Heads or Tales

Prison Christmas Storytelling

Last night, I was at the men’s correctional institution telling stories at the Christmas party held for the families. I bet there were thirty of forty of us in the reception area, getting ID tags and getting screened. I wasn’t allowed to bring in my blunt nose scissors or my ball of string, but everything else made it past he guard. I’ve been invited there for three or four years. The first year, I was in the little library off the main room, but kids and families didn’t venture in. After that, I stuck myself in the big room right next to the craft tables, with a little circle of chairs. This year the dads were late arriving, due to a medical problem. All the kids came and sat with me for a few minutes, but lost them when the dads, uncles, brothers and grandpas came. They dropped back, however, for some more stories later when the grownups got to talking. I brought a bag stuffed with puppets and paper and bells. In the past, I passed around all the little finger puppets for kids to join in, but I guarded my box-of-mice puppet and the big floppy rabbit puppet and the mouse puppet, thinking they were too special or fragile. This year everybody, big and little, fancy and plain, got passed around, and that was just the way I liked it.

I’ve been working on a version of the mouse’s version of Hickory Dickory Dock. I was hoping to tell it last night, but waited because the kids needed quicker and more interactive stories. A boy came over, however, to my spot and sat in one of the little chairs. It was just the two of us, for the moment. He reached into my bag and pulled out the mouse that goes with that story. It ‘s a great puppet with very expressive features. I started the story, and, as I told it, he acted it out. Right in the middle of the whole thing…just at the clock goes “BONNNNG”…..two excited little girls sat down, full of cookies and seeing their dad, but that boy didn’t lose his concentration. Afterwards we sang the song of the mouse who runs up the clock, and those two little girls, who came too late to really get the gist of the story, sang right along.

Draw-and-Tell Stories

When I was a school librarian, I had a stock of draw-and-tell stories that I brought out for the elementary and preschool kids during holiday time. This year I’m getting ready to tell some Christmas Stories and found a great resource called Frog’s Riddle and other Draw-and-Tell Stories (Annick Press distributed by Firefly Books, 1994) by Richard Thompson. The book has a spiral binding, which means you won’t have to prop it open as you tell or learn the stories inside. Also, he provides a great introduction in which he talks about how to learn his stories, how to make your own draw-and-tell stories and how to encourage children to make and to tell them. The stories inside are all good…not forced as these kinds of stories can be. I particularly liked the story from which the book gets its title, Frog’s Riddle. The one I’m planning to learn for this season is Willy’s Gift. After each story Richard Thompson, gives ideas on how to use the story beyond just telling it. After Willy’s Gift, he said that it would be great as a Christmas story. I think he’s right.

Here are two more resources for paper stories..

Paper Stories by Jean Stangl published by Fearon Teacher Aids a division of David S. Lake Publishers in Belmont California, 1982. I’ve used a lot of the stories in here over time. My copy of the book is really worn out.

The Story Vine by Anne Pellowski published by Collier, 1984. This book contains string stories, riddle stories, doll stories as well as some drawing stories. My copy of this book is also falling apart from use.

A Christmas Story

Here are the bones of an early American Christmas story, which I learned from my friend and storyteller, Bev Comer. It’s called the Baker’s Dozen. Flesh it out and tell it to someone new.

The Baker’s Dozen (Bare Bones Version)

Von Amersterdam was an excellent baker. People came from far and wide, especially at Christmas when he baked St. Nicholas cookies, to buy his creations. One day, an old woman entered his shop and asked for a dozen Christmas cookies. Von Amsterdam counted out twelve cookies. The old woman refused to take them saying that there were thirteen in a dozen. “I am giving you twelve,” said the baker. “No more. No less.” The old woman left the shop without buying anything. After that Mr. Amsterdam’s luck changed. His loaves of bread were too hard or too soft. Nothing he baked seemed right, and he began to lose customers.

The next year, he made his cookies, and the old woman visited again. Again, she asked for a dozen and the baker gave her twelve. Again, she said that thirteen made a dozen. “Like last year, I am giving you twelve. No more. No less.” The old woman refused the twelve and, again, left his shop.

That year, the baker’s wife grew deaf. His children got sick. He could hardly keep his shop open. When Christmas came, however, he just managed to make the cookies. The old woman visited and asked for a dozen Christmas cookies. Angrily, he began to count out twelve, but when he reached number twelve. He stopped. His cookies showed St. Nicholas with a pack of gifts on his back. Christmas was about giving…not about being angry. The baker reached into his case and pulled out his biggest cookie and put it on top.

“There you go. Thirteen cookies.”

“Thank you,” said the old woman. “You will be happy that, at last, you gave me the right amount of cookies.”

The next year, the baker’s bread improved, his family recovered their health and once again Von Amsterdam was the best baker in his village. From that day forward, in baking terms anyway, thirteen cookies became known as a baker’s dozen.

I’m planning on telling this story soon. I think I’ll have several kids ring a bell every time the old woman goes into the baker’s shop.

Also take a look at:
The Baker’s Dozen a Saint Nicholas Tale by Aaron Shepard. Look at his website as well. Type in the story title and you'll get lots of leads. He even has a reader's version of the tale.
http://www.aaronshep.com

The Baker’s Dozen: A colonial American Tale by Heather Forest. She is an excellent storyteller as well as an author and she has a very fine web site.

Let me know if you use this story and how it went.