Storytelling with Elaine Muray

I've been having a tempermental internet connection all week, so if you have sent an email, I have hopefully received it and will reply in the next few days. Never hurts to try to send it to me again either.

Today I share an article about a storyteller in Ventura County, California: A tale to tell Local performance artist is building a community one story at a time by Michel Cicero. Primarily about Elaine Muray and her Ventura Village Voices Adult Storytelling Series, I am quoting the passages about story and narrative that are well-shared in the middle of the article. I used to live near the edge of Ventura County and this is one of those opportunities that makes me wistful about living there. Although I really can't complain since I'm just a few hours away from the National Storytelling Festival.

Scientific studies have confirmed what lovers of storytelling have always known: The human brain utilizes information more effectively when it’s received in narrative form. Much the same way it’s easier to remember information in verse, story form allows for better retention and comprehension. Muray even uses it as a trick to help with mundane tasks like remembering a day’s worth of errands. “I make a little story out of it, and I remember it all.” She says.

“People connect more to narrative than facts. We are hardwired for it.”

In some ways storytelling is as unlikely as likely a pursuit for Muray given the complete absence of it from her childhood — she wasn’t read to as a child. “A lot of storytellers have a vast foundation in stories that I didn’t have so I have to spend time at the library.” One such visit, she had a half hour to kill so she picked up a Chinese folk tale about a girl that was so small her father never noticed her. “I started to get teary eyed,” she recalled. “That simple folk tale resonated with me and my life, so sometimes people can’t hear when they are given facts . . . Grimm’s fairy tales are all about teaching safety.”

While she works with children and believes strongly in the benefits of narrative for learning comprehension and appreciation for reading, she says it’s the adults who must pave the way. “A lot of people think of storytelling as being for kids, but some of the best I’ve heard is geared toward adults. I think adults have to catch the fire in order to take their kids to events,” she says.

I always enjoy hearing stories of which tales resonate with readers and listeners and why, if they are able to explain why.

Finger Puppet Fun: Manhattan Toy

Manhattan Toy has a few finger puppet sets with fairy tale themes. Alas, my favorite set by them is now out of production as well as a few others, but three of the sets are still readily available.


Cinderella This set is fine, but I always feel the need for more characters with this one and have supplemented it with puppets from other sets when I've used it so I can have two ugly stepsisters along with the stepmother provided here.


Three Little Pigs I like that the pigs hold their building materials in their hands in this one. Clever.


Little Red Riding Hood I like this set since it gives us two versions of the wolf and leaves out the woodcutter. With the set limited to four characters, I think this was a great choice.

Is anyone surprised that these are the ones still in production? No, me neither.

My favorite, you ask? The Three Billy Goats Gruff. This tale works well with finger puppets and the set was quite adorable. I also appreciated that the middle goat was a sister with the oldest and youngest as brothers. It brought some fun dimension to the tale. And, yes, they are out of production, but you may be able to find them somewhere online.

The company also produced Jack and the Beanstalk and Hansel and Gretel once upon a time, but they have been retired, too.

Finger Puppet Fun: Lilliputiens

Lilliputiens is a toy company in Belgium that sells some of their toys in the states. The company reminds me of Manhattan Toy which I will feature later this week.

I know of a few fairy tale themed toys produced by the company, one of which I found when exploring Bordeaux, France a few years ago. John and I were walking along a street when I looked over and saw this first set in a toy store window. I fell in love and flirted with them when we were supposed to meet my parents at a cathedral further along the way, so finally John bought them as an early Christmas present. Snow White is not one of my favorite tales--although I've come to appreciate it more and more in the past few months--but I am happy I have this set.


Marionnettes À Doigts: Blanche Neige et les 7 Nains by Lilliputiens. This is not my set, but an image I found on the web. They don't appear to be in production anymore, but can perhaps be found through some international sellers. I think they are adorable even if they do borrow a little from Disney's versions of the characters.


I found these listed on Amazon.fr. Lilliputiens Les 3 Cochons Petits Love these, too. Like the way the pigs match their houses.


And finally, Le Petit Chaperon rouge which I also found on Amazon.fr. They are my least favorite of the three sets here, but still worth showing.

Theatre: Cinderella Eats Beans and Rice

It's the time of year when theatre is glutted with pantos galore, especially in the UK, many without much distinguishing information for me to share on this blog. I try to highlight unusual interpretations of fairy tales--and grand scale ones--but there are too many productions to cover them all. However this one caught my eye this week so here's one to share.


Hartford Children's Theatre Presents CINDERELLA EATS RICE AND BEANS: A SALSA FAIRY TALE 1/15-31/2010

CINDERELLA EATS RICE AND BEANS: A SALSA FAIRY TALE is a critically acclaimed, bilingual children's musical by the award-winning team of playwright Karen Zacarias and composer Deborah Wicks La Puma. The contemporary, Latin-American musical delightfully turns the classic fairy tale on its head, telling the story from both Cinderella and her stepsisters' perspectives. Cinderella, an exchange student from Puerto Rico, comes to the United States to visit her "stepsister" Rosa. The two girls must work together to cross language barriers and cultural differences in order to come to an understanding at the (basket) ball game. With a Fairy Godfather and other delightful twists to the original story, CINDERELLA EATS RICE AND BEANS teaches a subtle lesson on empathy, sportsmanship and respect in the form of a fresh and lively salsa musical.

You can read more about it here or even get tickets if you are anywhere near Hartford, CT: CINDERELLA EATS RICE AND BEANS A Salsa Fairy Tale.

History 101, Butter and Little Red Riding Hood, too

I almost didn't look at this article, but I am glad I clicked through to read it. Essentially it is the story of a professor's lecture in History 101 in which real butter was made in the classroom. Little Red Riding Hood makes a guest appearance in the article, too. So here's the link and a quote: Catching More Flies with … Butter? by TRobey in the Cuny Graduate Center Advocate.

As I took back the jar from the last stu­dent and poured out the but­ter­milk I fielded ques­tions. Is this safe to eat? — yes. Are we going to die? — yes. But not from this. Is this the way peo­ple made but­ter in early mod­ern Europe? — yes, although they had other, big­ger ves­sels for agi­tat­ing the cream. Isn’t but­ter what Lit­tle Red Hood was tak­ing to her grand­mother in the sec­ond ver­sion of the story that we read?

Yes. In an instant, the net of ill­ness that had secretly sep­a­rated me from them was gone, and off we went, rac­ing to com­pare the ingre­di­ents of Miss Hood’s bas­ket in each of three ver­sions of the tale, talk­ing about respec­tive value of the food­stuffs in her bas­kets, and how the richer ingre­di­ents in later ver­sions betray the move­ment of fairy tales up the social ranks to the King of France’s own sec­re­tary. I shared the­o­ries about the trans­mis­sion of cul­ture in early mod­ern Europe. Hands bobbed for atten­tion, voices blurted out ques­tions and answers, and I scrib­bled some quick notes on the board.

Finger Puppet Fun: Artfelt

Yesterday's post of handmade felt finger puppets reminded me of my favorite resource for quality handmade finger puppets. I learned about Artfelt when I worked as a librarian in California and was quickly converted by the materials, especially the flannel board. I had always hated doing flannel boards until I started using this board and many of the kits.

The puppets are sewn to be used either as finger puppets or as flannel board pieces. They adhere very well to a flannel surface. And in fitting with the blog, here are the fairy tale themed kits that are available, although several more with other themes are also produced.


The Three Little Pigs

Goldilocks and the Three Bears


A Gingerbread Man Story-Rhyme Arfelt also has rhymes and stories with each set and I have used the Gingerbread Man one several times over the years to tell the story.

"Once there was a Gingerbread Man,
Baking in a gingerbread pan,
Rasin eyes and cherry lips,
Trimmed right down to his finger tips.
A Gingerbread Man in a gingerbread pan!"

The Three Billy Goats Gruff


And this isn't a fairy tale, but this set is the one I've used so much that I have two just in case pieces disappear. It's a favorite and I still receive emails and inquiries about it. It's Five Elephants in a Bathtub. See my Elephant story time ideas on SurLaLune Storytime. Mouse Paint runs a close second though...


And finally the boards. They come in two colors and two sizes. I have this blue one and treasure it. I used it over Christmas for some activities. It's heavyweight but folds flat so it is easy to store. It also doesn't tip over when placed on a flat surface, so it is safer around the toddlers who manage to knock over so much with no sharp corners to cut skin like so many of the metal framed versions do from other resources. The pyramid shape also allows for easy prestaging on the backside (both sides are covered in high quality felt) or puppets can be hidden in the interior. Love it.

I imagine the puppets I featured yesterday would also work well as flannel board pieces since they are made of high quality felt, too.

I am not affiliated with Artfelt--I'm just a fan and I have ordered from them for many years. My flannel board is about seven years old now--I bought my own after leaving the library--and it still looks almost new despite much traveling and usage.

New Release: Calamity Jack by all sorts of Hales

Released today: Calamity Jack, the new graphic novel by Shannon and Dean Hale and Nathan Hale (the first two are married to each other but Nathan is not related).

I haven't seen the book in person yet, but here are some reviews for your edification. This is technically a sequel to Rapunzel's Revenge. The cover looks quite steampunky, too, which should appeal to those enjoying that current trend in science fiction and fantasy. And, yes, Rapunzel appears in this new book, too. She's on the cover...

Review from School Library Journal:

Gr 4-9–The Hales follow up Rapunzel’s Revenge (Bloomsbury, 2008) with this fast-moving story focusing on Jack. It begins in the city of Shyport with his birth. Even as a child, Jack tends toward scheming, conning, and thievery with various accomplices, including Pru, a hat-fancying pixie. One scheme involving magical beans and the wealthy and corrupt giant Blunderboar goes awry, leaving Jack’s tenement and his mother’s bakery destroyed. Jack’s mother orders him to go, and go he does with a certain goose under his arm. After the events recounted in Rapunzel’s Revenge, Jack and Rapunzel head back to Shyport to set things right. They arrive to find that Jack’s mother is being held prisoner by Blunderboar, who is virtually running the city. They team up with Pru and Freddie Sparksmith, a young journalist, to save Jack’s mom and the day. Nathan Hale’s artwork again places the action in a fairy-tale version of the American West, now with the city as backdrop. His character sketches are delightfully expressive, and the book has the same rich palette as the previous story. It should satisfy readers who enjoy adventure, fairy tales, and anyone who loves a rogue. Some fans of Bill Willingham’s “Jack of Fables” series (Vertigo) may also enjoy this take on the “Jack” stories for a younger audience.–Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Review from Publishers Weekly:

Calamity Jack follows up Rapunzel's Revenge, the 2008 graphic novel that imagined the famous damsel in distress taking matters into her own hands. Children's author Shannon Hale and her husband, Dean, and illustrator Hall offer a charming update of Jack and Beanstalk, set in a world that combines elements of fairy tales, a Gilded Age American city, and the Wild West. Jack is a young huckster until one of his schemes leads him to stumble upon a dastardly plot by the evil giant who lives in a penthouse that towers above Shyport. Teaming again with Rapunzel, and a few other allies, Jack leads readers on adventure trekking through sewers and taking to the sky. The dynamic artwork fits well with Jack and Rapunzel's quick tongues, as they flirt their way through numerous hair-raising situations. Ages 10–up. (Jan.)