The Barefoot Storyteller at the Belfast (Maine) Library

Well the drawing board (literally) was in chaos for the past week as my Chief Story Advisor (my six year old son) and I worked through negotiations as to which story to choose for The Barefoot Storyteller's debut at the Belfast Library.

"Jack and the Beanstalk" is too over-done.

"The Boy Who Grew Flowers" seems more for an elementary school audience.

"What's This?: The Story of a Seed" would have thought to have been an obvious choice, given the age level and subject matter, but the Chief Story Advisor felt it did not make enough of an impact as an introductory performance.

The final choice fell between "The Gigantic Turnip" and "Herb, The Vegetarian Dragon", both favorites, both with their merits....and let me tell you, an enormous vegetable and a pacifist dragon arguing their cases against each other is not something for the light-hearted!

In the end, an executive decision was made for the more easily performed over the better read aloud, in spite of the really neat activities that always follow the latter.

The Chief Story Advisor is prepared to launch a formal complaint, but I am sending the matter through mediation and stated that if I am invited back to the Belfast Library simply to read, that a particular dragon will undoubtedly accompany me.

So without further adieu, The Barefoot Storyteller proudly announces a scheduled telling of "The Gigantic Turnip" at the Belfast Library, 11am May 16th, 2008 for children ages three through five, and the adults who love them.

Please join us!

Jungle Day

The Barefoot Storyteller presents Jungle Day at the Inside Out Playground April 24th! Jungle-themed story times at 11am and 2pm will be followed by animal crafts and jungle games. Children are encouraged to wear a jungle animal costume for a chance to win a free book from Barefoot Books. All week long I'll have Barefoot Books, puzzles, puppets and more available for sale at the Inside Out Playground, with the Playground earning 15% of every purchase! The Inside Out Playground is located at 5 Appleton Street, Waterville Maine

Pssst...April 24th is also The Barefoot Storyteller's Birthday (40 years!) so there may be cake too! :)

Raising Readers

Through my doula practice, I am very proud to be part of the raising readers program. When a mother chooses me as her doula, I get to present her with a beautiful canvas tote with a selection of books, a growth chart, and information about the raising readers program. And, if I am lucky, I have the chance to read a little something from them to the new child or older siblings!

The raising readers program promotes reading aloud to children in Maine ages birth to 5 years, by providing beautiful new books to give to children. For newborns, raising readers has canvas totes with books available through Maine hospitals who provide birthing services, birth centers, midwives who attend home and birth center births, and adoption agencies. raising readers is a community partnership and works with other child health and community literacy initiatives, with a statewide advisory committee to help coordinate these activities, a collaboration of Maine's two largest health care delivery systems, MaineHealth and Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, and is generously funded by the Libra Foundation.

February

As a storyteller, being around kids, I need to be a roll model too. Most of the time this means teaching through parables and fables. It means teaching politeness as they must sit quietly through certain portions of the program, self-esteem as they are asked to be involved. February is National Dental Health month...and dental health is very importaint!

In March, Barefoot Books releases "Emily's Tiger" from which I have borrowed the above illustration. "Emily's Tiger" is now available as a pre-order on my Barefoot Books web-site. The books was written and illustrated by Miriam Latimer : Whenever Emily doesn’t get her way, she growls and roars like a tiger. She roars when her mother tries to cut her hair, she roars when she doesn’t get picked to be the assistant to the clown at a birthday party… what are her mom and dad going to do with their tiger-daughter? Then Grandma comes to stay — and she knows a thing or two about tigers and tempers!

There are many other new books coming for Spring, such as:

Bear at Work Written by Stella Blackstone, Illustrated by Debbie Harter : In the newest addition to the best-selling Bear series, we find Bear hard at work as a postman. Follow Bear as he delivers letters, parcels and packages all over town, meeting other bears, all busy working at their different jobs.

Playtime Rhymes for Little People Compiled and illustrated by Clare Beaton : Award-winning artist Clare Beaton presents this exquisite, hand-sewn anthology from her treasure trove of fabrics and bric-a-brac. We’ve paired it with a collection of forty popular action rhymes includes favorites such as “I’m a Little Teapot” and “The Wheels On The Bus,” as well as less familiar ditties such as “Fishes Swim in Water Clear” and “My Ship Sailed From China.”

The Sounds Around Town Written and Illustrated by Maria Carluccio : What do you hear when you walk outside? This story follows a baby through his day in the city, focusing on the many sounds that he hears. From birdsong in the morning to the hubbub of traffic on the streets and the sounds and smells of the market and café, this simple, interactive picture book will open up your ears!

The Real Princess: A Mathemagical Tale Written by Brenda Williams, Illustrated by Sophie Fatus : A classic with a twist, this number-crunching take on “The Princess and the Pea” features not just one princess, but three, not to mention four horses, five dogs, six grooms, seven gardeners, and all kinds of chances for young mathematicians to put their adding and subtracting to the test!

The Beeman Written by Laurie Krebs, Illustrated by Valeria Cis : Told from the viewpoint of a child whose Grandpa is a beekeeper, this rhyming text offers an accessible and engaging introduction to the behavior of bees, including: where they live, how honey is made, and what a beekeeper does.

and more! All available now for pre-order. These are also the last days of the Annual Winter Sale at Barefoot Books (until February 18th) so drop by my web-site to do some shopping...and don't forget to brush those teeth!!!

Support Maine Music

Did you hear that the Prairie Home Companion will be in Bangor, Maine in May??? Often the show will feature an artist from the state they are going to, and I'd love to see our own Carol Noonan be a part of this! Isn't she, after all, following in Mr. Keillor's footsteps a bit with her Stone Mountain LIVE variety show?

You can read a bit more about Carol and follow the link to her site by visiting here: http://www.freewebs.com/mothermoonmusic/stonemountainarts.htm and then, please let the folks at Prairie Home Companion you'd like to see Carol at their show in Bangor later this Spring. Email them at: phc@mpr.org

Dawnella

The Other Barefoot Storyteller

As I mentioned while "blogging" here yesterday, there is another Barefoot Storyteller with a web-site similar to mine. So if you are in England, you can visit another "Barefoot Storyteller" there too... Sheila Stansfield is also a representative of Barefoot Books and uses thier stories in her storytelling as well. You can visit her site at http://www.thebarefootstoryteller.co.uk/

(and when you do, tell her I sent you!)

An Unlikely Venue?

I have been (and had been) storytelling for longer than I breastfed my son and always applied a common phrase, a declaration, to both forms of nurturing young souls.... "Any time, any place!" ... and yet, I'm considering a regular story time (and doing Barefoot Book sales) somewhere I never really thought that I would.... at a car wash.

Car wash? You never know.

Check back in the weeks to come for times, dates, and location. You can bring your kids, wash your car, hear a story, buy a book-puzzle-puppet-or music cd...and yes, of course, breastfeed your child.

Peace!

Dawnella - The Barefoot Storyteller

Cleaning up web-sites

Well I've been busy shortening my web addresses. Is that importatint? Does it save you time or make it easier to shop? Does it simply "look better"?

My Barefoot Storyteller web-site was http://www.freewebs.com/barefootstoryteller and that seemed too long, so I switched to http://www.barefootstoryteller.webs.com/ (saved three key strokes!) Still didn't seem right, so I visited a domain purchasing site, and I "bought"

http://www.barefoot-storyteller.com/ which is simple, and to the point. (but if you forget the dash, you'll be directed to another Barefoot Storyteller in England...maybe I should ask her to put a note somewhere pointing folks to me if they get lost, and I the same for her)

Cool? Uncool? What do you think? Does the length of a web addy really matter?

Barefoot Books Annual Winter Sale!!

Just a reminder that the Barefoot Books Annual Winter Sale is going on now through February 18th...with savings of up to 70% on select titles!!

http://www.barefootbooksstoryteller.com

The Barefoot Storyteller at The Inside Out Playground

December 26th: The Barefoot Storyteller celebrates the Grand Opening of the new Inside Out Playground, 5 Appleton Street Waterville! Storytime at 11am.

January 3rd & January 17th, 2008: The Barefoot Storyteller storytime 11am at the new Inside Out Playground, 5 Appleton Street Waterville! The first and third Thursday of every month at 11am will be storytime with the Barefoot Storyteller at The Inside Out Playground.

Coming Soon: Bi-monthly homeschooler book clubs at The Inside Out Playground.

www.Barefoot-Storyteller.com

"Motherbridge of Love" on TIME's top ten list!

TIME’s 50 Top 10 Lists of 2007
Top 10 Children's Books
By Belinda Luscombe and Amy Lennard Goehner
#3. Motherbridge of Love
by Xinran and Josee Mass
Publisher: Barefoot Books
32 pages
$16.99

“Got a girlfriend who just adopted a kid? You're going to want to get them this book, although the illustration is so gorgeous, you could give it to anyone. The text was submitted anonymously to the charity Mother Bridge of Love, which seeks to connect kids adopted from China with their homeland. As might be expected the sappiness meter is turned to 11, but it does explain quite lyrically how two mothers can each have a part in making one whole child.”

Available for purchase at: http://www.BarefootBooksStoryteller.com
and available to be read by The Barefoot Storyteller: http://www.barefoot-storyteller.com/

Winter Reading from Barefoot Books

Here in Maine the temperature was *below* zero degrees F...making this a perfect day for staying inside and reading!!

All the wintery ones, like Miracle of the First Poinsettia, Babushka, the Twelve Days of Christmas, the Winter King and the Summer Queen, the Princess and the White Bear King, stories from the Calender of Festivals, and the Barefoot Books Stories from the Opera, and the new Fireside Stories. The Gingerbread Man was a wonderful story to read before making our gingerbread cookies this year, and for evenings by candlelight, The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems is always good reading! (other poetry collections I recommend are First Morning, and Someone I Like)

What's everyone else reading? :)


Peace,
Dawnella

nurturing mother, child & planet
http://www.MothersMoon.com
nurturing your child's imagination
http://www.Barefoot-Storyteller.com/
http://www.BarefootBooksStoryteller.com
All orders of $70 or more between now and December 15th will receive free shipping and a free copy of "My Daddy is a Pretzel" . December 15th - 19th, free 48-hour shipping upgrade (standard shipping rates still apply)

fund-raising event re-scheduled

The fund raising event that was to take place for the Spencer Family at the Buker Center in Augusta, on Monday December 3rd has been re-scheduled for next Monday, December 10th from 10am - 2pm at Sacred Heart Church on Summer St. in Hallowell. We will be having a used curriculum, homeschool business and more sale. Some of us will bringing toys to sell, books, curriculum and some of us will be sharing our businesses with you. Anyone wishing to donate to the Spencer's are welcome to deposit into a bucket and we will take it from there. Some folks will be donating a portion of their profits to the Spencers.

http://www.barefoot-storyteller.com/


Directions are as follows...
From the Augusta end of Hallowell, pass down Rte. 201 through the downtown area, and take Temple St. on the right, which is just before the fish & produce market on the right. When you get to the end of that street ( it is very short), take a left onto Second St.. Almost immediately, take a right onto Chestnut St. Go over the railroad tracks and turn left onto Summer St. The church is the large white building on the right.
From the Gardiner end of Hallowell, as you pass up Rte 201, the first entrance to the boat landing will be on your right, you will see the produce place on the left, take a left onto Temple St. When you get to the end of that street ( it is very short), take a left onto Second St.. Almost immediately, take a right onto Chestnut St. Go over the railroad tracks and turn left onto Summer St. The church is the large white building on the right.

I'll be there, with stories to read to the children, and will also be taking orders for and selling from stock Barefoot Books, with 15% of the sales going to the Spencer Family. (if you can not make it but would still like to place a Barefoot Books order, please contact me and I will give the same 15% donation) Hope to see you there!

Peace, Dawnella

nurturing mother, child & planet http://www.MothersMoon.com
nurturing your child's imagination http://www.Barefoot-Storyteller.com

All orders of $60 or more between now and December 15th will receive a free copy of "The Prince's Bedtime" .

Power of Art

They say that "looking leads to learning", and that is one reason why everyone at Barefoot Books believes that introducing high-quality images to children at an early age, as well as encouraging children to express themselves visually, plays a critical part in their emotional and intellectual development. The Barefoot Storyteller couldn't agree more!

Please see the "Power of Art" page upon my Barefoot Storyteller site.

Event reminder:

November 29th: Storytime & Fundraiser Event 11am at The Blessed Baby Boutique, 346 Main Street Wilton. On this day I will also be taking Barefoot Books orders as a fundraiser for the Western Maine Mothers Center. All orders placed that day or before at Blessed Baby Boutique will apply to the fundraiser, and the books should be available for pick-up at Blessed Baby on December 8th. The last Thursday of every month at 11am is storytime with the Barefoot Storyteller at The Blessed Baby Boutique.

http://www.barefoot-storyteller.com/

Fundraising Goal Met!!

A great big Thank You goes out to everyone who contributed to my Barefoot Books fundrasier for the FUTURE MSAD 3 Capital Campaign for the Mount View School Performing Arts Center. They had set out a five year plan to raise $500,000 and in just seventeen months raised over $624,000!!! Way to go!!! I deeply belive music, dance, theater and art in it's many forms, is essential to feeding our souls... both personally as well as that of the community, and that becomes a very beautiful way of nurturing our children & our planet. I am very pleased to have been a part of this project in my community, and thrilled that they have reached their goal.

Children's Book Club

I'm getting ready to start another couple book clubs... one for toddlers and their parents which will include three "Cleo the Cat" board books we'll share over three weeks...and another for the five to eight year old crowd, three classic fairy tales, "The Gingerbread Man", "Red Riding Hood", and "The Gigantic Turnip"...

Interested folks can contact me please!


TheBarefootStoryteller@freedompondmoonworks.com

A Note About Barefoot Books

Anyone who has been to one of my storytimes or tellings that involve Barefoot Books knows *why* I love them so much, but folks often ask *how* I got involved with shilling for the company:

I was at a storytellers' exchange, what seems like many years ago, (when the US Barefoot Books office was in New York instead of Cambridge, MA where it is now) and someone was reciting stories from their collection. As I was already being called "The Barefoot Storyteller", it just seemed to make sense that I should familiarize myself with such fine tales. After gathering quite a collection of books for myself and also giving many copies away at my storytelling performances, I contacted the company about opening a retailers account. That's when I first heard about the Stallholders program...but at the time, I believe it was more than a one thousand dollar investment! Not within a Storytellers budget. Happily, the "sign up fee" did later drop quite a bit, and now of course I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about becoming a Stallholder yourself!

http://www.BarefootBooksStoryteller.com