Tell a Tale with a Story Stick

By Melissa Taylor

Here’s a hands-on storytelling activity to help you and your friends spin a terrific tale.

Find a stick and decorate it with paint, yarn, feathers, wire, beads, or anything else you can find.

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Now sit in a circle with your family or friends and start to tell a story. You could say, “Have you heard the story about…” or “Once upon a time there was…” Now pass the stick to someone else in the circle.

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The only person allowed to speak is the one who is holding the Story Stick! Keep passing the Story Stick around and keep adding onto the story. Let your imagination run wild. It’s fun to see where the tale will go!

The Circle Round Picture Book series combines traditional folktales from around the world with creative storytelling activities based on the award-winning Circle Round podcast, produced by WBUR.

Excerpted and adapted from The Tale of the Unwelcome Guest © Rebecca Sheir. Storytelling activity by Melissa Taylor, Imagination Soup © Storey Publishing.

The Tale of the Unwelcome Guest

by Rebecca Sheir

Illustrated by Mert Tugen

The town beside the sea was abuzz with the news. The governor was holding a grand banquet and everyone was invited—everyone! But no one was as excited as Nasruddin.

On the day of the celebration, Nasruddin works hard in his vineyard picking and squishing grapes. He planned to wear his special long red silk coat, but at the end of the day it’s too late for him to go home and change! When he arrives at the banquet in his grape-juice-stained work clothes, he looks different from what the townspeople were expecting. But Nasruddin is a clever fellow—and he figures out a most delicious way to teach the town a lesson about judging people for the way they look.

The colorful illustrations of Turkish-born artist Mert Tugen complement Circle Round podcast host Rebecca Sheir’s original adaptation of this Middle Eastern folktale. Specially designed to be read aloud and shared, the story is accompanied by questions and prompts for conversation, along with creative storytelling activities.

The creators of the award-winning podcast Circle Round, produced by WBUR radio (Boston’s NPR station), bring their beloved combination of folktales and storytelling activities to book form in the first branded Circle Round book series. Podcast host, Rebecca Sheir, has uncovered folktales from a broad range of traditions, all exploring timeless values, such as kindness, generosity, acceptance, and more.

$14.95

$19.95 CAD

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Rebecca Sheir

About the Author

Rebecca Sheir is a veteran audio storyteller and the author of the Circle Round picture book series, which she adapted from popular episodes of the award-winning podcast she created and formerly hosted. Today, she hosts and writes Lions and Legends, a hit independent storytelling podcast for kids and families. Before moving into family entertainment, Sheir spent years as a public radio reporter and host, contributing to such flagship NPR programs as Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Her books — The Great Ball Game, The Tale of the Unwelcome Guest, A Taste of Honey, and The Lion’s Whisker — bring timeless global folktales to the page. She lives in western Massachusetts with her family.

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