Children's Stories and How to Tell Them by J. Berg Esenwein [PDF]

 

 

Children's Stories and How to Tell Them

by

J. Berg Esenwein, (Joseph Berg), 1867-1946; Marietta Stockard

 

Contents

Contents

Page 

Foreword xiii 

PART I 

HOW TO TELL STORIES TO CHILDREN 

Chapter I — The Story-Teller as Artist . . i 

Voice and Word 3 

Suggestions for Study and Discussion . . 5 

Chapter II — The Place of the Story in the 

Life of the Child 6 

Capability and Culture 6 

Literature the Keystone of the Educational 

Arch 9 

Importance of Cultivating the Imagination . 9 

Culture Should Begin in Childhood ... 11 

Suggestions for Study and Discussion . . 14 

Grist from Other Mills 14 

Chapter III — How Stories Develop the Per- 

sonality 16 

Stories Express the Hopes of Mankind . . 18 

Stories Lead to Moral Judgments .... 20 

Stories Stimulate Mental and Moral Processes 21 

Efects of Fiction on the Personality ... 21 

Efect of Fiction on the Story-Teller ... 24 

Suggestions for Study and Discussion . . 25 

Grist from Other Mills 26 

Vlll TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Page 

Chapter IV— The Basis of Selection of 

Children's Stories 28 

The Child Himself as a Basis 30 

Literary Quality as a Basis 34 

The Mood of the Story-Teller 37 

Suggestions for Study and Discussion . . 38 

Grist from Other Mills 40 

Chapter V — The Structure of the Story . 42 

The Beginning of the Story 43 

Examples of openings. 

The Body of the Story 47 

The tale; plot; the short-story; series of scenes; episodes; plausibility; motivation; 

crisis; suspense; climax. 

The End of the Story 52 

Examples of endings. 

Suggestions for Study and Discussion . . 55 

Grist from Other Mills 57 

Chapter VI — The Preparation of the Story 

FOR Telling 58 

The Subjective Appeal , 58 

Re-creating the Conditions of the Story . . 59 

The Intensive Analysis of the Story ... 61 

The central theme; details; incidents; series of scenes; the climax. 

Fitting Words to the Story 63 

Equivocal words; style; transitions. 

Suggestions for Study and Discussion . . 65 

Chapter VII — Methods of Story-Telling . 67 

The Mood of the Story-Teller 67 

Self-electrification; absorption; visuahzation. 

The Manner of the Story -Teller .... 70 

Attitude; personal appearance; poise. 

Methods in Delivery 72 

TABLE OF CONTENTS IX 

Page 

Memorizing; charm of voice; enunciation; 

articulation; change of pace; pause; change of 

pitch; position and posture; gesture and 

mimicry; drawing; gauging effects. 

Suggestions for Study and Discussion . . 79 

Grist from Other Mills 80 

Chapter VIII — Inventing Stories from Pic- 

tures 82 

Observation 83 

Reporting 83 

Coordination 85 

Fictionizing 86 

Narration 86 

Suggestions for Study and Discussion . . 88 

Chapter IX — Adapting Stories from Great 

Sources 90 

Analyze the Story 93 

Study the Situation to be Adapted .... 94 

Focus the Story 95 

Select a Single Chain of Scenes .... 97 

What is dramatic; danger and suspense; omission; expansion; methods of alteration. 

Stories for Adaptation 103 

Cycles of stories. 

Suggestions for Study and Discussion . . 105 

Grist from Other Mills 107 

Chapter X — Telling Original Stories . . 108 

Why Tell Original Stories? 108 

Whereto Find Story Material 11 1 

Locality; family legends and anecdotes. 

Avoiding the Threadbare 112 

The Development of the Plot 113 

Suggestions FOR Study and Discussion . . 114 

X TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Page 

Chapter XI — Helping Children to Invent 

Stories 116 

Helps to the Child's Invention ii8 

Examples of original stories by children. 

Suggestions for Study and Discussion . . 123 

Grist from Other Mills 124 

PART II 

FIFTY STORIES TO TELL TO CHILDREN 

Chapter XII — Stories for Very Little Folks 127 

Introduction; "Thumbelina;" *' The Goats in the Rye Field;" ''The Billy-Goats Gruff;'' 

"The Lion and the Mouse;" "The Little Half-Chick." 

Chapter XIII — Folk and Fairy Stories . . 144 

Introduction; "Tom Thumb;" "The Three Heads;" "Why the Sea is Salt;" "The Legend of the Dipper;" "Jack and Jill's Visit to the Moon;" *' Barney Noonan's Fairy Haymakers;" "The Discontented Chickens;" 

"The Ugly Duckling;" "The Golden Touch;" 

"The Woodman and the Goblins;" "The Star-Wife." 

Chapter XIV — Animal Stories 192 

Introduction; "The Sheep and the Pig Who Set Up Housekeeping;" "The Fox and the Cock;" "Scrapefoot;" "The Clever Rat;" "Father Domino." 

Chapter XV — Bible Stories 214 

Introduction ; " In the Beginning ; " "The Story 

of Joseph;" "The Story of the Baby Moses;" "David and Goliath." 

TABLE OF CONTENTS XI 

Page 

Chapter XVI— Patriot Stories 232 

Introduction; ''George Washington and the Colt;" ''George Washington and the Cherry Tree;" ''Going to Sea;" " George Washington as a Young Man;" "George Washington the 

Great Man." 

Chapter XVII— Thanksgiving Stories . . 245 

Introduction; " Ruth and Naomi ; " "Old Man Rabbit's Thanksgiving Dinner." 

Chapter XVIII— Christmas Stories ... 254 

Introduction ; " The Shoemaker and the Elves ; " 

"The Visit to Santa Claus Land;" "Snowball's 

Christmas Eve;" "Nancy Etticoat's Ring;" 

"The Christmas Visitors;" "The First Christmas." 

Chapter XIX— Spring Stories 278 

Introduction; "Five Peas in the Pod;" "Picciola;" "Proserpina;" "A Wondrous Change;" 

"Sleeping Beauty." 

Chapter XX— Hero Stories 302 

Introduction; "The Little Hero of Haarlem;" 

" Joan of Arc; " " The Young Knight Galahad; " 

"The Rescue of Sir Melyas;" "The Castle of the Maidens;" "St. George and the Dragon;" 

"St. George and the Giant." 

PART III 

READING AND REFERENCE LISTS 

Supplementary List of Stories for Very 

Little Folks 329 

Supplementary List of Animal Stories . . 330 

Xll TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Page 

First Books for Little Children .... 330 

Books for Older Children 332 

Source-Books for the Story-Teller . . . 334 

Books and Articles on Children's Reading . 338 

Books on Story-Telling Methods .... 339 

Books on Literary Study and Its Value . . 340 

Publishers' Addresses 341 

General Index 343 

 

 FOREWORD

We cannot wonder at the skeptical smile which in 

certain quarters is sure to greet each new ''How to" book 

as it issues from the press, for too many such books have 

seemed arrogant, and too many readers have assumed, to 

their eventual disappointment, that it is within the power 

of some omniscient author to disclose an infallible recipe 

for the successful practice of a given art. Of course no 

such thing is possible. There are no secrets that a painter, 

a writer or a story-teller can divulge but that may be, and 

in fact often have been, discovered at first hand by those 

who have added to their native gifts the devotion of in- 

telligent practice. What is more, there are no fixed rules 

in art— in literary art especially— by which the would-be 

artist must be governed as he proceeds. 

What service, then, can the authors of a book of this 

kind hope to give to those who take it up expecting help? 

They can, after either personal experience or a wide and 

temperate study of the methods of others (or, better still, 

after both kinds of preparation), make a clear statement 

of the various methods used successfully by story-tellers— 

since that is the scope of this treatise. From these methods, 

approved by the experience of many, certain simple 

foundation-principles may be deduced so as to help the 

student of the art to understand the material he has to 

work with, the forms in which it may be cast, various 

successful methods of presentation, the limitations of his 

XIV FOREWORD 

hearers, and the ends he is justified in seeking to gain. 

Further, these principles may be clearly illustrated by 

examples so as to show, first, how others have applied 

them; and second, how the story-teller may modify and 

improve upon the ways of others in reaching the particu- 

lar results he desires. 

The whole process of teaching such an art may be com- 

pared to the Automobile Blue Book, which points out the 

directness of one route, the delights of another, and the 

difficulties of a third, while leaving the motorist to choose 

for himself — knowingly. Those story-tellers who have 

had to search out their own trails through Storyland 

freely recognize that they would have been saved many a 

detour, many a *' blind" lane, if only some earlier traveler 

had erected a few friendly guide posts. 

This, then, is a modest little Blue Book, which analyzes 

the several ways that lie before the adventurer into the 

delightful fields of romance, offers advice on matters of 

equipment, points out difiicult curves, warns of deceptive 

byways, and seeks, without the interjection of a single 

impertinent must, to help the traveler choose his own way 

with confident ease. 

The use of story-telling in home, school, Sunday-school 

and recreation center is now so fully recognized as a power- 

ful factor in education, in character building and in de- 

light-giving, that no words are needed here to urge upon 

home, school and social guardians the importance of 

learning how to tell the best stories in the best ways. 

The Authors. 

August I, 1917. 

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