The Stonecutter, by Demi (Crown, 1995)
The Stonecutter : A Japanese Folk Tale, by Gerald McDermott,
(Viking Press, 1975)
The Stonecutter : An Indian Folktale, by Patricia Montgomery Newton
(Putnam, 1990)
“The Stonecutter” from Multicultural Folktales: Stories to Tell Young Children, by Judy Sierra & Robert Kaminski (Oryx Press, 1991), pp. 104-105.
Stories in My Pocket: Tales Kids Can Tell, by Martha Hamilton (Fulcrum, 1996)
Includes a short version of “Stonecutter.”
The Fisherman and His Wife: A Tale, by Jacob Grimm (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1980) illustrated by Margot Zemach
“Too Many Wishes” from Paper Stories, by Jean Stangl (Fearon, 1984),
pp. 73-76.
This is a “fold & cut” version of “The Fisherman and His Wife.” If the mechanics with the paper prop are too daunting, just tell the story straight.
The Power of Storytelling: A Step-by-Step Guide to Dramatic Learning in K-12, by Harriet Mason (Corwin Press, 1996)
“Circle Story”, pp. 47-49.
“The Queen’s Favorite Pet: An Asian Folktale” from Terrific Tales to Tell: From the Storyknifing Tradition, by Valerie Marsh (Alleyside Press, 1997), pp. 41-43.
“The Wonderful Cat” from Read for the Fun of It: Active Programming with Books for Children, by Caroline Feller Bauer (H.W. Wilson, 1992), pp. 148-149.
“The Extraordinary Cat: A Chinese Tale”
from Twenty-Two Splendid Tales to Tell From Around the World, Volume Two,
by Pleasant DeSpain (August House, 1994), pp. 15-16.
Friday, November 25, 2011
The Story Vine
I keep a bunch of baubles on a necklace which I call my story vine. Each token represents a story that I can tell--my story vine helps me remember what I know! I will continue to update this post with links as I have time...
Circle of Love Stories
Here are a few longer, quieter stories. They are mostly appreciated by adults and older children because of their subtle social commentary and philosophical themes.
”In Those Days”
A queen’s love for a flower gives rise to a law that exists for centuries. From a short story by Eleanor Farjeon.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Flower, military, law, government, time, history, geography, beauty
A Japanese Fairy Tale
Neighbors wonder why a beautiful woman is happily married to a repulsively ugly man. This bittersweet love story explores the ancient Shinto belief that the kami, gods of Japanese mythology, predestine the love affairs of people. Adapted from a book by Baruch Zimmerman and Jane Hori Ike.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Love, destiny, Japan, beauty, ugliness, marriage, life before birth, self sacrifice, Shinto, Izumo temple, O-Kuni-Nushi
Savitri’s Quest
In this tale of ancient India, a young woman undertakes a journey to rescue her husband from Death. Derived from Hindu mythology, this story is found in the Mahabharata, India’s great epic cycle of literature and legends that was written 2000 years ago.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Love, death, India, Yama (Hindu god of death), Hindu mythology, Mahabharata
Circle of Campfire Stories
My favorite spooky stories usually have a surprise ending that makes them more funny than scary. These are chilling tales for older kids that can be “lightened up” for younger listeners.
Red, Red Lips
“It was a dark and stormy night, and there was a knock at the door…”
Old Bess
A man futilely attempts to avert a fortune teller’s dire prophecy.
In a Deep, Dark Wood
Take a trip through the universe, the galaxy and our solar system on the way to a deep dark corner of a deep dark closet.
Teeny Tiny
This famous English jump tale is kinda creepy, but mostly silly.
The Ghost of the Two White Eyes
I first heard this story during recess (or maybe at a slumber party) when I was in elementary school. I was really happy to rediscover it years later in a library book.
The Body in the Barn
Based on a true(ish) story told by my great grandfather (by all accounts he was a liar.)
It Floats
WHAT FLOATS!?
Pourquoi Stories & Trickster Tales
Traditional “pourquoi”—or “how & why” stories--and trickster tales--in which clever heroes outwit their opponents--are among the oldest stories ever told and they are found all over the world. The basic structure of these tales is easy to emulate, so they make wonderful story starters in the classroom.
The Story of Io
Poor Io! Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, flirts with her and then turns her into a cow to hide her from his wife, Hera. Now Io is stuck in the body of a cow and Hera has Io in her clutches.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Io, Zeus, Argus of the hundred eyes, Hera, Hermes (trickster), Greek mythology, peacock, pourquoi (how & why), Isis (Egyptian goddess)
”The Beginning of the Armadillos”
If you have ever seen an armadillo, you know that it’s one of the strangest looking animals on earth. In his Just So Stories, Rudyard Kipling pays tribute to pourquoi folklore by imitating its language and cadence. This tale tells why and how the first armadillos came to be and can be told with or without puppets.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Turtle/tortoise, jaguar, hedgehog, South America (Brazil), armadillos
Rabbit & Crocodile
Many cultures have pourquoi stories that explain how & why rabbits have short tails (or long ears!) This one is from Japan.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Japan, island, crocodiles, how & why, pourquoi, rabbit, trickster
Nine in One…Grr Grr / Save the Tiger!
A how & why story told by the Hmong people of Laos. Adapted from a book by Blia Xiong & Cathy Spagnoli.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Tiger, sky god, Laos, Hmong, Southeast Asia(?), how & why, pourquoi, endangered species, predator, prey
Coyote & Lizard
In this southwestern trickster tale, Coyote the trickster is himself outwitted by a mother lizard.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Native American, trickster, Apache (Dineh), Hopi, Ute, coyote, lizard, sunflower, desert, small vs. big, weak vs. strong, escaping
Just for Fun Stories
I learned to tell these stories just because I like them.
The Girl Who Could Think
In this tale from China, a clever young bride overcomes the challenge of a rash promise and reaffirms her devotion to family. Can be told with or without paper folding to illustrate how the riddles are solved.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
China, Korea, origami, paper folding (fan, lantern, flower), family, shrewd daughter-in-law, petulant mother-in-law, riddle
The Peddler
A poor peddler listens to a dream which leads him to a treasure. This story comes from Jewish, English and Irish traditions.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Treasure, dreams, bridge, tree, shopkeeper, Jewish, Irish, English
Marushka and the Month Brothers
An oppressed heroine overcomes obstacles through hard work and a good attitude. This is a traditional eastern European tale from Slavic folklore.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Eastern Europe (Russia, Czechoslovakia), courtesy, value of hard work, seasons, bonfire, violets, strawberries, apples, blizzard, snow, January, March, June, October
The Story Bag
Not only is it selfish to keep a story all to yourself, it can be downright dangerous. In this Korean tale, a young man learns a lesson about respecting the story spirits.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Korea, Cambodia, storytelling, tradition, story spirits
The Soup Stone
When selfish townspeople refuse to share their food with a hungry traveler, the traveler gets his revenge—or does he? (Told straight up or with a twist…ie. A rock collector has a station wagon full of rocks and a town of busy families that eat out too much need some good, home-cooked food.)
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Variants of this story are found in the folklore of Sweden, Yugoslavia, England and other European countries. Hans Christian Anderson even wrote his version. Aesop?
“Jabberwocky”
The audience stands up to act out the hunt of the Jabberwock and we discover together that the nonsense of Lewis Carroll makes the best sense of all. This poem first appeared during a conversation between Alice and Humpty Dumpty in Through the Looking Glass.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Creative movement, pantomime, group participation, nonsense, language
Yay! Boo!
An original nonsense yarn adapted from American folklore. The audience helps keep things moving with a “Yay!” and a “Boo!” Great fun for all ages.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Audience participation, pilot, airplane, haystacks, pitchforks, humor
The Mosquito & the Story Weaver
For thousands of years, storytellers from many cultures illustrated their tales with string figures (think “Cat’s Cradle”). Here, a storyweaver loses the thread of her narrative when a story turns into a pesky mosquito.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Africa, Pacific region, Europe, Papua New Guines, Inuit, string, mosquito, storytelling
The Squeaky Door
Sleeping over at Grandma’s for the first time becomes a slightly alarming (and very silly) adventure for a small child. Noisy kids in motion help bring this story to life!
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Grandmother, sleepover, family, cat, dog, cow, audience participation, carpentry, sound effects
The Tailor
Bit by bit the tailor cuts down his worn out clothes until he has nothing left but a story. Derived from a traditional Jewish folktale, most recently retold in the picture books Bit by Bit, by Steve Sanfield(?) and Joseph had a Little Overcoat, for which Simms Taback won the 2000 Caldecott Medal.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Thrift, making the best of things, something from nothing, Jewish
Naughty Marysia
Russian nesting dolls act out the story of a mischievous little girl and her family. Preschoolers love helping everyone in the family find their way home. Adapted from a story by Anne Pellowski.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Nesting dolls (matryoshka/matrioska), Russia, size, memory game, group participation, sequencing(?)
Circle of Story Songs
Sometimes a story is a song—and everyone can join in!
Little Rabbit Foo Foo
Willy the Whistling Giraffe
From an old LP recording that I listened to as a child.
Circle of Moon Stories & Songs
A great supplement to a school unit on the moon, this cycle of stories & songs lasts about one-half hour when told all together. Good for a group of mixed ages.
Moonrakers
A story-making experience in which the audience helps figure out a way to convince the foolish characters in the story that the moon has not fallen into a pool.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Ceylon, England, Turkey, Poland
The Rabbit in the Moon
Have you ever seen the Man in the Moon? People from various cultures around the world, including Native American and Asian peoples, tell stories to explain why they see a Rabbit in the Moon. This story is a Jataka tale, one of the 500(?) teaching tales from the Buddhist tradition which is based on the mythology of ancient India.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Visualization, India, Shakra the sky god, rabbit, monkey, otter, figs, fish, self sacrifice, generosity, friendship, fire, , Buddha, charity
“Wynken, Blynken and Nod”
Audiences of all ages remember and love this rhythmic lullaby written by children’s poet Eugene Field in 1894.
I See the Moon
“I see the moon and the moon sees me and the moon sees the one that I long to see. So I wave to the moon and the moon waves to me and she waves to the one that I long to see.” --Adaptation of an old song
Hey Diddle Diddle
The cow still jumps over the moon in this slightly rap version of the famous nursery rhyme.
Circle of Old Favorites
These familiar stories are just right for little ones, and everyone is welcome to join right in! Many of these “fairytales” can be “fractured” for older audiences.
The Three Little Pigs
“Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!”
“Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in!”
Jack and the Beanstalk
“Fee Fi Fo Fum”
The House That Jack Built
A cumulative story that the audience can pantomime, with or without flannelboard characters derived from Arthur Rackham illustrations.
Henny Penny
Told with or without a flannelboard.
“Where are you going Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurkey?”
“We are going to tell the queen that the sky is falling!”
The Three Little Kittens
Lots of drama here—mewing, crying, purring, etc.
Going on a Bear Hunt
Together, we take a lively journey through grass, mud and water to a big, dark cave.
Circle of Love Stories
Here are a few longer, quieter stories. They are mostly appreciated by adults and older children because of their subtle social commentary and philosophical themes.
”In Those Days”
A queen’s love for a flower gives rise to a law that exists for centuries. From a short story by Eleanor Farjeon.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Flower, military, law, government, time, history, geography, beauty
A Japanese Fairy Tale
Neighbors wonder why a beautiful woman is happily married to a repulsively ugly man. This bittersweet love story explores the ancient Shinto belief that the kami, gods of Japanese mythology, predestine the love affairs of people. Adapted from a book by Baruch Zimmerman and Jane Hori Ike.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Love, destiny, Japan, beauty, ugliness, marriage, life before birth, self sacrifice, Shinto, Izumo temple, O-Kuni-Nushi
Savitri’s Quest
In this tale of ancient India, a young woman undertakes a journey to rescue her husband from Death. Derived from Hindu mythology, this story is found in the Mahabharata, India’s great epic cycle of literature and legends that was written 2000 years ago.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Love, death, India, Yama (Hindu god of death), Hindu mythology, Mahabharata
Circle of Campfire Stories
My favorite spooky stories usually have a surprise ending that makes them more funny than scary. These are chilling tales for older kids that can be “lightened up” for younger listeners.
Red, Red Lips
“It was a dark and stormy night, and there was a knock at the door…”
Old Bess
A man futilely attempts to avert a fortune teller’s dire prophecy.
In a Deep, Dark Wood
Take a trip through the universe, the galaxy and our solar system on the way to a deep dark corner of a deep dark closet.
Teeny Tiny
This famous English jump tale is kinda creepy, but mostly silly.
The Ghost of the Two White Eyes
I first heard this story during recess (or maybe at a slumber party) when I was in elementary school. I was really happy to rediscover it years later in a library book.
The Body in the Barn
Based on a true(ish) story told by my great grandfather (by all accounts he was a liar.)
It Floats
WHAT FLOATS!?
Pourquoi Stories & Trickster Tales
Traditional “pourquoi”—or “how & why” stories--and trickster tales--in which clever heroes outwit their opponents--are among the oldest stories ever told and they are found all over the world. The basic structure of these tales is easy to emulate, so they make wonderful story starters in the classroom.
The Story of Io
Poor Io! Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, flirts with her and then turns her into a cow to hide her from his wife, Hera. Now Io is stuck in the body of a cow and Hera has Io in her clutches.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Io, Zeus, Argus of the hundred eyes, Hera, Hermes (trickster), Greek mythology, peacock, pourquoi (how & why), Isis (Egyptian goddess)
”The Beginning of the Armadillos”
If you have ever seen an armadillo, you know that it’s one of the strangest looking animals on earth. In his Just So Stories, Rudyard Kipling pays tribute to pourquoi folklore by imitating its language and cadence. This tale tells why and how the first armadillos came to be and can be told with or without puppets.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Turtle/tortoise, jaguar, hedgehog, South America (Brazil), armadillos
Rabbit & Crocodile
Many cultures have pourquoi stories that explain how & why rabbits have short tails (or long ears!) This one is from Japan.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Japan, island, crocodiles, how & why, pourquoi, rabbit, trickster
Nine in One…Grr Grr / Save the Tiger!
A how & why story told by the Hmong people of Laos. Adapted from a book by Blia Xiong & Cathy Spagnoli.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Tiger, sky god, Laos, Hmong, Southeast Asia(?), how & why, pourquoi, endangered species, predator, prey
Coyote & Lizard
In this southwestern trickster tale, Coyote the trickster is himself outwitted by a mother lizard.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Native American, trickster, Apache (Dineh), Hopi, Ute, coyote, lizard, sunflower, desert, small vs. big, weak vs. strong, escaping
Just for Fun Stories
I learned to tell these stories just because I like them.
The Girl Who Could Think
In this tale from China, a clever young bride overcomes the challenge of a rash promise and reaffirms her devotion to family. Can be told with or without paper folding to illustrate how the riddles are solved.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
China, Korea, origami, paper folding (fan, lantern, flower), family, shrewd daughter-in-law, petulant mother-in-law, riddle
The Peddler
A poor peddler listens to a dream which leads him to a treasure. This story comes from Jewish, English and Irish traditions.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Treasure, dreams, bridge, tree, shopkeeper, Jewish, Irish, English
Marushka and the Month Brothers
An oppressed heroine overcomes obstacles through hard work and a good attitude. This is a traditional eastern European tale from Slavic folklore.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Eastern Europe (Russia, Czechoslovakia), courtesy, value of hard work, seasons, bonfire, violets, strawberries, apples, blizzard, snow, January, March, June, October
The Story Bag
Not only is it selfish to keep a story all to yourself, it can be downright dangerous. In this Korean tale, a young man learns a lesson about respecting the story spirits.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Korea, Cambodia, storytelling, tradition, story spirits
The Soup Stone
When selfish townspeople refuse to share their food with a hungry traveler, the traveler gets his revenge—or does he? (Told straight up or with a twist…ie. A rock collector has a station wagon full of rocks and a town of busy families that eat out too much need some good, home-cooked food.)
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Variants of this story are found in the folklore of Sweden, Yugoslavia, England and other European countries. Hans Christian Anderson even wrote his version. Aesop?
“Jabberwocky”
The audience stands up to act out the hunt of the Jabberwock and we discover together that the nonsense of Lewis Carroll makes the best sense of all. This poem first appeared during a conversation between Alice and Humpty Dumpty in Through the Looking Glass.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Creative movement, pantomime, group participation, nonsense, language
Yay! Boo!
An original nonsense yarn adapted from American folklore. The audience helps keep things moving with a “Yay!” and a “Boo!” Great fun for all ages.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Audience participation, pilot, airplane, haystacks, pitchforks, humor
The Mosquito & the Story Weaver
For thousands of years, storytellers from many cultures illustrated their tales with string figures (think “Cat’s Cradle”). Here, a storyweaver loses the thread of her narrative when a story turns into a pesky mosquito.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Africa, Pacific region, Europe, Papua New Guines, Inuit, string, mosquito, storytelling
The Squeaky Door
Sleeping over at Grandma’s for the first time becomes a slightly alarming (and very silly) adventure for a small child. Noisy kids in motion help bring this story to life!
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Grandmother, sleepover, family, cat, dog, cow, audience participation, carpentry, sound effects
The Tailor
Bit by bit the tailor cuts down his worn out clothes until he has nothing left but a story. Derived from a traditional Jewish folktale, most recently retold in the picture books Bit by Bit, by Steve Sanfield(?) and Joseph had a Little Overcoat, for which Simms Taback won the 2000 Caldecott Medal.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Thrift, making the best of things, something from nothing, Jewish
Naughty Marysia
Russian nesting dolls act out the story of a mischievous little girl and her family. Preschoolers love helping everyone in the family find their way home. Adapted from a story by Anne Pellowski.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Nesting dolls (matryoshka/matrioska), Russia, size, memory game, group participation, sequencing(?)
Circle of Story Songs
Sometimes a story is a song—and everyone can join in!
Little Rabbit Foo Foo
Willy the Whistling Giraffe
From an old LP recording that I listened to as a child.
Circle of Moon Stories & Songs
A great supplement to a school unit on the moon, this cycle of stories & songs lasts about one-half hour when told all together. Good for a group of mixed ages.
Moonrakers
A story-making experience in which the audience helps figure out a way to convince the foolish characters in the story that the moon has not fallen into a pool.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Ceylon, England, Turkey, Poland
The Rabbit in the Moon
Have you ever seen the Man in the Moon? People from various cultures around the world, including Native American and Asian peoples, tell stories to explain why they see a Rabbit in the Moon. This story is a Jataka tale, one of the 500(?) teaching tales from the Buddhist tradition which is based on the mythology of ancient India.
Genres, characters, cultures and themes:
Visualization, India, Shakra the sky god, rabbit, monkey, otter, figs, fish, self sacrifice, generosity, friendship, fire, , Buddha, charity
“Wynken, Blynken and Nod”
Audiences of all ages remember and love this rhythmic lullaby written by children’s poet Eugene Field in 1894.
I See the Moon
“I see the moon and the moon sees me and the moon sees the one that I long to see. So I wave to the moon and the moon waves to me and she waves to the one that I long to see.” --Adaptation of an old song
Hey Diddle Diddle
The cow still jumps over the moon in this slightly rap version of the famous nursery rhyme.
Circle of Old Favorites
These familiar stories are just right for little ones, and everyone is welcome to join right in! Many of these “fairytales” can be “fractured” for older audiences.
The Three Little Pigs
“Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!”
“Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in!”
Jack and the Beanstalk
“Fee Fi Fo Fum”
The House That Jack Built
A cumulative story that the audience can pantomime, with or without flannelboard characters derived from Arthur Rackham illustrations.
Henny Penny
Told with or without a flannelboard.
“Where are you going Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey and Turkey Lurkey?”
“We are going to tell the queen that the sky is falling!”
The Three Little Kittens
Lots of drama here—mewing, crying, purring, etc.
Going on a Bear Hunt
Together, we take a lively journey through grass, mud and water to a big, dark cave.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
It Was a Loverly Spring
Recitals, graduations, gardening and good times with family. There are also fun videos on my YouTube channel. This post is peppered with links to some of the best ones.
Sarah's spring concert weekend:
(blankie)
Easter:
Wizard Watching on Holy Saturday >>
Sarah's graduation:
(Real diploma inside folder!)
(Julia & Sandy)
Brook's dance recital:
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy >>
(shy Debbie)
Memorial Day:
Cowgurl in pool >>
Magic Diver >>
(too tired to post more of these...)
Alice's graduation:
(Brook & Vincent)
(Debbie & Phil)
(Scott & Beryl)
Land of Hope & Glory! >>
(good friends)
Asparagus roots:
(they grew!)
Sarah's spring concert weekend:
Easter:
Wizard Watching on Holy Saturday >>
Sarah's graduation:
Brook's dance recital:
Memorial Day:
Cowgurl in pool >>
Magic Diver >>
Alice's graduation:
Land of Hope & Glory! >>
Asparagus roots:
Monday, May 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Oh What a Beautiful Morning
Here are some stills of my friend Sarah T. and I singing "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" for a local news blog (I just love Sarah's face!):
Catch the full performance here (hopefully)....
Catch the full performance here (hopefully)....
Sunday, February 13, 2011
"I'm Checking Out"
Just found out this song (at least the lyrics, not sure about the music) was written by Shel Silverstein and it was nominated for an Oscar. It loses something on YouTube, but Meryl still rocks.
Lyrics to "I'm Checkin' Out":
Pull back them dark and dusty drapes,
And let in some light.
Tell the bell-boy come and get my trunk
'Cause I'm leavin' here tonight.
I packed my bags and paid my bill,
And I'm turnin' in my key.
And if those sad souls down in the lobby ask for me,
Just tell'em
I'm checkin' out of the heartbreak hotel.
I ain't gonna live on lonely street no more (no more).
I've found a new love and a new place to dwell
Where teardrops ain't soakin' the floor.
So, take down my suitcase and hand me my hat.
I'm goin' from sleazy to swell.
Give that desk-clerk a dime.
And you can just tell him that I'm
Checkin' out of the heartbreak hotel.
Well, you can give that sad bellboy
My old blues guitar,
'Cause I'm only gonna sing them sweet songs
From now on, yeah.
And you can tell that old bartender
He might as well close down the bar,
Cause "Chug-a-Luggin' Sally's" (Charley's) packed an' gone.
Through that gray windowpane,
It always looked like rain,
But there's sunshine outside I can tell.
So open up that door, I've leavin'
An' I won't be back no more.
I'm checkin' out of the heartbreak hotel.
Checkin' out of this heartbreak hotel.
Pull back them dark and dusty drapes,
And let in some light.
Tell the bell-boy come and get my trunk
'Cause I'm leavin' here tonight.
I packed my bags and paid my bill,
And I'm turnin' in my key.
And if those sad souls down in the lobby ask for me,
Just tell'em
I'm checkin' out of the heartbreak hotel.
I ain't gonna live on lonely street no more (no more).
I've found a new love and a new place to dwell
Where teardrops ain't soakin' the floor.
So, take down my suitcase and hand me my hat.
I'm goin' from sleazy to swell.
Give that desk-clerk a dime.
And you can just tell him that I'm
Checkin' out of the heartbreak hotel.
Well, you can give that sad bellboy
My old blues guitar,
'Cause I'm only gonna sing them sweet songs
From now on, yeah.
And you can tell that old bartender
He might as well close down the bar,
Cause "Chug-a-Luggin' Sally's" (Charley's) packed an' gone.
Through that gray windowpane,
It always looked like rain,
But there's sunshine outside I can tell.
So open up that door, I've leavin'
An' I won't be back no more.
I'm checkin' out of the heartbreak hotel.
Checkin' out of this heartbreak hotel.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Monday, December 27, 2010
Crazy Pet Guy
Marc Morrone has often been a guest on Martha Stewart's shows, but before that he was on local cable out of Long Island. People would call in for pet advice. The chaos was magnificent ("Let me just get the cat out of the iguana cage here" and "Don't bite the puppy's head!") and the suspense always kept us watching.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
You're Our Llama, Mama, Part One
HERE IS THE BALLAD OF MAMA BOO, THE MOTHER OF MY CHILDREN
In early spring 2007, I noticed this sweet kitty loitering on and near my back deck on a regular basis. I used to have a bird feeder back there. Here she is hanging around under my finch feeder hopefully waiting for a little bird snack:
I took this photo through a window (on May 5, 2007) because she always ran away when I appeared outside. I thought she might be one of the kittens that was born here in 2005, so I was very interested in her reappearance. I had no clue that she was already a Mama Cat, but I should have known.
[When a long-haired black cat loitered here two years before in 2005, her presence predicated the sudden appearance of five kittens from underneath the deck and I fervantly believe that one of them grew into our Mama Cat, the mother of my children. The working theory here is that the dark recesses under my deck are somehow very attractive to pregnant cats...I have since removed the bird feeder because it just didn't seem fair to the birds. Oh - and let's call that long-haired black cat "Grandma".]
FLASHBACK TO 2005 WHEN MAMA CAT WAS BORN
(my journal entry from August 19, 2005):
"Yesterday was Friday and I had to go to work. I was making breakfast, washing dishes, etc. when, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of animal movement on my deck which I thought was a squirrel (likely) or a woodchuck (also likely.) On my second look, it turned out to be a kitten! And on my third look, there were two kittens!
"Kittens! Kittens alone are definitely strays. Kittens alone must be fed. I have no cat food! Milk! I have milk. Wait. Milk is bad for cats. But I have milk. OK, milk. Jeff gave me a bowl for the black cat. How does the black cat fit into all this? Oh-milk! OK-I put the milk out and they scurry under the deck over near the hose. Wait. Watch. They're back! They're drinking milk! There's three kittens!
"Then I thought of canned chicken in the pantry. Wait! Tuna fish! Flew on tiptoe to plant rack and got a plate. Put half a can of tunafish on the plate, chopped it up and scared them away again when I opened the door to put it out. They came back. Now there are five. Five kittens! Five was my favorite number when I was five!
"Last night was exhilarating. I stopped on the way home and bought cat food. I saw a couple of the kittens on the deck when I got out of the car. I divided a can of cat food onto three plates and some kitten activity was just starting when Jeff arrived. I went to the front door and hushed him and we tiptoed into the house to watch the fun through the back door.
"The most handsome kitten has tufted ears like a Maine coon cat and is very shy-sometimes only his eyes and ears show as he peeks at us over the edge of the deck. The bravest kitten is soft gray stripes with wispy white paws (now read carefully - this is me in 2010 talking to you - here is the evidence that I first met Mama Kitty when she was a little kitten recently born) and the second bravest kitten is just the same except that the whiteness of her paws is bold and well defined and she has a brilliant white chest and chin (
Now look at this photo of Mama Kitty in 2008. Look familiar? Hmmm? Doesn't she have a "brilliant white chest and chin"? And doesn't the photo to the left show that "the whiteness of her paws is bold and well defined"?) There is a long-haired black who looks just like his mother and #5 is a nondescript tabby that I don't remember very well.
"But this morning I am bereft...Where did I go wrong?...Did I peek at them through the door too often? Did I talk to them too much?
"A bowl of water and three dishes of food sit out on the deck now. Waiting.....waiting.....except for the birds, things are very quiet. Very different from my fantasy of them waiting for me outside my door this morning, alert but less afraid, until finally I would be able to sit outside with them while they ate, unperturbed....oh well." (end of 2005 journal entry)
TWO WINTERS PASSED WITH NO MORE CAT ACTIVITY.
FAST FORWARD TO 2007...
Sailor appeared under my truck parked in the driveway as I arrived home in the car during a midnight monsoon on a dark, rainy Sunday night - June 3, 2007. He spent our first night together in a cat carrier in the bathroom. By the next night he had a name and he’d been to the vet. Dr. Poster said he was about 7 weeks old (but he was probably closer to 5 or 6 weeks.) He could eat solid food, but his eyes were still blue.
I had a sudden revelation that the bird-feeder kitty was probably this little boy kitten's mother. With the vague idea of somehow helping her, I shamelessly decided to use her kitten to lure her to stay in the area. The next day, even though it was still wet and drizzly, I cruelly put Sailor into the cat carrier and placed him alone outside on the back deck. It took only a combination of his pathetic mewing and some judiciously placed food for me to discover that not only did he have a devoted mother - he had two adorable twin sisters!
(note Mama Cat on the path in the background)
It was a very cold & rainy June, so I set up a feeding station on the deck under a blue tarp to keep the rain off. I photographed the two sisters through the kitchen window on June 16, 2007, barely two weeks after Sailor came inside.
From outside, Sailor’s family watched Sailor and me. They waited for mealtimes. I put a lawn chair on the back deck and the two sisters (I had started calling them T.C. - for Tortoiseshell Cat and Smokey) would sleep there in a knot, sometimes all night - sometimes with Mama. Life changed again in August 2007 when T.C. casually walked into a cat carrier that I had baited with food and allowed me to close the door behind her (now it was her turn to spend the night in the bathroom.) Within 24 hours I caught the more timid Smokey in a raccoon trap and, after their hysterectomies, Sailor's sisters started living in a giant dog cage in the back of my pickup truck. For a while I was too busy to take pictures (but check out this short movie of life inside the cage.)
In October 2007, Smokey Boo Boo went to live with Jeff. T.C. Sissy stayed in the house with me and Sailor.
Mama Boo was left outside all alone.
To be continued.............
(A visit from Mama Cat on Halloween 2007)
In early spring 2007, I noticed this sweet kitty loitering on and near my back deck on a regular basis. I used to have a bird feeder back there. Here she is hanging around under my finch feeder hopefully waiting for a little bird snack:
I took this photo through a window (on May 5, 2007) because she always ran away when I appeared outside. I thought she might be one of the kittens that was born here in 2005, so I was very interested in her reappearance. I had no clue that she was already a Mama Cat, but I should have known.[When a long-haired black cat loitered here two years before in 2005, her presence predicated the sudden appearance of five kittens from underneath the deck and I fervantly believe that one of them grew into our Mama Cat, the mother of my children. The working theory here is that the dark recesses under my deck are somehow very attractive to pregnant cats...I have since removed the bird feeder because it just didn't seem fair to the birds. Oh - and let's call that long-haired black cat "Grandma".]
FLASHBACK TO 2005 WHEN MAMA CAT WAS BORN
(my journal entry from August 19, 2005):
"Yesterday was Friday and I had to go to work. I was making breakfast, washing dishes, etc. when, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of animal movement on my deck which I thought was a squirrel (likely) or a woodchuck (also likely.) On my second look, it turned out to be a kitten! And on my third look, there were two kittens!
"Kittens! Kittens alone are definitely strays. Kittens alone must be fed. I have no cat food! Milk! I have milk. Wait. Milk is bad for cats. But I have milk. OK, milk. Jeff gave me a bowl for the black cat. How does the black cat fit into all this? Oh-milk! OK-I put the milk out and they scurry under the deck over near the hose. Wait. Watch. They're back! They're drinking milk! There's three kittens!
"Then I thought of canned chicken in the pantry. Wait! Tuna fish! Flew on tiptoe to plant rack and got a plate. Put half a can of tunafish on the plate, chopped it up and scared them away again when I opened the door to put it out. They came back. Now there are five. Five kittens! Five was my favorite number when I was five!
"Last night was exhilarating. I stopped on the way home and bought cat food. I saw a couple of the kittens on the deck when I got out of the car. I divided a can of cat food onto three plates and some kitten activity was just starting when Jeff arrived. I went to the front door and hushed him and we tiptoed into the house to watch the fun through the back door.
"The most handsome kitten has tufted ears like a Maine coon cat and is very shy-sometimes only his eyes and ears show as he peeks at us over the edge of the deck. The bravest kitten is soft gray stripes with wispy white paws (now read carefully - this is me in 2010 talking to you - here is the evidence that I first met Mama Kitty when she was a little kitten recently born) and the second bravest kitten is just the same except that the whiteness of her paws is bold and well defined and she has a brilliant white chest and chin (
Now look at this photo of Mama Kitty in 2008. Look familiar? Hmmm? Doesn't she have a "brilliant white chest and chin"? And doesn't the photo to the left show that "the whiteness of her paws is bold and well defined"?) There is a long-haired black who looks just like his mother and #5 is a nondescript tabby that I don't remember very well."But this morning I am bereft...Where did I go wrong?...Did I peek at them through the door too often? Did I talk to them too much?
"A bowl of water and three dishes of food sit out on the deck now. Waiting.....waiting.....except for the birds, things are very quiet. Very different from my fantasy of them waiting for me outside my door this morning, alert but less afraid, until finally I would be able to sit outside with them while they ate, unperturbed....oh well." (end of 2005 journal entry)
TWO WINTERS PASSED WITH NO MORE CAT ACTIVITY.
FAST FORWARD TO 2007...
Sailor appeared under my truck parked in the driveway as I arrived home in the car during a midnight monsoon on a dark, rainy Sunday night - June 3, 2007. He spent our first night together in a cat carrier in the bathroom. By the next night he had a name and he’d been to the vet. Dr. Poster said he was about 7 weeks old (but he was probably closer to 5 or 6 weeks.) He could eat solid food, but his eyes were still blue.
I had a sudden revelation that the bird-feeder kitty was probably this little boy kitten's mother. With the vague idea of somehow helping her, I shamelessly decided to use her kitten to lure her to stay in the area. The next day, even though it was still wet and drizzly, I cruelly put Sailor into the cat carrier and placed him alone outside on the back deck. It took only a combination of his pathetic mewing and some judiciously placed food for me to discover that not only did he have a devoted mother - he had two adorable twin sisters!
(note Mama Cat on the path in the background)It was a very cold & rainy June, so I set up a feeding station on the deck under a blue tarp to keep the rain off. I photographed the two sisters through the kitchen window on June 16, 2007, barely two weeks after Sailor came inside.
From outside, Sailor’s family watched Sailor and me. They waited for mealtimes. I put a lawn chair on the back deck and the two sisters (I had started calling them T.C. - for Tortoiseshell Cat and Smokey) would sleep there in a knot, sometimes all night - sometimes with Mama. Life changed again in August 2007 when T.C. casually walked into a cat carrier that I had baited with food and allowed me to close the door behind her (now it was her turn to spend the night in the bathroom.) Within 24 hours I caught the more timid Smokey in a raccoon trap and, after their hysterectomies, Sailor's sisters started living in a giant dog cage in the back of my pickup truck. For a while I was too busy to take pictures (but check out this short movie of life inside the cage.)In October 2007, Smokey Boo Boo went to live with Jeff. T.C. Sissy stayed in the house with me and Sailor.
Mama Boo was left outside all alone.
To be continued.............
(A visit from Mama Cat on Halloween 2007)
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Little Dog Turpie, by Leila Berg (with illustrations by George Him)
Here is another story from Leila Berg. Apologies to Jane and Param for taking a year and a half to get around to posting this. Hey - just in time for Halloween!
Once upon a time there was a little old man and a little old woman, and they lived together in a little old house with their Little Dog Turpie.
Now out in the woods lived the Hobyahs. Every night they came running towards the house, up, up, on their long toes, creeping, creeping, through the soft grass, waving their wild tails, came the Hobyahs. And they shouted, "Break down the house, carry off the little old man, eat up the little old woman!" But Little Dog Turpie always heard them coming, and he would bark and bark and bark, "Wow, wow!" till they all ran away.
The little old man and the little old woman didn't know about the Hobyahs, because Little Dog Turpie always frightened them away. But one night the old man sat up in bed and said, "Little Dog Turpie barks so loudly that I can't sleep. In the morning I shall take off his tail."
So in the morning the little old man took off Little Dog Turpie's tail because he barked so much.
That night when the old man and the the old woman were in bed, out of the woods came the Hobyahs. Up, up, on their long toes, creeping, creeping, through the soft grass, waving their wild tails, came the Hobyahs. And they shouted, "Break down the house, carry off the little old man, eat up the little old woman!" But Little Dog Turpie heard them coming and he barked and he barked and he barked, "Wow, wow!" till they ran away.
But the little old man sat up in bed and said, "Little Dog Turpie barks too loudly, and I can't sleep. In the morning I shall take off his legs."
So in the morning the little old man took off Little Dog Turpie's legs, because he barked so much.
The next night, when the little old man and the little old woman were in bed, out of the woods came the Hobyahs. Up, up, on their long toes, creeping, creeping, through the soft grass, waving their wild tails, came the Hobyahs. And they shouted, "Break down the house, carry off the little old man, eat up the little old woman!" But Little Dog Turpie heard them coming, and he barked and barked and barked, till they all ran away.
But the little old man sat up in bed and said, "That Little Dog Turpie barks too loudly, and I can't get any sleep. In the morning I shall take off his head."
So in the morning the little old man took off Little Dog Turpie's head.
That night, when the little old man and the little old woman were in bed, out of the woods came the Hobyahs. Up, up, on their long toes, creeping, creeping, through the soft grass, waving their wild tails, came the Hobyahs. And they shouted, "Break down the house, carry off the little old man, eat up the little old woman!" And Little Dog Turpie heard them coming, but the little old man had taken off his head, and now he couldn't bark any more and frighten them away.
So the Hobyahs broke down the house. They didn't carry off the little old man, because he hid under the kitchen table and they couldn't find him. But they carried off the little old woman to their Hobyah house, and they put her in a bag and hung her on the doorknob.
When the little old man found the Hobyahs had carried off the little old woman, he was very sorry for what he had done. Now he knew why Little Dog Turpie had been barking every night. "I am a silly old man," he said. "I shall put back Little Dog Turpie's tail and his feet and his head this very minute." So he went out into the yard and put them all back right away.
Then Little Dog Turpie went running off on his four legs to find the little old woman. He ran and he ran till he came to the Hobyah House. The Hobyahs were not at home, but they had left the little old woman hanging in the bag on the doorknob. Little Dog Turpie bit the bag with his sharp teeth till it fell off the doorknob, and then he pulled it open so that the little old woman could get out. She ran all the way back home to the little old man, and they were very pleased to see each other again, I can tell you, and they had a bit of a kiss and a hug.
But Little Dog Turpie crept inside the bag himself, and lay there waiting for the Hobyahs to come home again. Presently they came, and the first thing they did was to poke the bag with their long fingers, for they thought it was the old woman, you see. And out jumped Little Dog Turpie, barking as loudly as he could. The Hobyahs got such a fright they all ran away, and they ran so far they never came back. And that's why there are no Hobyahs today, not one.
Text ©Leila Berg, illustrations ©George Him, from Folk Tales for Reading and Telling, published by Brockhampton Press 1966
I love love love this book and I have posted from it (and about it) before, with permission from the families of the author and the artist.
Here are some notes on this story from Leila's website:
"Folk Tales for Reading and Telling was originally published in 1966 and was reprinted several times in hardback and in paperback in the late 60s and in the 70s. The stories were traditional ones culled from a dozen different countries. Each one is prefaced in the text by an introductory sentence from Leila, always followed by 'And this is the way I tell it.' The children in the little nursery school Leila was running at the time of writing the book would always join in, 'And this is the way I tell it.'
"All the stories were enhanced by the illustrations of George Him, a brilliant artist whose extraordinarily evocative pictures capture scenes from the wildest stories as the innocent imagination of the reading child might see them. It was George's idea to make Dog Turpie into a toy-type figure, so that his different pieces didn't have to be brutally chopped off, but were just taken apart."
Once upon a time there was a little old man and a little old woman, and they lived together in a little old house with their Little Dog Turpie.Now out in the woods lived the Hobyahs. Every night they came running towards the house, up, up, on their long toes, creeping, creeping, through the soft grass, waving their wild tails, came the Hobyahs. And they shouted, "Break down the house, carry off the little old man, eat up the little old woman!" But Little Dog Turpie always heard them coming, and he would bark and bark and bark, "Wow, wow!" till they all ran away.
The little old man and the little old woman didn't know about the Hobyahs, because Little Dog Turpie always frightened them away. But one night the old man sat up in bed and said, "Little Dog Turpie barks so loudly that I can't sleep. In the morning I shall take off his tail."
So in the morning the little old man took off Little Dog Turpie's tail because he barked so much.
That night when the old man and the the old woman were in bed, out of the woods came the Hobyahs. Up, up, on their long toes, creeping, creeping, through the soft grass, waving their wild tails, came the Hobyahs. And they shouted, "Break down the house, carry off the little old man, eat up the little old woman!" But Little Dog Turpie heard them coming and he barked and he barked and he barked, "Wow, wow!" till they ran away.
But the little old man sat up in bed and said, "Little Dog Turpie barks too loudly, and I can't sleep. In the morning I shall take off his legs."
So in the morning the little old man took off Little Dog Turpie's legs, because he barked so much.
The next night, when the little old man and the little old woman were in bed, out of the woods came the Hobyahs. Up, up, on their long toes, creeping, creeping, through the soft grass, waving their wild tails, came the Hobyahs. And they shouted, "Break down the house, carry off the little old man, eat up the little old woman!" But Little Dog Turpie heard them coming, and he barked and barked and barked, till they all ran away.
But the little old man sat up in bed and said, "That Little Dog Turpie barks too loudly, and I can't get any sleep. In the morning I shall take off his head."
So in the morning the little old man took off Little Dog Turpie's head.
That night, when the little old man and the little old woman were in bed, out of the woods came the Hobyahs. Up, up, on their long toes, creeping, creeping, through the soft grass, waving their wild tails, came the Hobyahs. And they shouted, "Break down the house, carry off the little old man, eat up the little old woman!" And Little Dog Turpie heard them coming, but the little old man had taken off his head, and now he couldn't bark any more and frighten them away.So the Hobyahs broke down the house. They didn't carry off the little old man, because he hid under the kitchen table and they couldn't find him. But they carried off the little old woman to their Hobyah house, and they put her in a bag and hung her on the doorknob.
When the little old man found the Hobyahs had carried off the little old woman, he was very sorry for what he had done. Now he knew why Little Dog Turpie had been barking every night. "I am a silly old man," he said. "I shall put back Little Dog Turpie's tail and his feet and his head this very minute." So he went out into the yard and put them all back right away.
Then Little Dog Turpie went running off on his four legs to find the little old woman. He ran and he ran till he came to the Hobyah House. The Hobyahs were not at home, but they had left the little old woman hanging in the bag on the doorknob. Little Dog Turpie bit the bag with his sharp teeth till it fell off the doorknob, and then he pulled it open so that the little old woman could get out. She ran all the way back home to the little old man, and they were very pleased to see each other again, I can tell you, and they had a bit of a kiss and a hug.
But Little Dog Turpie crept inside the bag himself, and lay there waiting for the Hobyahs to come home again. Presently they came, and the first thing they did was to poke the bag with their long fingers, for they thought it was the old woman, you see. And out jumped Little Dog Turpie, barking as loudly as he could. The Hobyahs got such a fright they all ran away, and they ran so far they never came back. And that's why there are no Hobyahs today, not one.
Text ©Leila Berg, illustrations ©George Him, from Folk Tales for Reading and Telling, published by Brockhampton Press 1966
I love love love this book and I have posted from it (and about it) before, with permission from the families of the author and the artist.
Here are some notes on this story from Leila's website:
"Folk Tales for Reading and Telling was originally published in 1966 and was reprinted several times in hardback and in paperback in the late 60s and in the 70s. The stories were traditional ones culled from a dozen different countries. Each one is prefaced in the text by an introductory sentence from Leila, always followed by 'And this is the way I tell it.' The children in the little nursery school Leila was running at the time of writing the book would always join in, 'And this is the way I tell it.'
"All the stories were enhanced by the illustrations of George Him, a brilliant artist whose extraordinarily evocative pictures capture scenes from the wildest stories as the innocent imagination of the reading child might see them. It was George's idea to make Dog Turpie into a toy-type figure, so that his different pieces didn't have to be brutally chopped off, but were just taken apart."
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
A Buffy Moment
Giles has just discovered that the ominous-looking mask hanging in Buffy's house is the reason that a (smelly) dead cat was resurrected in Buffy's back yard. Buffy's mom had brought the mask home from the art gallery where she works. As Giles races to Buffy's house to warn them (he couldn't get them on the phone), he says something that makes me explode with laughter every time I hear it, "Do you like my mask? Isn't it pretty? It raises the dead! Americans."
Saturday, October 2, 2010
The me show - all me, all the time - me me me
I don't know if anyone out there has noticed, but in my mind this is a place where I deposit fragments of my storytelling life. This past summer I got photographed a lot for some reason. I told Stephanie it was because of the great haircut she gave me!
This was taken by a co-worker for a newsletter:
I also happened to be handy when it was time for summer publicity.
Another co-worker took this.
I don't really like it - I wasn't feeling groovy that day:
Here's the Farmer's Market in July. This one is my favorite. Click on the photo to enlarge it and take a few moments to look at each and every child. The magic was happening at that very moment and the photographer captured it. This is why I do what I do:
And the big finish...
Both of the Farmer's Market photos were taken by photographer Phyllis Groner.
Last but not least, here I am in late July. The article is less than fun to read (sorry, Joseph - and it's not a "red chest", it's a Story Wagon!) but I liked the photos.
So - pretty glamorous, huh? Just kidding.
I need you to know that there are librarians all over the country who are doing great work with children and literacy. They read more books than I do so that they can make very personalized reading recommendations to children and their families; they keep up with current technologies to educate their patrons and colleagues; many devote themselves to disadvantaged children in libraries with very few resources. Most of those librarians are unphotographed, unsung heroes who are better than me me me.
This was taken by a co-worker for a newsletter:
I also happened to be handy when it was time for summer publicity.
Another co-worker took this.
I don't really like it - I wasn't feeling groovy that day:
Here's the Farmer's Market in July. This one is my favorite. Click on the photo to enlarge it and take a few moments to look at each and every child. The magic was happening at that very moment and the photographer captured it. This is why I do what I do:
And the big finish...
Both of the Farmer's Market photos were taken by photographer Phyllis Groner.Last but not least, here I am in late July. The article is less than fun to read (sorry, Joseph - and it's not a "red chest", it's a Story Wagon!) but I liked the photos.
So - pretty glamorous, huh? Just kidding.
I need you to know that there are librarians all over the country who are doing great work with children and literacy. They read more books than I do so that they can make very personalized reading recommendations to children and their families; they keep up with current technologies to educate their patrons and colleagues; many devote themselves to disadvantaged children in libraries with very few resources. Most of those librarians are unphotographed, unsung heroes who are better than me me me.
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