Brian Sturm gave the closing keynote address at the national meeting of the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services, drawing wisdom from a variety of folktales from around the world to shed light on outreach services and their impact on communities. He shared the tale of Nasruddin Hodja who forgets to count the donkey he is riding when tallying his herd, a reminder to value yourself and what you offer; he shared the tale of The Stonecutter with the moral that you are strongest when you are yourself, not trying to be something else; and he told the tale of the Best Cookies in the World which foregrounds how easily we make assumptions of other people’s behavior, often to our embarrassment and regret.

Story Squad members Areej Hussein, Amy Sayle, and Brian Sturm joined Sarah Beth Nelson and her young daughter in an evening of folktales and personal stories at the Bynum Front Porch. This event occurs the second Saturday of every month with a rotating band of storytellers. It’s a delightful venue, open to the public, and since Amy shared a star story, many folks went out afterwards onto the Bynum Bridge for an impromptu star-gazing.