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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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