Everyone loves stories. Whether it's a child recounting his or her day or a professional storyteller on stage, we need stories in our lives. Stories help us understand ourselves and teach us compassion for others. Stories connect us to our past and future and help us make sense of our present. Storytelling is an ancient art. Generations ago, with the advent of the Industrial age and compulsory education, storytelling was relegated to a child's bedside. The past few decades have brought with them a recognition of the value of storytelling as an art, and as a tool for healing, teaching and affirming spirituality.

This month, the Peter White Public Library will present the Global Tales Storytelling Festival. The centerpiece of the festival is Storytelling Olio, a live, variety performance beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday, and on Sunday, a commemoration of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War by Emmy Award winning storyteller Bobby Norfolk. At 2 p.m. Sunday, Norfolk will portray Jacob, a freed slave, who highlights the key people, events and politics of the Civil War. Lincoln is a central figure in Norfolk's performance which is appropriate for third-graders and older.

The Olio is for ages 8 and older. In addition to Bobby Norfolk, three local storytellers will entertain. Jessica "Red" Bays will portray "Mrs. Sorken" and act as the master of ceremonies for the evening. Jim Edwards will spin the tales of Taliesin, an ancient Welsh bard. Corinne Rockow will incorporate history into her musical storytelling with "True Grit: Stories of Persistence and Pluck to Grease Your Grin." Bobby Norfolk will conclude the Olio.

Storytelling events for all ages will include a puppet show, films, a Valentine's Day celebration with a South Asian flair, and Laurel Premo in concert with the Kivajat Children's Finnish-American Folk Dance Group. All events are free. For information, call 226-4323.

The library offers a variety of books to assist storytellers. Some are full of tales to tell. Others provide help with the telling. Still more teach ways to add variety to the presentation of a story. Margaret Read MacDonald, storyteller, librarian and folklorist, has authored many books to assist storytellers, including The Storyteller's Start-Up Book: Finding, Learning, Performing and Using Folktales, Including Twelve Tellable Tales. This book offers practical information and advice for beginner and veteran.

Teachers, public speakers, tour guides and anyone else who needs to hold a group's attention for a few minutes can make use of MacDonald's Three Minute Tales: Stories From Around the World to Tell or Read When Time is Short, as well as The Parent's Guide to Storytelling: How to Make Up New Stories and Retell Old Favorites. In addition to how-to books, MacDonald retells folktales in such a way that others can learn to tell them. Examples are Fat Cat: a Danish Folktale, Mabela the Clever (an African tale), and Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Palestinian Folktale.

Jerry J. Mallett has gathered two "tell and do" books, Stories to Draw and Fold and Cut Stories. These collections help teachers, librarians, parents and other tellers expand their storytelling for children in attention-getting ways. Megan McDonald uses storyknifing, a traditional Yup'ik technique of scratching pictures on the ground while telling a story, in her picture book Tundra Mouse.

Joining In: An Anthology of Audience Participation Stories and How to Tell Them, compiled by Teresa Miller, and Storytelling Games by Doug Lipman provide more storytelling variations.

Teaching guides include Children Tell Stories by Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss, Creative Storytelling: Building Community, Changing Lives by Jack Zipes and Every Child a Storyteller: A Handbook of Ideas by Harriet R Kinghorn and Mary Helen Pelton. Storytelling For the Fun of It: A Handbook for Children by Vivian Dubrovin speaks directly to young storytellers, but also can be appreciated by adults.

- Cathy Sullivan Seblonka

Youth Services Librarian