Sixty-one people attended the 14th annual “Storytelling Under the Stars” event this year, a collaboration between the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center and the School of Information and Library Science on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. Student storytellers Aimee, David, Katie, Mohala, and Shelby regaled the audience with celestial folktales from around the world (and across the night sky), including:

• Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Bull of Heaven (the constellation Taurus): Mesopotamia
• Andromeda and the Sea Monster (the constellations Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Perseus, and Cetus): Greece
• The Hunters and the Great Bear (the constellation Big Dipper): Native American (Iroquois)
• The Origin of the Milky Way: Native American: Cherokee
• The Origin of the Moon: Africa: Pulaar
• Special thanks to Amy Sayle, Morehead Planetarium and Science Center Science Education Specialist, for overseeing the gig and controlling the night sky and special effects to make the event superb!  She’s AMAZING!

Story Squad sent five storytellers (Mohala, Halah, Zane, Britney, and Brian) to enchant two classes of first graders at St. Thomas More Catholic School in Capel Hill on Friday, November 7th, 2025. We shared stories from folklore and children’s literature, including:

• The Little Red Hen (England)
• Stone Soup (France)
• The Stinky Dragon (England)
• The Gingerbread Boy (England)
• The Goblin Story (by Else Minarik)

The children were amazing listeners (focused and living in the story worlds we created), and they gave wonderful answers when asked what they thought a goblin looked like; one student brought in details from every story she’d heard in her description. The questions they asked afterward about the stories were very thoughtful, as they tried to understand the story nuances and character motivations: “Why did the gingerbread boy run away?” “How do you <i>really</i> make soup?” “Why did the other animals not help the Little Red Hen make the bread?” “Why did the witch change Margaret into a stinky dragon?”