Showing results by publisher "August House" in All Categories

In this cumulative retelling of an ancient and widely circulated legend, storyteller Heather Forest shows that when each person makes a small contribution, the collective impact can be huge. Illustrated by Susan Gaber.

Award-winning storyteller Barbara McBride-Smith breathes life (albeit a wizened Texan version) into the old Greek myths. With her incurable Texas drawl, she spins the Greek myths as you've never heard them before, rendering them 99% more fun while retaining 100% of their original insights into the crooked ways of the human heart and the no less crooked ways of the ancient Greek gods.

All of us are familiar with the fairy tales of youth where the young hero and heroine fall in love, defeat their enemies, marry, and live happily ever after. The fairy tales gathered here are about what happens next, when the Prince goes bald and the Princess has a midlife crisis. They portray middle-aged men and women facing the special issues dealing with crisis, aging and mortality, and the desire for renewal.

During a long drought in Australia, Tree Kangaroo and Koala grow thirsty for water. When Tree Kangaroo remembers how he and his mother survived a similar drought by digging a hole for water, their problems seem to be solved. Koala creates excuses to rest and be lazy while Tree Kangaroo works hard to dig the well. When water begins to fill the hole, Koala forgets to share and loses his tail and a friend! Illustrated by Tom Wrenn.

Everybody loves scary stories, and nobody loves them more than children. Storytellers Richard and Judy Dockrey Young gathered these stories from the most discerning of critics: the children themselves.

World Tales of Wisdom and Wonder is a collection of folktales told in a weave of poetry, prose, original melody, and guitar. Drawn from cultures around the globe, these colorful tales offer a leap into fantasy and some homespun wisdom passed down through the oral tradition.

Scary stories help children face fear and master it, by portraying the elements of conflict in clear, good-versus-evil terms with good triumphant in the end.

One of America's favorite African-American storytellers remembers her childhood in tender, unforgettable new stories. Jackie Torrence, a frequent headliner at the National Storytelling Festival, is known to audiences nationwide as The Story Lady.

The warmth of the Christmas season is condensed into this single collection that will rekindle your Christmas memories. Who doesn't remember Christmas at Grandma's? The living room aglow with family and friends, the kitchen like a factory of sweet aromas, the relatives everywhere! Donald Davis captures the spirit of Christmas as seen through the eyes of a child in these stories: "Christmas in Sulpher Springs", "The Children's Christmas Party", "The Year My Brother Almost Died", and "The Red Scooters."

In this Choctaw variant of Aesop's fable "The Tortoise and the Hare", storyteller Tim Tingle reveals some unexpected twists and expands the cast to include a wild turkey, a colony of ants, and a cheering squad of Little Bitty Turtles.

Many years ago, the proudest animal in the jungle was not the peacock. The proudest animal was the tiger. In this folktale from Vietnam, we see how Tiger's pride leads him to covet wisdom and, with the help of a wise farmer, earn his stripes. Illustrated by Baird Hoffmire.

Slow but steady Turtle exhibits wisdom, perseverance, and cunning in these world folktales. Full of adventure that's sure to captivate young listeners, these tales hold meaning for all ages. Turtle is alive with possibilities. Living on land and in the water and breathing air, Turtle joins these three elements of creation, becoming symbolic of the earth itself. Always clever, always wise, and ever patient, Turtle never fails to find humor in any situation.

For 16 years, Donald Davis has performed during the Christmas season at Fearrington Village, a unique destination community near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Hundreds of people fill the seats in this historic barn, now converted for use as an events venue. Recorded live at Davis's December 15, 2007, performance, this audio captures the familiar and special relationship between a skilled and beloved storyteller and the audience that has sustained him year after year.

One of America's most beloved storytellers tells of spirits that have nurtured her in these four tales: "The Accidental Angel", "Wilbur Martin: God's Maintenance Man", "The Water Lilies", and "Angels in Disguise". Jackie Torrence, a frequent headliner at the National Storytelling Festival, is known to audiences nationwide as The Story Lady. She has performed at the Kennedy Center, Wolftrap, the International Children's Festival, and Lincoln Center.

A children's librarian, Margaret Read MacDonald, and a traditional musician, Richard Scholtz, combine voice, dulcimer, and autoharp to enliven stories for families and children in libraries and at storytelling festivals nationwide.

Newly re-mastered for digital formats, this is the definitive recording of Hans Christian Andersen's six best-loved stories. Narrator Diane Wolkstein, the artistic director of the Hans Christian Andersen Center in New York City, tells Andersen stories throughout the world. She is the author of 23 award-winning books of folklore and has been honored by the National Storytelling Network as a recipient of its coveted Circle of Excellence Award, a designation reserved for America's best living storytellers.

Former teachers Richard and Judy Dockrey Young bring their frightening performances alive on tape with 14 ghost stories from the American Southeast.

In folktales, the trickster can be the wise one or the fool, the one who fools or the one who is fooled. That is why children of all ages enjoy hearing these tales. The psychology of childhood is pretty much the same everywhere, giving these enjoyable stories universal appeal.

Four Jack Tales from the Appalachian oral tradition, recorded by a nationally accalimed storyteller. In this collection, Jack has a little trouble adjusting to the workaday world and to personal financial management. Eventually he works hard enough, but his fortunes do not seem to parallel his productivity. Jack finally has to go a bit out of his way to prove himself, meanwhile dealing with a prospective father-in-law who plays hard to get.

Joe Davis was in his mid-40s when he became a father, and the experience he was able to apply in raising his sons lent creativity to his parenting. The five stories here recall the wisdom of fathers with humor and rich detail: a visit to the Smithsonian inspires father's memory; father "cures" a boy's impulse to try cigarettes; Santa Claus learns an important lesson; and someone plays a trick on a visiting preacher.