Synopses & Reviews
Share stories about popular holidays, from New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and President's Day, to Indian Heritage Month, Christmas, and Kwanzaa with stories from some of our most renowned and beloved storytellers—Laura Simms, Diane Wolkstein, Ruth Stotter, Joseph Bruchac, Margaret Read MacDonald, and many others. These stories, presented chronologically according to the holidays, come with instructions for how to get your audience involved, plus reading connections, activity ideas and holiday background information. This collection will help educators, librarians, and storytellers create holiday-based story programs from January to December; and it is a wonderful resource for enhancing learning units, filling in empty moments, and loosening up an audience. Most of all, it gives you some great ways to share important times together.
Review
"The 30 stories contained in this volume include contributions from such luminaries as Diane Wolkstein, Peninnah Schram, Laura Simms, and Joseph Bruchac, as well as others who have devoted their lives to bringing story to others through the powerful medium of oral narration. The selections themselves cover a broad range of holidays, including those that might be expected-New Year's Day, the Fourth of July, etc.-as well as lesser-known celebrations, such as the Thai New Year. Ways for the audience to participate in the tellings are included with each tale, with uneven success. A stirring refrain or even a brief brainstorming session may indeed provide the kind of 'mutual ownership' Miller describes in her introduction, but random questions interjected into a story often serve only to interrupt the narrative flow or break a mood that otherwise might have been created. There are a great many selections about peace, a good thing in and of itself, but most of them are so message driven that they don't always stand as stories. There is useful background information at the end of each tale, but suggestions for Internet sites rely heavily on Wikipedia. Activities suggested are unexceptional, often relying on mundane cut and paste. Still, storytellers in need of material specifically related to holidays should find sufficient fodder here to warrant purchase." - School Library Journal
Synopsis
These engaging holiday stories from your favorite storytellers will build interest and get listeners actively involved.
About the Author
VIOLET TERESA deBARBA MILLER tells stories as "Teresa Miller." She compiled Joining In: An Anthology of Audience Participation Stories and How to Tell Them, with assistance from Anne Pellowski, edited by Norma Livo, Introduction by Laura Simms.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Laura Simms
Introduction
January
Horace the Horrible (New Year's Day) by Arlean Hale Lambert
A Different Kind of New Year's Celebration: Hogmanay (New Year's Day) by Norma McKissick Livo
The Caterpillar Blues (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) by Linda Goss and Gretchen Shannon
February
The Great Groundhog-Day Get Together (Groundhog's Day) by Larry Johnson and Elaine Wynne
Oni Wa Soto (Setsubon, Japanese New Year) by Cathy Spagnoli
White Wave (Valentine's Day) by Diane Wolkstein
March
The Musical Leprechaun and St. Patrick (St. Patrick's Day) by Gail N. Herman
April
The Legend of Songkran (Thai New Year) by Margaret Read MacDonald and Supaporn Vathanaprida
A Blessing in Disguise (Passover) by Peninnah Schram
The Earth Dreamers (Earth Day) by Regina Ress
Why the Evergreens Keep their Leaves in Winter (Arbor Day) by Ruth Stotter
May
The Garden Rainbow (May Day) by Linda Marchisio
Kelly's Memorial Day Parade (Memorial Day) by V.J. Richey
The Buddha's Birthday in Thailand (Buddha's Birthday) by Wajuppa Tossa
June
The Freedom Flag (Flag Day) by Gay Merrill Gross
July
Fourth of July Holiday (Fourth of July) by Teresa Miller &Andrea Bielecki
September
Charity (Ramadan) by Cathy Spagnoli
El Grito de Dolores (Cry of the City of Dolores) (Mexican Independence Day) by Norma Cantu
The Constitution Jive (National Constitution Day) by Linda Marchisio
The Boy Who Called the King a Fool (International Peace Day) by Ruthilde Kronberg
October
The Magic Paint Box (United Nations Day) by Gerald Fierst
The Halloween Pumpkin (Halloween) by Stephanie Mita
November
Gluskonba and the Maple Tree (American Indian Heritage Month) by Joseph Bruchac
Eleven Bells (Veterans Day) by Larry Johnson
Rabbit, Bobcat, and the Wild Turkeys (Thanksgiving Day) by Fran Stallings
December
Reisele's Hannukah Dream (Hannukah) by Ruthilde Kronberg
Silent Night 1914, or the Peace Message of Christmas (Christmas Eve) by Charles David Kleymeyer
How the Squirrel Got Its Stripes (Christmas Day) by Laura Simms
Feasts-a-Plenty (Kwanzaa) by Kathy Culmer
Partial Glossary by Ruth Stotter
Bibliography of Holiday Books