Spotlight Reviews

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Fairy Tales, Fantasy and Storytelling Fun!
Mary Jo Huff, Storytellin' Time, ©2006
ISBN 0-9722213-5-2 www.StoryTellin.com

Hold fast to your storytelling seats because you won't be in them for long. Storyteller Mary Jo Huff models how storytelling keeps kids moving. Aimed for younger audiences, Mary Jo Huff and a wonderful assembly of children join in an array of delightful stories, dances, rhymes, puppets and more. We revisit the 3 Billy Goats Gruff told from the Troll Perspective. We find out who took the honey from the honey jar? Mary Jo Huff shares in a pleasing delightful way tales that appeal to kids of this wonderful age. She is a wonder to watch and kids (and adults) will want to dance away as the "Little Gingerbread Girl" from the little old lady. Their fingers won't linger as they encounter "Mr. Wiggle & Mr. Waggle." She teaches as she tells with her clever wording and timing. In addition to the live tales, she includes extras such as songs and how to make your own puppets. We meet her friends who only echo the vibrancy of her stories.

Be sure to catch this moving DVD. However, be sure to be in for a ride of adventure, laughter, and most important, stories that appeal to the young.

Pitch: A Story
Imagine This Company, Inc
www.PitchAStory.com

What happens when someone that knows the art of storytelling helps to create a board game?

Answer: You play it again and again. This is what happened when I first played the game Story. Richard Stone, Storyteller and author of the book, "The Healing Art of Storytelling" has helped engineer a game that will appeal to anyone who wants to learn about storytelling.

As a storyteller and educator for over 14 years I have had trouble finding board games that would help to enrich the activities taught in the classroom. I have tried standard board games like Scrabble and Trivia Pursuit to teach about words and facts, but since I really wanted to emphasize communication skills, especially that of listening, I often kept these games on the back shelf.

I did come across games like "FiborNot!" and "Once Upon a Time" where students "stretched the truth" to move ahead or a game using player cards to place themselves in fairy tales. These games were less about moving game pieces and instead helped students construct scenarios that they could share with other students. I recently was sent a board game that I will keep close because the teaching applications with this game grows each time I, or students, play it.

Pitch -a Story is not like your standard Monopoly or Checkers, but instead helps kids create an interactive place where they learn in a safe yet fun way that about storytelling. They learn the value of not only constructing a story but listening and reviewing it. This is especially important because kids are listening less and less often.

The game has the standard player pieces, cards and a plastic person with an open mouth in a choice of color to be designated as a player piece. However students draw cards that state "character" and "challenges." They spin and land on spaces, including "Pitch Places."

This is where the story creation begins. This is where the students "pitch-a-story" and collect points for their story. The game highly emphasizes working with teams to create the story. During the turns of the game you land on spots designating opportunities to pick up other cards like "settings" or "props." When your team tells the story they mention something on each card that they have in their hands. After the story is completed the other players will rate the story and explain their ratings. The team gains additional points for effective storytelling skills. The game gives guidelines and suggestions for appreciating stories. The game comes equipped with a "Story Invention Guide" which instructs and suggests activities that can help students build their listening skills and literacy skills.

Even though the game has a degree of competition it is offset by the genuine spirit of the game. Each person is compelled to help you tell stories. I especially like that there are additional ways besides telling stories that you can gain points if your story is not always well received. Basically, everyone stays in the game and feels comfortable to move on.

I decided to test this game using the ultimate test, my extended family. This consisted of over 18 people, many who have sworn against board games.

I must admit it took some persuasion but I was aided heavily by my nine year old niece Jessica who insisted that she wanted to play with everyone. How can you turn a nine year old down? At first we had some nervous twitches as we took 10 minutes to explain the rules and some even wanted to go, but Jessica and my teenage niece Laura chimed in they wanted us all to play. After dividing up in teams, I must admit I had some reservations about some of my family member's willingness to tell a story. I decided to be the score keeper and stay neutral. (I was eventually coaxed to share some stories.) My sister Pam is usually the quiet one that waits for everyone to talk before she does. In no time she was stomping on the floor as a giraffe and her husband as a mad pirate. My other sister Sherry shared a story about finding a lost treasure in a sunken mine and quickly moved to Aliens who ate M and Ms. My mother sang in character as she talked about taking orders at a restaurant on Mars and even my Uncle Homer who said he was just watching, chimed in as an angry alien and scared both Jessica and I to the floor. Suffice it to say everyone had fun creating and reviewing our stories and learning how to laugh and cry all over again.

Transfer this type of creating in the classroom. At a time when students are allowing fast paced X-boxes think for them, at a time when they listen less often to each other, when watching The Simpson's is more popular than reading a book, we need games like Pitch-A-Story. It serves as a healthy reminder to help kids remember that they can create their story, they can actually have fun listening to each other, and sometimes a sitcom can't replace their voice. Besides all this, a child learns every time he or she plays it.