Storytelling Revival of the East Coast

picture from amazon.com

Grandfather Tales: American English Folk Tales

collected and retold by Richard Chase

illustrated by Berkeley Williams, Jr.

published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Massachusetts, 1948

Summary: This book is a collection of traditional stories from North Carolina and Virginia meant to be read aloud and shared with children and adults.

Strengths: The stories in this book are very funny and provide a lot of information about the people of North Carolina through the dialect, dialogue, and story. The tradition of storytelling is emphasized throughout this book as an important way of sharing a culture. The characters in the stories are very distinct and have unique characteristics that make the stories exciting and interesting. I also like how the story includes some songs including the music, which can help students who are auditory learners and can add something different to a story.

Concerns: . I noticed that some of these illustrations do not fit with what is going on on that page. Beacuse it is not a picture book, it is not a huge concern, but may add some confusion to students. In addition, some of the words were written in a dialect, which may confuse students if it is not discussed and addressed properly before reading. I was also concerned with the content of some of the stories. Although the stories are not inappropriate, some, such as "Old Christmas Eve" may be considered too religious for school.

Classroom Use/Other Comments: I think that this book would be appropriate for older students, aged 10 and up, because of the dialect and unique stories told. This would be an excellent book to practice fluency. Students could work in groups to rehearse telling one of the stories and then present to the class. Teachers could also develop these stories into Reader's Theater, especially if there are stories with more than one character. For example, "Gallymanders! Gallymanders!" includes dialogue with the old woman, the two girls, the cow, the horse, and the peach tree. With practice, the students can put much expression and feeling into their presentations. This would also be an appropriate collection to compare traditional literature of different regions and to show how traditional literature provides insight into different cultures.