Storytelling Fables: A Reading Reflection

What is a fable? According to Vocabulary.com, a fable is "a short moral story (often with animal characters)." This definition may be an oversimplification as all fables do not fit in this little box, but it is a good starting point. Whether they know it or not, most people have heard or quoted a fable at some point in time. Most would recognize The Boy Who Cried Wolf and The Tortoise and the Hare because these stories are deeply ingrained in our culture and society. Children grow up hearing these stories that warn them of dangers and teach them life lessons. They are short so they are easily remembered and passed on. They are mentioned in everyday conversation. The same way that these fables permeate our culture, other cultures all over the world have their own fables that are passed down by word of mouth to warn their children of dangers and teach them morals consistent with their cultural norms. Book publishing and the written word have made it possible for us to learn from each other.

As America is a melting pot and so many different cultures and heritages come and blend together, the importance of including materials and stories from around the world is greater than ever. By including these types of stories, we can better understand each other and we can increase empathy in our children. One of the challenges with using fables from other parts of the world, though, Linning (2002) mentions when she stated, "stories from unfamiliar cultures are sometimes difficult to understand... while all human beings have some things in common, there are ways of seeing the world, priorities and values which vary considerably with socio-cultural context (pp. 13)." I could see this evident in my reading of the fables included in The Wise Fool: Fables from the Islamic World. These fables were different in several ways because they are not based on animals, but follow the Mulla Nasruddin who plays many roles from businessman, pauper, judge, etc. from one story to the next. Though these short stories were easy to read, some of the familiar phrases from their region of the world were word play in the fables, and they were foreign to me. In trying to use a fable from other cultures, more explanation will probably be needed for children to understand and appreciate the message. Since most fables are very short in all cultures, they will probably require the storyteller to fill in with more visuals and possibly add to the story to fill in the blanks.

Even though we have come a long way from where children's library storytelling began, I still believe fables are great for teaching young children because of their length and the use of animals in a large number of stories. Fables are short enough to be told by memory with no temptation to just read the text for the storyteller. Using felt storyboards and puppets could add greatly to the presentation for this age group. Having them ask questions or answer questions aloud or "say it with me" can help keep them engaged to interpret what the moral of the story is. By using these short stories it also helps nonreaders and emerging readers to be able to develop vocabulary and allows them to become the storytelIer when they repeat it to friends and family. Using a fable for storytelling with older students could be a great prompt for writing assignments of their own. I particularly like some of the modern day retellings of popular fables and believe it would be easy for older students to write and apply across subject area. Below is one example of one of Aesop's fables being told with visual aids obviously for a younger audience.

The part of the weekly readings that I think will be most useful for me going forward are the tips on being more effective as a storyteller. Some things to avoid like "vocal apathy, monotone, and unpreparedness" are obvious to anyone who has listened to public speakers before (Underdown-Dubois, 2011). There is an enormous difference in listening to a boring lecture from someone with a monotone voice droning on and listening to an engaging pep talk by a college coach who is passionate about what he is saying. Alas, knowing what you should do and becoming comfortable with it in your own body is where the challenge lies. As Underdown-Dubois (2011) says, "The body is a reader's instrument and tool, just like the book being presented." She suggests loosening up by moving around, stretching, and doing vocal warm ups as tools just like an actor would do. I had never considered all of these things in connection with storytelling, but it makes perfect sense. Venkat (2020) suggested, also, that "oral storytelling had helped [her] to overcome [her] fear of public speaking."

I have included a video from the Texas School of the Deaf storytelling The Little Red Hen in ASL. ASL is naturally a very visual language and requires everything to be told using body movement. I am currently running an Elevate classroom with ASL1 and ASL2 classes and I enjoy the connections between my current position and work in a middle school to what I am doing through my course work. When I read these fables and stories I am always thinking about the bigger picture of how these can be used in a classroom setting, or how it can be used in connected learning with collaborating teachers. I have learned across the board through my education classes and MLIS classes about the importance of the teacher-librarian role, so I see storytelling automatically as an opportunity for what else it can be applied to and how I can tie it together. While we ultimately want all students to love reading and to do it with joy, as Linning (2002) stated, "We cannot force children to become readers... through story reading and story telling, we can ensure that even these reluctant readers encounter tales of significance and imaginative power." The better at engaging them with our storytelling, the more opportunity we have to create a desire in them to finish the story (or book.)

What Did I Read? Fables

• Mousetropolis by R. Christie

• Howard B. Wigglebottom Blends in Like Chameleons by Rev. A. H. Binkow

• Dona Esmeralda Who Ate Everything by M. De La Cruz

• The Price of Steam and Bread and Salt from The Wise Fool: Fables From the Islamic World by S. Husain & M. Archer.

• The Mischievous Dog and The Mouse, The Frog, and The Hawk from Aesop's Fables translated by R. Worthington

References

Husain, S. & Archer, M. (2011). The wise fool: fables from the islamic world (pp. 6-7). Barefoot Books.

LibraryofVa. (2014, Mar 17). Visual Storytelling Demonstration Aesop’s Fable – “The Crow and the Pitcher” [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/VLVqQr-cHMg?si=mzjna0oQIHeB6Gs0

Linning, L. (2002). Telling Traditional Tales: Some Thoughts and Experiences. Orana, 13–19.

Statewide Outreach Videos. (2015, Nov 24). ASL Storytelling - The Little Red Hen. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/c-8yvNOVsFY?si=8x1pwgJW1a054ubK

Underdown-Dubois, C. (2011). Bringing Storytime Alive with Acting and Storytelling Techniques: an Interactive Article. Tennessee Libraries, 61(2).

Venkat, S. (2020, May/June). Using Oral Storytelling Techniques in Reading Sessions. Strengthening Reading Culture, 48(5), 54-56.

Vocabulary.com. (n.d.). Fable. In Vocabulary.com Dictionary. Retrieved September 03, 2023, from https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/fable