When it comes to storytelling and the reading of stories, heroes come in all forms, including birds. How often have I gone for a morning jog or walking my dog and noticed at least 30 birds at one time sitting on the telephone lines along my street just talking away. You can't tell me that they aren't storytelling - they're not bird brains. Here's a wonderful Native American creation myth from the Lenape Tribe, also known as the Delaware Indians.

Rainbow Crow (Lenni Lenape Tribe): This legend from the Lenape Indian tribe, is about a crow who bravely rescues forest animals from the snow storm that promised to bury them. Wise Owl  chose Rainbow Crow  for this arduous journey. He's voice  was enchanting and his feathers were of all colors glistening in the sun's rays. With his voice, Rainbow Crow summoned the Creator out to solve this freezing delemma. A blazing, glowing fire burned on a stick given to Crow. This fire stick was to be flown to Earth quickly before the stick burned up. This journey caused Rainbow's feathers to catch on fire and turn black and the smoke strangled his beautiful singing voice. Rainbow Crow did save the animals of the earth and warmed them with the fire but sacrificed much. The Creator and animals never forgot and honor crow - the hoarse voice prevents man from putting him into a cage to sing and men won't eat crow because the creator made his flesh taste of smoke. He would always be free.

Added bonus: I couldn't leave this post without mentioning another winged hero tale: Raven Brings Fresh Water, retold by Fran Martin in From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs, compiled by Amy L. Cohn. Another creation story from the Pacific Northwest. Raven, who is more times than not, a trickster, but in this tale, he saves the people from dying of thirst.

I panicked finding a letter "Q" hero for this post until I decided to search through Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales , praying for a lead and lo and behold, a wonderful tale unearthed itself - The Queen Bee. I've never heard this fairytale before but after reading it several times, I've grown quite fond of it. The hero is Witling, the youngest  prince, who is sneered at by his two older brothers who seem to think they are much more clever than he will ever be. What I find in this young brother is empathy, an emotion taught well in this tale. By understanding that all living things have a purpose and must be treated gently, he is rewarded for  his wisdom and compassion. Here is "The Queen Bee" in a nut shell:

1. King's two older sons go off into the world seeking adventure but are reckless and thoughtless and decide they better not ever go home.
2. Witling, youngest brother, ventures out to find his brothers. Once found, brothers ridicule him and pronounce him a "loser" compared to their "cleverness."
3. The three set off and come across an ant hill in which the older princes would like to step on and cause havoc. Witling speaks up and says "leave the creatures alone, I won't suffer them to be killed."
4. All come up to some ducks swimming in a lake. Brothers want to kill them for dinner but Witling stops them - "I will not suffer them to be killed."
5. Eventually they come to a bee's nest with loads of dripping, sweet honey that overflowed and ran down the tree trunk. Older brothers want to smoke out the bees for the honey but Witling saves the day and says NO, Leave the little creatures alone, I will not suffer them to be stifled."
6. Brothers aren't happy but the 3 of them finally reach a castle with stone horses by a stable. Brothers search through the rooms until they see a gray-haired man sitting at a table through a small opening of a locked door. They call 3 times before the old man turns, stands, walks to open the door. Man leads them to a table filled with foods to eat. Once eaten, the man walks each to their bed chambers.
7. Next morning, old man beckons the oldest brother to a stone table where there were 3 tasks written down to break the enchantment spell. #1: 1000 pearls belonging to the princess must be gathered from under the moss in the woods - all must be gathered and returned by sunset - Oldest brother failed and was turned to stone. 2nd brother goes out to gather the pearls and fails - turned to stone.
8. Witling's turn - quite tedious but gets help from those ants he saved earlier-all pearls were gathered.
9. #2 task ordered by the table of stone was to retrieve the key to the Princess's room at the bottom of the lake. Witling was assisted by the ducks he saved earlier and the key was delivered.
10. #3 task ordered by the table of stone was most difficult - Witling had to choose out the youngest and loveliest of the three Princesses with only these clues: oldest had eaten a piece of sugar, the middle had eaten a little syrup, and the youngest had a spoonful of honey. The Queen Bee comes to the rescue and trying the lips of all three, settles on the one that had eaten honey. Witling, the King's son, thus choose the correct Princess, the spell was broken and everyone woke up. Witling married the youngest, ruled the kingdom after his father's death, and the brothers were none the wiser.

Julie Moss, one of our own Storytelling A-Z Bloggers has a wonderful post today on Clever and Wise Queens. Please check her post out here.

Sergei Prokofiev was commissioned by the USSR to write a composition for children in 1936. The purpose was to introduce children at an early age to music so they can learn to appreciate it in its many forms.  Prokofiev knew that kids loved listening to folk tales so why not have a story narrated within the music itself. Thank goodness orchestras all over the world continue to entice children and their families to listen to this wonderful tale of a young hero and his animal friends - each portrayed by different instruments in the orchestra.  The audience is given the unique chance to listen to the narration of this tale while the music enriches each piece of the plot. You decide what the moral is to the story - weather it is to take risks by relying on your wits or possibly to challenge established beliefs. Prokofiev's original storyline is found here.

I'm a flute player in the Helotes Community Band (Helotes, TX) but was given the opportunity to lay my flute down and narrate a shorter version of Peter and the Wolf this past Sunday arranged by Jim Curnow. While the original composition takes about 30 minutes to play, ours was about 13 minutes - easier for all age groups to enjoy. I thought it would be fun to share our concert piece here on my blog. 

Tall tale  heroes that I primarily know come from Texas such as Pecos Bill, Slu Foot Sue, and Davy Crockett's wild tales of adventures. Nice to know that this tall, handsome folk hero of a man comes from Massachusetts during the days of adventuring sails on the ocean. Legend has it that Alfred Bulltop Stormalong was beached as a baby, but no worries about drowning, because he was 3 fathoms tall (18feet). He was assigned to his first ship when he was 12 years young and seems to be responsible for the term "able-bodied" by signing his name on his first employment as "Stormalong, A.B." He certainly lived up to that because he was 30 feet tall. He sailed the largest ship out there at the time, the Tuscarora (a.k.a. the Courser). This ship was similar to our huge ocean liners, only better. It had a stable of Arabian horses to be ridden from one side of the boat to the other, and the humongous masts had to be hinged in fear of them running into the moon! Stormalong was a hero to all the sailors and coastal folks for his heroic acts of protecting everyone from his greatest nemesis: the Kraken. Below is just one of his tall tales of bravery on the seas:

These are my Matryoshka nesting dolls sitting atop our piano, awaiting to be stacked one within the other to tell tales of motherly and sisterly love for each other. Russia is known for creating the most beautiful, unique nesting dolls in all the world but having done a bit of research, the idea of nesting dolls goes all the way back to ancient China and Japan (1000 AD) where they depicted mythological and religious figures such as The Seven Lucky Gods. Savva Mamontov, a wealthy Russian patron of the arts noticed these stacking dolls and wanted to revive the Russian folk art in his country so he worked with an artist , Sergei Maliutin, and a craftsman, Vassily Zyiozdochkin and created the first Russian set of Matryoshkas.

Amazon's Summary of this tale: Katya's grandmother took a little matryoshka, a nesting doll, out of a small box. "If your need is great, open the doll and help will come. But you may only do so three times. After that the magic will be gone." A wicked spell has changed a handsome young prince to a pale glassy figure made of "living ice," and his kingdom to a frozen landscape of night without moon, darkness without dawn. Katya knows that it's up to her to rescue the prince and undo the evil spell that has banished the sun. Armed with only the magic nesting doll and her own valiant heart, she is determined to succeed. But will the combined effort of her courage and the mysterious nesting doll be strong enough to prevail? Laurel Long's radiant paintings and Jacqueline K. Ogburn's enchanting original tale were inspired by Russian folk art and stories. This talented duo has created a modern classic that honors its folklore heritage while depicting a world in which a girl can be anything, including a hero.

Library Journal's Summary: Kindergarten-Grade 2-Created by a doll maker in Old Russia, a set of six nesting dolls travels to America and finds its way into a toy shop. When Nina, the littlest "sister," is accidentally brushed off a table, she begins a journey that rivals the Perils of Pauline. She is lost in a pile of snow, survives a waterfall, is threatened by a blue heron, gathered up by a squirrel, jostled down a drainpipe, and played with by a cat before she is discovered by Jessie, the young girl who had purchased the incomplete set. Bliss's story and text are most successful when they incorporate elements of traditional folklore: Although the narrative tends to be long-winded, it nevertheless makes for an effective read-aloud. Brown adopts a representational style and a palette consisting mostly of soft shades of blue, brown, and green. Against this pastel background, the nesting dolls-with their traditional bold red and yellow coloring-become the focus of each picture. The art does a credible job of capturing the action of the text but is less successful in establishing a consistent sense of time and place. Still, the adventure has definite appeal. A note on the history of these dolls is included.
Denise Anton Wright, Alliance Library System, Bloomington, IL 
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In this You Tube, Birte Harksen and her Icelandic pre-schoolers are role playing the march into the forest.

The Lion and the Rabbit is a tale from The Panchatantra (or five books created around 200 B.C.E. in Kashmir, India. The Rabbit is the intelligent, wise hero who plans to save the day.

Bare bones of The Lion and the Rabbit:
1. Once upon a time, a long time ago in India, there lived a thoughtless, yet ferocious lion who for game, hunted more animals than he could ever eat. He would flex his muscles, roar his loud roar, and then proceed to do the same each day.
2. Animals of the jungle were terrified knowing that eventually there would be no animals left. They gathered together and agreed to meet with the lion and offer an animal a day to the lion to stop his greedy, unnecessary hunting. The meeting took place.
3. "I accept your offer," said the lion. From that moment on, one animal would go to the lion's den each day to be eaten.
4. It was eventually the rabbits' turn to choose one from their group to walk to the lion's den. The old, wise one immediately volunteered. He told stories to the baby rabbits first, said his goodbyes to his family and friends, and hopped off.
5. This rabbit took his time to get to the lion's den - he dawdled here, nibbled there, and conversed with any animals he came upon. He finally arrived quite late to the lion's den.
6. Lion was beside himself with anger - "Why are you so late? I'm starving." 
7. The wise old rabbit explained that he would have been there earlier but was stopped by another ferocious, evil lion with knarly teeth, sharp claws, and a large mouth - "He looked quite like you," commented the rabbit.
8. The lion went bazerk with rage - "Another lion has invaded my territory? Well, we'll see about that. Where is he now rabbit?" 
9. "Oh, I know exactly where he is," and rabbit led the lion to a deep well filled with crystal clear water. "He is in there King Lion. Look for yourself."
10. The ferocious lion peered into the well, saw his reflection in the water and roared his terrible roar. That roar vibrated off the water in the well and echoed back to him with an even louder  raging roar!
11. "Who are you?" shouted the lion. The echo sounded right back - Who are you? "Why, I am the KING of the jungle!" roared the lion. The echo roared right back the same. The lion was so crazy with hate that he responded "How dare you call yourself a King." Of course the echo shouted back with an even louder conviction ; How dare you call YOURSELF a King! This was all the lion could take. He thrust his sharp claws out and showed his teeth and jumped squarely into the deep well - SPLASH!
12. The wise old rabbit hopped back to the animals of the jungle to tell them the ferocious lion fought against his own reflection and lost.
13. Moral: Cleverness is superior to brawn!

Abbie Burgess was a true heroine of her day at the young age of 17. She was born in 1839 and died 1892. Many books have been written about her courage, her spirit, and her bravery to maintain and keep the lights burning in the two lighthouses and saving her invalid mother and two sisters from the horendous storms and starvation. Kids of all ages should hear the her story told or read for she was a real teenage heroine!

Bare bones story:

1. Lighthouses were important back in the days and nights where ships and boats needed guidance to where the shorelines and reefs were. Light house keepers had 24-7 jobs of maintaining the lights to make sure they burned bright after sunset. Samuel Burgess was appointed the lighthouse keeper of Matinicus Rock Light twin towers in 1856, located off the Maine Coast.
2. He moved his invalid wife, son, and 3 daughters to their home - rocky outpost
3. Abbie, at age 14, learned how to run the light while father fished for lobsters - she got quite good at being a lightkeeper's assistant and took pride in keeping the sailors safe.
4. When she was 17 years old in January, 1856, while her brother was off fishing, and her father sailed to the mainland to retrieve oil for the lamps and food supplies, winds picked up in no time at all which turned into raging nor'easter. Her father was stranded 
5. Danger was all around, so Abbie quickly moved her sisters and invalid mother into the granite lighthouse. She realized the chickens were running around and would soon drown, and not taking the advice of her mother, she had to at least try to save them - all but 1 she gathered to safety in the lighthouse.
6. Moments after the hens were rescued, but huge, slamming waves hit their rocky shore and destroyed their old dwelling.
7. Three weeks of this raging storm - Abbie portioned out a cup of cornmeal and an egg during this time to her mother and sisters daily.
8. Abbie kept those lights buring in the lighthouses for all the ships and boats caught in that raging storm.
9. Abbie Burgess found inner strength and courage to carry on what had to be done to save the lives of all who were affected by that storm. She will long be remembered.

The Jack Tales came from the oral tradition - not books. These tales are alive and well today. The Jack I'm talking about is the same Jack that climbed the beanstalk. The great news is that there are so many more tales of Jack seeking his fortune, taking care of him mom, and trying to better himself and his family. Jack is kind and clever (yet naïve , always completes his tasks - usually three, receives some type of magic to help him out along the way, and is always rewarded in one way or another. 

Author, Richard Chase, discovered Jack Tales in the spring of 1935 through Marshall Ward, a young man at the time who heard Chase speak in North Carolina about folksongs to a group of teachers. Here's the dialog:

Quote source: The Jack Tales by Richard Chase, 1943. (pp. vii-viii)

Favorite Jack Tales? I thought I knew my favorites but then I began reading them over again and I've got to say I love them all. Right now, my favorites are:

1. Hardy Hard Head found in Richard Chase's The Jack Tales
2. Jack and the North West Wind
3. Jack and the Haunted House (recording)
4. Jack and the Beanstalk
5. Jack and the Varmits

The Folklore Tradition of Jack Tales- interesting information about the Jack Tales

Creative animated story of Jack and the Beanstalk
 
Anndrena Belcher telling the tale of Hardy Hard Head (Jack Tale)

The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (A Russian tale quite similar to Hardy Hard Head) - Robin Williams narrates a version of this tale below:

Here are the barebones of the folktale in which Issun Boshi, "Little One Inch" proves to be the hero. I've included my longer version of the tale as a PDF document in the resources.

1. Husband and wife pray for a baby at a nearby shrine and are granted a sweet baby boy, no bigger than an inch. They called his Issun Boshi or "Little One Inch" and they showered him with love.
2. I. B. asks questions about where the river flows and finds out it runs to Kyoto, the capitol of Japan where the Samurai live. 
3. In time, he grows up and tells his parents he would like to become a Samurai and find adventure. Parents are upset but let him leave with the help of a rice bowl for his boat, a chopstick for his paddle, and a needle for his sword. (What more could a boy want?)
4. Task of travelling by water was difficult - had to survive slams into rocks, rapids, and falling over waterfalls - but he does because he never gives up, stays determined, and has a goal in mind!
5. Reaches Kyoto and persuades a famous samurai warrior to work for him as a guard and playmate to the Lord's daughter, Princess Haruhime.
6. Time passes and they are the best of friends - reading books, telling stories, playing drums and the koto, and writing haiku.
7. Princess wants to pray at the Kiyomizu Temple in the spring so father grants that as long as she brings warriors and Issum Boshi to protect her from oni (rumored demon kidnapping young ladies)
8. All is fine until dark when they begin journey back home. Oni demon jumps from brush - warriors run away like scared babies.
9. Issun jumps up to the rescue but once the demon sees how small he is, he swallows him whole.
10. Hero time: Issun Boshi pulls out his needle and continues to stab the Oni until the demon swears he'll be good. The Oni spits out Boshi and runs away.
11. Princess notices a magic hammer, left by the Oni and asks Issun Boshi to make any wish. I.B. wishes for…..drum roll….to be 6 feet tall - YES!
12. Wish comes true. He fulfills his dreams and becomes a reknown samurai, marries the princess, and they live happily ever after.

The PDF below is my version of Issun Boshi:

This is a wonderful Kamishibai story of Issun-Boshi. I love the illustrations:

Aloha from the beautiful islands of Hawaii. Turn on your Pandora radio station and select some tropical music to listen to; slip your flip flops on, and imagine pristine blue ocean water, luscious green valleys and mountains, waterfalls with rainbows hanging above, the smell of plumaria trees, and palm trees swaying. These islands are filled with myths and legends. Maui is our hero for this tale called "Hina and the Wailuku River." I've included a pronunciation chart below to help you out a bit with the beautiful Hawaiian language.

Stressed vowels
a - ah, as in car: aloha
e - a, as in may: nene
i - ee, as in bee: honi
o - oh, as in so: mahalo
u - oo, as in spoon: kapuUnstressed vowels
a - a, as in about: ali`i
e - eh, as in met: kane
Source: Popular Hawaiian Words and Phrases

Hina, the moon goddess of the Polynesians, lived in a large cave, hidden by a wondrous waterfall with a rainbow veil near Hilo, Hawaii.  The Wailuku River flows through this basin of Rainbow Falls. Hina's son, the mighty demigod Maui, owned this land and also had his home situated here. But, far above the cave dwelt the evil dragon, Kuna. Kuna would annoy Hina to no ends! He would dam up the river and fill it with dirt. He would throw logs and huge rolling stones into the stream in hopes they would be carried over the waterfall and push Hina from her home in the cave. Hina feared nothing that Kuna could do and would use her chants to ward off his misdoings. Kuna, the dragon, became quite impatient and hatred swelled in him this last time. He uttered great curses causing dark, dangerous clouds and storms to appear and then called on all the magical forces he could muster and hurled a great stone into the gorge of the river below Hina's home, flooding the river from bank to bank. Hina quickly became aware of this dire situation she was in as the unrelenting water poured into her cave. Her powers didn't include flying so she called on her son, Maui to come to her aid. Her voice projected out from the cave, piercing through the storms and the clouds, sweeping beside the great mountain of Haleakala. It was this mountain that Maui heard his mother's cry for help while he was trying to lasso the sun's rays to slow it down. Courageous Maui ran down the mountain, into his magical canoe and with 2 powerful strokes of his paddle, he found himself across the sea to the mouth of the Wailuki River. Maui jumped out of his canoe, grabbed his magic club and swung it once around his head and then striking the dam that Kuna had maliciously created, causing the water to flow freely now back into a new channel. Maui's mother was safe. Maui, being the brave demigod, continued to search out Kuna, knowing that Kuna hid himself in deep waters. Maui readied his magical spear and thrust it through the dirt and lava rocks beside the river, creating a long hole through which the waters ran - revealing Kuna's hiding place. This long hole is called Ka-puka-a-Maui (The Door Made by Maui) a.k.a. "the natural bridge of the Wailuku River." Maui persevered and followed Kuna along several deep pools and riverbeds which the Hawaiians accounted for several earthquakes. While Kuna thought he was safe, Maui poured red hot lava and burning stones into the water which boiled . The dragons tough skin wasn't tough enough. Maui pounded him with his weapons until Kuna battle was up - his body hurled over the falls and was swept through the new channel made by Maui's club. A mighty hero was Maui this day.

Pau (The End)
Story Source is below: Myths and Legends of Hawaii

Hawaiian Myths and Legends website - appropriate tales for kids
The Owl's Gift - A Hawaiian Legend
The King of Sharks - Hawaiian Legend

I love urban legends and so do kids - especially a ghostly urban legend that bonds a mother's love to her child, even beyond  death.  The tale The Ghost of the Grey Lady can be told to fifth graders on up to adults. Your setting can be just about anywhere. I set mine right here in old town Bulverde, TX about 100 years ago:

Barebones of The Ghost of the Grey Lady:

1. You all know that Shell Gas Station on Bulverde road - that Shell Station. Well, in the 1920's there was a general store sitting in that exact spot. Other than that, not much has changed. The cemetary is down the road a bit, same homes sit on the street, and you can hear some of the same stories they told back then. 
2. Store keeper was sweeping up the floor while the shop was empty, about 4 p.m., when he turned and there she was - sad, worn face of a young woman wearing a grey, long dress. Her eyes were desperate. She walked right past him and pointed at the milk bottles.
3. The store keeper went behind the counter, grabbed two and gave them to the woman. She left without paying. Store keepter figured she didn't have any money because of the depression so let her go.
4. The next day, right about the same time, the lady in grey was standing in the store. Storekeeper never heard the door open - she just seemed to appear. She placed the two empty milk bottles on the counter and looked him in the eyes with her forlorn expression. He immediately replaced those bottles with two filled milk bottles. She left again without saying a word.
5. Like clockwork, she came again without any warning. The storekeeper tried to talk to her but she only waited with her two empty milk bottles, pointing at the fresh milk up on the counter. Once the storekeeper replaced them and handed them to her, she left. But this time, he followed.
6. She was mighty fast - as if she were floating, but the storekeeper ran to keep up and while catching his breath, watched her enter the cemetery and climb the hill. She stopped, turned right toward the shopkeeper and then vanished.
7. He ran on up to where he last saw her - winding around grave sites until he reached the top of the hill. No sign of her except for the freshly laid grave itself. Shaking his head in disbelief, he was ready to head on back, when he heard a cry - a muffled cry of a baby. It took a minute to realize that the sound was coming from the ground - from the burial ground.
8. He ran back to his general store, called the police and in no time at all, there were folks from all over the town meeting the shopkeeper at that grave site with shovels.
9. The casket was brought up from the ground and opened. Inside was that grey woman but dead. Beside her though was a baby, weak, but crying. The storekeeper immediately lifted the baby up noticed two empty milk bottles by her side.
10. The town folk remember reading about her death. This woman and her child had been quite ill and both were thought to be dead. Folks now realized the baby was in a coma state when buried.

A mother's love knows no bounds.

Here's a link to another blog I just read on defining Ghosts- quite interesting: Precious Monsters

Milk Bottles: A California Ghost Story retold by S. E. Schlosser
Milk Bottles

I had no idea that the legend of Fa Mulan existed until the Disney animated version  came out. We loved the heroine Mulan and her sidekick, Mushu, the small dragon. What a great role model for girls - sharing all of the following traits:
*Heroes persevere
*Heroes have personal courage
*Heroes care for others
*Heroes are resourceful
*Heroes believe in themselves
*Heroes are Optimistic 

It seems that Mulan is a fictional historical character that dates back to a poem or folk song titled "Ballad of Mulan" which was read/sung in the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589 A.D.). This poem had 14 stanzas depicting and otherwise ordinary girl who makes a life changing decision to fight in the war (disguised as a man) to save her agingfather from peril and probably death. She's quite capable of handling the weapons available and serves in the Chinese army for ten years. She then returns to her home after declining an invitation to serve as a high official with the emperor. She transforms herself one last time as a woman which totally shocks the soldiers who served with her - they didn't have a clue for 10 years? This story was then rewritten in several different formats from dramatic plays, poems, and novels from  the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) to the present.

The story has remained popular throughout the world, especially China because of the equality represented with a woman serving in a man's army. She did what she had to for her family, never bragging, but always persevering, and believing that one day she would return home.

This is a wonderful story to share with children during this summer's big reading program - Every Hero Has a Story. World history is not taught in our Texas Elementary Schools unless your school is either part of a Core Knowledge School or a private school whom elects to incorporate World History into their curriculum. I typically have a multicultural group of kids in my storytelling club and I love the fact that one of the picture books noted below is written in both English and Spanish - more power to the kids!

1. Nice bare bones story of Mulan with other links included.

2. Mulan (1998) and Hua Mulan (2009)
    National Myth and Trans-Cultural Intertextuality by Jinhua Li

I'm realizing with each new post to my theme, "Every Hero Has a Story," that story attaches emotion and response.  Heroes come in all sizes, shapes, and forms and affect us in small and large ways. Teachers who believed in us when others didn't, joggers who encouraged us not to give up, pets who love us unconditionally, and folks who put themselves on the line everyday so that safety, freedom, and peace can continue. We all have heroes in our lives. 

My dad is my hero. I asked if he could share with you one of his stories from serving in the Air Force. Time was 1969. Place was Viet Nam. He flew the huge C-130 Cargo Plane for much of his career. This is the plane that gets its tail blown off. A much smaller cargo plane, a C-123 is what flew in to retrieve the 10 soldiers in his tale. Dad purposely kept out the politics of the Viet Nam war so that he could relay the emotions of the moment.

Listen to your hero's story. I'm so grateful that Dad allowed me to share his . 

LISTENING LIBRARY
Every hero definitely has a story but it's pretty hard to ask them to come in to tell their story like I asked my dad. Here's a fantastic activity for kids to try out using a picture of their hero, creating a QR code (Quick Response) and telling or writing their story. These hero pictures could easily be posted in your library so patrons could use their iphones to scan the QR code to hear the stories or the pictures/QR codes could be published in a local community newspaper and folks at home could scan the QR Code and hear a 3 minute hero story. (https://sites.google.com/site/ipadmultimediatools/creating-a-qr-code-listening-gallery

QR Code Activities on Pinterest

Effective Curriculum Ideas: Literacy and QR Codes

Wag those tails and tell those stories of courage under fire - Dogs are heroes every day. I know mine is. Jack, my 8 month old chocolate lab, wakes us up every morning, wagging his entire back end with a toy in his month and head on the bed, as close to mine as possible. We have no choice but to wake up laughing, kissing, and speaking dog talk! Dogs tell their stories through their actions of love, kindness, instinct, bravery and courage. Kids are drawn to dog tales, true and fictional - that's why there's usually a waiting list to check out those books from the library. As a storyteller, I have a favorite true story of Balto.  

January 20, 1925 a call  went out  via radio signal from Nome, Alaska: Nome calling…Nome calling…We have an outbreak of diphtheria…No Serum…Urgently need help…Nome calling…Nome calling...

A race for life began to try and save the Inuit children who were so vulnerable. An anti-diphtheria serum was desperately needed to stop this raging disease. Anchorage, Alaska was able to send via train a twenty pound bag of the serum to Nenana, Alaska but there was nowhere to go from there - ships couldn't move because of packed ice, and no flights out because of blizzard conditions. The only solution found to travel the remaining 674 miles between Nenana and Nome would be a relay of dog sled teams. The planners estimated it would take as much as two weeks to complete.

Balto was the lead Siberian husky of Gunnar Kaasen's dog team and led the last relay dog sled team beginning on February 1, 1925  with the anti-toxin through -50 degrees Fahrenheit with biting winds that sometimes knocked over sled and dogs. Kassen would have quit through this blinding blizzard if it wasn't for Balto's instinctive push to move forward. Fifty-three miles of navigating through blinding whiteness and twenty hours later, Balto and his team reached Nome and the serum was delivered - 7 days total travel from Nenana to Nome - amazing! Although all of these huskies are heroes, it was Balto everyone will remember for his endurance, fidelity, and intelligence. 

Thanks to Walt Disney, the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, and the huge variety of Cinderella movies out there, we all pretty much know the Cinderella story. But did you realize that there are anywhere from 340 to  over 3,000 different versions of this multicultural tale? Cinderella, a.k.a. The Rough Face girl, Yeh-Shen, Nyasha, Rhodopis, Pear Blossom, and so many other names,  is certainly a heroine for these…Drum roll please...TOP TEN REASONS:

Even though I enjoy telling the blood and gore version of the Grimm's Cinderella to 4th graders up into the middle school ages,  I've placed my favorite Cinderella versions from the 398.2 section of the library below. I've linked them to amazon.com where you can read a summary of each. The settings of each of these tales are quite different, the girls represent their individual cultures, and yet their strong characteristics remain the same - heroines to all. There's a little bit of all of us in her throughout our lives.

Multicultural Cinderella Resources by American Library Association
Cinderella texts written out
Cinderella on Pinterest (of course)

Children and adults alike should hear this true tale of personal courage, caring for others, and perseverance. I had never heard of the Berlin Candy Bombers or Gail Halvorsen until a few years ago but now I share their story often to the schools I visit while storytelling.

Three years after the end of WWII on June 24, 1948, Russia's Josef Stalin, blockaded the canal routes, roads, and railroads to cut off West Berliners from food, clothing, and heat for fifteen horrific months. America and Great Britain's Air Forces  stepped up and on June 26, 1948  through Sept. 30, 1949 flew over 277,000 missions, delivering needed staples such as flour, wheat, milk, meat, coal, and kerosene - day and night. Their efforts fed over 2.2 million people! 

Col. Gail Halvorsen was one of those pilots and this is where his story begins. While delivering supplies, he noticed about 30 children, ranging from 8 - 11 year olds, standing at the end of the runway. They were hungry, but remained courteous, thanking him for the flour and asking questions. There was no complaining - just grateful that America and Great Britain had not forgotten them - just grateful for their freedom. Gail wanted to give them something so he dug into his pocket and pulled out two sticks of Spearmint Gum wrapped in the foil paper. He knew it wouldn't be enough for all the kids but went ahead and handed them over to the kids. The wrappers were then torn in thin pieces and passed around to the others so each could smell the mint. Witnessing all of this made Gail proclaim that he would drop chocolate the next day, realizing that these children had probably never tasted sugar or chocolate. The kids asked how they would know it was him and Gail replied that he would wiggle the wings of the plane and then drop the chocolate down using parachutes made from handkerchiefs. As promised, he delivered the Hershey Chocolate bars one day after the next. He was  soon known as "Uncle Wiggly Wings" or "Onkel Wackelflügel" and "The Chocolate Bomber."  Eventually, a German reporter caught Col. Halvorsen in action and wrote an article in their local newspaper. Halvorsen's secret act of kindness was not secret anymore. Gail noted that he was disciplined and almost court martialed but other pilots joined him in this brave endeavor to give the West Berliners hope for their freedom by delivering masses of Hershey Chocolate bars to now thousands of children.

WAIT!! Don't step on that spider or scream when its eight legs scamper unknowingly across your arm - not yet! The trickster arachnid is my unlikely hero for our letter A of the A-Z Blog Challenge.  He can certainly be a pest - a bit of a rogue to gather unearthly results in deceiving, yet clever ways, whose goal is to acheive it all for himself, but, in so doing, often triumphs for all over much stronger beings than himself. Why, if it wasn't for Anansi of the Ashanti people/Ghana, West Africa, we wouldn't have stories to storytell or stories to check out of our libraries. The Anansi tale I speak of is "Anansi Brings Stories to the World." Anansi hears that the sky God, Nyame, has a box filled with stories and yet all who attempted to gather these stories failed. It was Anansi who shunned fear, used his abilities and inventive nature to climb up to Nyame by creating a unique web, accepting the 3 challenges of capturing leopard, snake, and hornet in exchange for the stories. Nyame is impressed and feels Anansi is certainly worthy of these stories and hands them over. Unfortunately for Anansi, the bag of stories opens up on a bramble bush on the way down to earth, and the stories blow in every direction across the earth for all to share. I'm guessing Anansi was quite disappointed but perseveres to his next adventure. He is a symbol of brains over brawn and his stories  withstand the test of time reminding us that a balanced society filled with dignity, courage and honor is worth all challenges set before us, at any cost.

Anansi on Pinterest - Art activities and Lessons
Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott- Lessons and links
Jamaica Anansi Stories - Anansi tales travelled quickly and so we can find him on many continents!

As a storyteller and educator, I'm excited to participate again in the April A-Z Blog Challenge! Last year my theme was "Artifacts in Storytelling." This April I'd like to bridge the summer library reading programs throughout the U.S. with storytelling opportunities, ideas, and activities that connect to their theme "Every Hero Has A Story." The storytelling genres are limitless so hopefully there will be interest for everyone: tall tales, folktales, fairytales, realistic fiction, biographies, historical fiction, myths and legends. Within these tales of likely and unlikely heroes, we discover ourselves as heroes:
*Heroes persevere
*Heroes have personal courage
*Heroes care for others
*Heroes are resourceful
*Heroes believe in themselves
*Heroes are Optimistic 


I'm certainly looking forward to reading as many other blogs in this challenge as possible beginning now! Happy blogging everyone!

It was a PERFECT day to celebrate writing in 4th grade by "camping out." The teachers had set up camp chairs, fishing poles, camp fires and tents. The kids were reeled in for some fun crafts of writing!  Helen White, their fantastic Literacy Coach, planned out, with the help of the teachers and myself, 5 different stations for the students to choose from. We had 3 rotations so it was asked that the students choose wisely, based on what they each felt was needed the most in their own writing.

I taught the craft of applying transitional words and phrases to connect from one idea to the next in an orderly fashion. Meanwhile, the other teachers taught snapshots w/leads and conclusions, Ba-da-Bings, strong verbs, and From kernal to draft. The kids use "then, next, finally" quite frequently. In fact, "and then," pops up about every other sentence. So, I thought it would be fun to pass out a transitional words tool sheet that reminds the kids of better alternatives to the overused transitions. We talked about some of the words they came up with, such as - Nevertheless, Meanwhile, back at the …, Consequently, etc. The kids realized that there's so much more out there in the world that's available in their own writing.

Here comes the best part - storytelling time. I told each group the old folktale "The Dark, Dark, Woods," but I modified it and slipped in as many transitional words and phrases as I could, based on the words and phrases chosen earlier by the kids. I asked the kids to stay focused during the tale so they could flip their thumbs up when they heard me use the transitional words/phrased to bridge from idea to idea. What a blast! The story only took about 5 minutes but it certainly helped the kids understand the beauty of the placement of these words. I've included a simple text below. Just know, that I changed it around with each telling. Consequently, the kids kept me on my toes!

In conclusion, I highly recommend you trying this activity yourself or another, using storytelling as your hook to the concept being taught. It works!