Customer Reviews

Joining In: An Anthology of Audience Participation Stories and How to Tell Them

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No simple anthology, this. It's a collection of tales, each choreographed with the storyteller's actions. These are participation stories, as they're called by professional storytellers. JOINING IN is dedicated primarily to stories that engage the audience in the telling. You have the stories as well as directions on how to tell them.

Each story contains instructions for illustration and encouraging audience participation. Fran Stallings, for example, whose story is titled "Paper Flower," shares an original tale which she crafted from several different turn-of-the-century collections of Chinese folk and fairy tales. Since she uses mime and crafts paper items as she tells the story, those instructions are included. in a format similar to a television script, along with author's tips for telling.

This is a unique and fascinating book -- dazzling, extraordinary. It's very different from any other book I've seen and every person who loves telling stories will also love this book.

This is a must for all storytellers who want to move beyond book stories. To get the audience involved in storytelling is an art that calls for more than enthusiasm on the part of both storyteller and audience. This book explains to the storyteller just how to manage this, and gives hope to even the neophyte storyteller, who - like me - had storytelling thrust upon them because they were idiot enough to mention to their librarian that 'I like children'. While not all the stories in the anthology work for me, I have found several that are just perfect for my style of telling. The stories also cross age boundaries, so there is something for everyone. What I appreciated most, however, was the 'and how to tell them' part. Any tip helps, and these are examples from experts!

I put on a participatory storytelling event at a hospital with the help of the dance, music, and art therapists. The stories are very therapeutic and fun!

An amazing, under-appreciated individual whose books should be on the reference shelf of every storyteller, school librarian-storyteller, drama teacher, toastmaster, etc., whose readers write accolades of praise for JOINING IN, and HOLIDAY STORIES ALL YEAR ROUND, somehow never gets recognized.

JOINING IN: An Anthology of Audience Participation Stories & How to Tell Them was compiled by Teresa Miller, assisted by Anne Pellowski, edited by Norma Livo, published by Yellow Moon Press. Laura Simms, globally known as a top professional storyteller/activist, wrote a fascinating introduction to the excitement of having the audience "join in" telling the stories provided. Eighteen other professional storytellers, known for helping revive the storytelling movement (in the eighties), contributed an original story with instructions/notes on presenting each tale for optimum effect. Nothing like this book exists. It's a real manual, full of instructions as well as fascinating reading or telling. Contributors include top professionals such as Carol Birch, Heather Forest, Bill Harley, Gail Herman, Fran Stallings, Ruth Stotter, Diane Wolkstein, and more.