Story Squad gave a presentation/workshop for seniors interested in joining the Treeo Senior Living community in Raleigh.  We shared folktales and personal stories and discussed Dr. Sturm’s theoretical model of the storylistening experience and the trance-like state it can induce. It was amazing how these strangers built community in the short hour-and-a-half they were together, sharing personal tales about themselves as though they were old friends. That’s one of the powers of storytelling!

Story Squad storytellers had a wonderful time telling tales from around the world to a packed house (150+ people) in the Pleasants Room of Wilson Library on the UNC campus this evening. We decided to bring back some of the favorite folktales of American childhood, including Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Gingerbread Man, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff. We also shared Anansi Gets Stories (from African folklore), Rabbit’s Snow Dance (from Native American folklore), and an adaptation of the picture book Muncha, Muncha, Muncha by Candace Fleming.

We had lots of children, lots of candy, lots of hot chocolate, and LOTS of fun! Thank you to the Friends of the UNC Libraries for making this delightful family event happen year after year (26 years to be exact).  One woman came up afterwards and said, “This is the fourth year I’ve brought my children, and we love it,” while another said, “I keep coming to this event even though my children have grown up and left the house; it’s such a wonderful community gathering.”

We visited Estes Hills Elementary School today to share stories in celebration of their annual bookfair and the reading that the children are doing.  While we didn’t read from books (that’s reading aloud, not storytelling), we made sure to tell the children that our tales can be found in books, particularly in the library under Dewey Decimal number 398.2.  We’ll see if they remember that when they visit their school or public library.

We told one set of stories to the K-2 grades and another set to the 3-5-graders in the gym.