As a writer and performer, I’ve always loved live storytelling! Stories really come alive when performed and there’s an unexplained magic that bonds an audience with the storyteller and connects us to our collective past. Having performed countless times in plays, murder mysteries, and storytelling, the joy and excitement felt crackling in the air is like nothing else. I’ve plenty of fond memories of storytelling over the years, from terrifying ghost stories around the campfire of Camp Wing in America to the fantastical folktales of my stage play The Storyteller’s Apprentice at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. So, next time you’re sitting at a campfire, give it a go!
I fell in love with these folktales after watching the television series of the same title when I was a child. I was ecstatic to be hypnotised all over again by the magic, charm, and wisdom contained within each gem. I found each story conjured up a sense of wonder, mystery, and the need to know what happened next within me.
I loved how the characters were beautifully portrayed. Each faced their own intriguing quest and struggled to overcome outlandish obstacles, and I was fascinated by how they would eventually achieve their goal no matter what the cost to themselves whilst learning a valuable lesson along the way.
The behind-the-scenes look at the show’s production from the Jim Henson Archives at the back of the book is a nice touch too.
The official novelization of Jim Henson's Emmy Award-winning television series along with a behind-the-scenes look at the show's production from the Jim Henson Archives.
Timeless tales, beautifully told. Presented in a stunning new edition, Jim Henson's The Storyteller features nine folktales based on Henson's Emmy Award-winning television series, written by Academy Award winner Anthony Minghella. This edition features stunning new illustrations by Hannah Christenson and Eva Eskelinen and photographs from the Jim Henson Archives that provide a rare look behind-the-scenes of JIM HENSON'S CREATURE SHOP during the filming of the beloved series.
How might we live and write otherwise? I am preoccupied by this question, and am fairly certain that at minimum we have to start by imagining it. As a culture worker and writer I hope my projects and experiments do just this. There is so much to reinvent, and so much that interconnects us. I am inspired by the ways the authors of these books take on their times and passions, and tell stories in ways I find unexpected. Their abilities to integrate divergent avenues of thought, deep research, and truly weird characters and circumstances has lit my imagination and I hope it does yours as well!
All of Solnit’s writings have been an inspiration but this book’s oscillations between the intimacy of her relationship with her dying mother, the poignant degradation of apricots, and the many little-known and fascinating histories that she miraculously weaves into a truly magical book. Solnit has a way of offering hope in the darkness of some of life’s most challenging times, by swinging from details of her own life to those of others she knows or has studied. It’s a remarkable read as it takes you along on the nimble journey of her mind and heart.
From the author of Orwell's Roses, a personal, lyrical narrative about storytelling and empathy-a fitting companion to Solnit's A Field Guide to Getting Lost
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award
In this exquisitely written book by the author of A Paradise Built in Hell, Rebecca Solnit explores the ways we make our lives out of stories, and how we are connected by empathy, by narrative, by imagination. In the course of unpacking some of her own stories-of her mother and her decline from memory loss, of a trip to Iceland, of an illness-Solnit revisits fairytales and entertains other…
We found this book as part of the Yoto Audio book collection. It tells the story of skeletons who have a skeleton dog and go out to try to scare people at night, but things usually happen, and no one actually gets scared.
My kid laughs when the animal bones show up. There is a dog skeleton who gets lost in the snow, which my six-year-old finds the epitome of humor.
"This is how the story begins... On a dark dark hill there was a dark dark town. In the dark dark town there was a dark dark street."
Discover the classic children's story that has delighted generation after generation. A must read for halloween, discover the hillarious Funnybones stories. Packed with playful illustrations and easy to read text, discover this timeless bedtime story.
"Children will love poring over the contrasting illustrations while joining in with the repetition. A great book for sharing together" - Book Trust
Can't get enough of the Funnybones skeletons? Discover: Funnybones: The Black Cat The Funnybones…
As an educator, author of children’s books, and caregiver of a loved one with dementia, I felt that I had to write a story about the disease from a child’s point of view. When I became a caregiver, I was struck by the lack of information for children and the misconceptions of the public about the disease. I wanted to create a story that reassures children and gives them guidance on how they can help be a caregiver. I added the Author’s Note to provide accurate information to adults so that more people are aware of the signs of dementia and to build understanding and compassion.
This author does a beautiful job of explaining how individuals with dementia may not be able to recognize their friends and family, but still need love and attention.
The boy in the story figures out how to connect with his grandpa, even though he may not get a smile in return. It is really and truly delightful and reassuring.
With tenderness, sensitivity, and humor, Really and Truly explores the effect that dementia has on a young boy named Charlie and his family.
Charlie is very close to his grandfather, who loves to tell fanciful stories about pirates, witches, and gnomes that amuse Charlie to no end. But lately, Charlie's grandpa doesn't have any new stories to tell — in fact, some days grandpa doesn't even recognize Charlie. A disease has stolen grandpa's memories, his appetite, and even his smile.
Charlie wants so much to make his grandpa smile again that he comes up with a plan to tell him…
I have been fascinated by the richness of fairy tales since I was a child. The fantasy writing offers endless possibilities to nourish my mind’s eye and pearls of wisdom that I can transfer to real life. I remember from childhood that I cried reading the Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. This childhood memory never left me. Fantasy writing is interwoven with the realm of nature and beings other than humans that offer a tapestry for the tradition of storytelling and nature writing, which I found a fascinating field to explore. I hope you can find the same in the books on this list.
I love Jackie Morris’s introduction about the author of this book's life story. I found it inspiring and heartwarming to learn that it was written by a twelve-year-old girl’s prodigy child.
I understood how the girl's genius captures the natural world's mystery, fantasy, and wonder and expresses it with crystalline words.
'An enchanting book. These pages simply quiver with the beauty, happiness and vigour of forests, seas and mountains . . . I can safely promise joy to any reader of it. Perfection' Eleanor Farjeon, Winner of the Carnegie Medal and The Hans Christian Andersen Award
Discover this extraordinary lost classic of nature writing - a fable about wildness and the desire to escape - beautifully illustrated by beloved artist and The Lost Words creator Jackie Morris
'Miraculous - a fearless odyssey into a dreamtime of wildness and enchantment. Gloriously illuminated by Jackie Morris's moving art, this is a work of…
I have been to hell and back over the years. After experiencing childhood abuse, I lived through a succession of traumas with my family including fraud, painful experiences in church ministry, a death threat, and a catastrophic house fire accidentally started by my mother-in-law. While I was helped by counseling, prayer, and caring friends and mentors, something was still missing. I needed to process all that pain and loss but didn’t know how. I had to learn how to grieve. Over years of rebuilding, I’ve lived the lessons of lament and know the healing that is possible when pain is metabolized.
I discovered Cole Arthur Riley through her breath prayers and curated wisdom around liberation through her Black Liturgies account on Instagram. Her words in this book are poetry and good medicine for my soul.
Her story of learning to love her physical body as she lives with chronic pain is wise and freeing. I didn’t know how much I needed her wise reimagining of the story of the garden, the fall, and what it means to find home.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In her stunning debut, the creator of Black Liturgies weaves stories from three generations of her family alongside contemplative reflections to discover the “necessary rituals” that connect us with our belonging, dignity, and liberation.
“This is the kind of book that makes you different when you’re done.”—Ashley C. Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Somebody’s Daughter
“Reaches deep beneath the surface of words unspoken, wounds unhealed, and secrets untempered to break them open in order for fresh light to break through.”—Morgan Jerkins, New York Times bestselling author of This Will Be My Undoing and…
My name is Susan Perrow. I am an Australian whose ‘work’ passion is stories and storytelling. I am an author, storyteller, teacher trainer, and parent educator. For the last 30 years, I have been documenting stories from other cultures, writing stories, and telling stories to groups of children and adults – all this woven in with a career in teaching, lecturing, and consulting in Australia, Africa, Asia, China, Europe, and North America. I currently have four published story collections, in a total of 14 languages. Three of my collections are Healing Stories for Challenging Behaviour, An A-Z Collection of Behaviour Tales, and Stories to Light the Night: A Grief and Loss Collection for Children, Families and Communities.
I have chosen my fourth collection to introduce to you below.
If you feel inhibited about making up stories and telling them to children, this is the book for you. Encouraging you to spin golden tales, Nancy Mellon shows how you can become a confident storyteller and enrich your family with the power of story. Children love the unique and human quality of storytelling, and parents and teachers alike can learn this practical, magical art with Nancy’s methods, tips and resources. This book may help give you storytelling wings - even if you didn’t think you could fly this way! It is a must for any adult who seeks to enrich and deepen communications with the young ones in their life.
Telling stories awakens wonder and creates special occasions with children, whether it is bedtime, around the fire or on rainy days. Encouraging you to spin golden tales, Nancy Mellon shows how you can become a confident storyteller and enrich your family with the power of story.
Children love family storytelling and parents can learn this practical, magical art. Here are methods, tips and resources to enable you to:
Create a listening space
Use the day's events and rhythms to make stories
Transform old stories and make up new ones
Bring your personal and family stories to life
Learn stories by…
I’ve been told I live under a rock. I don’t know much about popular media, I can’t name any actors, and when I catch onto a trend, it’s usually five to six years after said trend has died out. People alert me of my lack of knowledge like it’s a bad thing, but I think if they could see all the books they’re missing out on, they’d feel otherwise. There are hundreds of thousands of fantastic stories that are neither glamorous nor gritty enough to make it to the forefront of the internet, and every time I find one, it changes my life. Living under a rock: 10/10 would recommend.
This book is one of my earliest inspirations, and I’ve never met anyone else who’s even heard of it.
Poisonis the very first book that made me think, “Wow. I want to be able to write something like this.” I loved the story, but what I’ll never forget is how the ending made me feel. This book is both simple and complex; a wild, unpredictable journey and a natural progression of events.
I write with the hopes of someday completing something as lovely as this.
Perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Tim Burton, this is no ordinary fairy tale.
When Poison's baby sister is stolen by phaeries, Poison sets off on an incredible and dangerous journey to get her sister back from the Phaerie Lord.
But as Poison travels to the Realm of Phaerie, she discovers that her story - and her destiny - is not in her control, and that she will need all her wits about her to survive.
A fantasy where the power of story maybe the only thing that will save you, and where imagination knows no bounds.
A wonderfully imaginative tale from a master story-teller, this one had slipped by us until this
year. As delightful as any of Morpurgo’s offerings, this book features a time-travelling ghost,
buried treasure, and a friendship that works across centuries.
Bauer’s stunning use of language elevates his
work from storytelling to art form, which might explain why I’ve actually read
this twice in the past year.
This novel is more like two stories in one
as we follow dual storylines that are each worthy of a dedicated book. Themes
of service and sacrifice tie these arcs together, and Bauer teaches a master
class on both pacing and effective use of flashbacks.
The connection that develops
between the two heroes of this romantic suspense is less about the physical and
more about emotional and mental intimacy as they cultivate a tentative
friendship into a genuine romance.
I laughed, I swooned, and I cried, but most
importantly, I couldn’t put this book down (and now I want to reread it).
