Wells_Laura_ Storytelling Reflection

 For storytelling with a book, I wanted to shy away from books I thought kids would already know. And while humorous books are always fun to share, I am intrigued with all the folktales I have been reading and their lessons. I wanted the challenge of sharing a folktale-like story, but it needed to have great pictures. Since this is the only storytelling assignment with a book, the pictures are important and need to be part of the way the story is told. I went back and forth between multiple books but ended up choosing Extra Yarn, in part because I love the team of Barnett/Klassen. I love the illustrations in this story; they add much warmth and explanation to a hard to imagine scenario (a sweater for a truck?). Plus the use of color is delightful. The story is by Mac Barnett, and it is illustrated by Jon Klassen who always

has a subtle. dry humor in his picture book illustrations (observe the animals and watch for the random appearance of the bear from I Want my Hat Back). 

Our textbook tells us that the stories we choose should speak to us personally so we can "blow the breath life into it" (Greene, 2014, p. 59). So in addition to being a fan of Barnett/Klassen books, I do have a connection. My grandmother was a knitter who sold her clothing at art shows. She would love this story of a kind hearted little girl who just liked to share her knitting. This background makes the story sweeter for me--while also forcing me to intentionally suspend my thoughts about the impossibility of knitting so fast! I like the idea of stories having a family connection because I love the history of storytelling and having a family connection makes it feel like a tradition. I ended up referring to this connection very briefly in my intro. 

As a school librarian, I've read 100s of book aloud to classes and to computer screens (thanks to the pandemic). Oddly, I felt nervous about this video. To prepare, I read the book through four times. There are few opportunities to use voices in this story. Voices are not my strength. I struggle to be consistent with voices. But practice did help. And like always when I read to a computer screen, I

missed the kids. I like their observations of the pictures and their questions. Was there yarn in the box still when Annabelle got the box back? How do you know? I ended up using questions to open and end my storytime.  Incidentally, I love the ambiguity that Barnett and Klassen leave in their books. It creates fun discussions.  Check out Sam and Dave Dig a Hole for another Barnett/Klassen book that depends on the illustrations and leaves the kids with much to discuss if they carefully observe the illustrations. In an interview for Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, Barnett says that he and Jon don't set out to teach a lesson in their stories. They write to give kids a story that they can think about (TMJ4 News, 2014). I think this matches the spirit and history of oral storytelling well. 

In addition to reading the book aloud multiple times I practiced holding the book. I always get antsy and move the book from side to side, which looks awkward in a video. Even with practice, holding the book close enough to the camera and in such a way that I could read it was a challenge. Honestly, a vertical picture book might work better for online if the reader needs to be in the video. I watched multiple YouTube readings of the book for ideas and most delightfully found a short interview with Mac Barnett where he describes the origin of this story. Though it reads a bit like a folktale, it is entirely made up based on a picture that Jon Klassen made in college. Barnett discovered the painting and loved it, so he made up a story to accompany the image. I considered sharing this info in the intro but opted for the personal note instead. I am still torn. Thoughts? 

The most frustrating part of this whole process was the video recording. Finding good lighting, getting the angle right so the book could be seen but wasn't too far away and my family dropping things (loudly) was hard. I ended up learning how to edit video clips and made a few cuts during the video.  This feels awkward to me when I watch it but after 5 tries, I was tired. I tried again Thursday morning and was able to record one that I didn't need to edit, but I am glad I learned the edited technique.  I really wanted to take myself out of the video completely and only record the book with my voice reading it, but I didn't think that fit the spirit of storytelling.  I've included my actual storytelling of Extra Yarn below: 

In watching the recordings, I discovered that my glasses ride down my nose when I am reading. I am constantly pushing them back up unconsciously. I tried reading without my glasses, but I couldn't see the words well enough so that wasn't an option. Not much I can do until I get them adjusted. 

In general, I found this experience to be frustrating. Video recordings feel like perfection is more necessary. In person, a little stumble or a stuck page is easier to forgive. I definitely prefer in-person story telling. Plus there is no reward for the storyteller because the audience is missing. I think I will send this video to my niece and nephew who are 4 and 6. Maybe they will give me feedback! 

Reading Selections for the week: Note--I like the folktales the best for storytelling but can totally imagine using legends with older kids. They would require more prep as I think I would  read multiple versions and then write my own version to fit the time constraints. I LOVED Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but it was almost 100 pages. I like the legends about the famous geography/wildlife in Michigan. Those were short enough to share. 

Greene, E. & Del Negro, J.M. (2010). Storytelling: Art and technique (4th ed.). Libraries Unlimited.

Reading Rockets. (2015, November 11). Extra Yarn origin story [Video].     YouTube. https://youtu.be/tMA9BdekviA

TMJ4 News. (2014, October 14). "Sam and Dave Dig a Hole"[Video].      YouTube. https://youtu.be/uW9mhEbRIBI