
The
Benefactory began working with volunteer
groups early in 1994, with the purpose of
developing a program that would train and
equip any volunteer to schedule, organize,
host and conduct effective, fun, interactive
read-aloud events for groups of young children.
"Storytelling" has come to mean the art
of telling a story extemporaneously, and
storytellers frequently use costumes and
props to increase the dimensionality of
their storytellings, or to hold the attention
of a wriggly group of small children. We
mean something else. We mean, that from
the beginning of time, humans of any age
have known the magic of listening to a good
story that is read aloud to them. Stories
can hypnotize, educate, and transport listeners
to new realms. Stories are one of the most
important ways in which children learn -
and learn to care.

A key component of effective storytelling
is having a good story to tell. Our own
authors have worked with The America Reads
Challenge, and with The Girl Scouts of The
USA, to tell our true stories about animals
to children in schools and libraries nationwide.
They read to more than 30,000 children in
one year, earning a personal letter of thanks
from President Clinton. It has been our
authors' experience that children from any
socio-economic group love true stories about
real animals. These stories touch their
hearts. Children come into the world feeling
connected to living creatures, and can relate
to stories of rescued strays, or endangered
species. Our stories are intended to model
core values, to provide positive examples
of people who are doing good things to help
care for and protect animals of all kinds.

All parents know how powerful and cozy is
that time every day when they curl up with
their children for some quality laptime
and a good story. Children who become good
readers invariably tell us there was someone
who read to them in early childhood. But
in these increasingly harried and insular
times, families have many challenges: single
parent households; both parents working
full-time; parents working more than one
job - with the result that few parents are
able to find the time to read to and with
their children. It shocked us to discover
how few children are being read to at home
anymore. It is no accident that literacy
scores continue to plummet.
For
this reason, ReadPlay has worked
with volunteer groups, and with The America
Reads Challenge, to develop Storytelling
Kits. These Kits are intended to provide
all the tools necessary for volunteers to
learn to conduct effective read-aloud sessions
for children ages 5 - 10.
It
is our intention to identify corporate partners
so that these non-profit volunteer groups
can be given the storytelling kits free
of charge. Until the corporate partners
have been identified, ReadPlay is
making Storytelling Kits available to volunteer
groups at a highly discounted cost, as follows.
Please contact ReadPlay directly
to purchase Storytelling Kits by calling
(847) 848-8727.
Each
Storytelling Kit Contains:
Demonstration
Video
 |
Provides
an example of effective storytelling |
 |
Authors
teach new storytellers how to involve
children, hold their attention, and
have fun
|
Storytelling
Guide/Training Manual featuring:
 |
Training
material to enable any volunteer to
conduct a storytelling |
 |
Scripts
for interactive dialogue to set the
context and follow-up
for each story |
 |
Activity
page masters for every story, so children
can share the learning and fun at home
with their families |
Lending
Library for the children
 |
20
read-along books per title for children
to share and use to follow the
story
|
Hardcover books for the storyteller
 |
One
per title to read from |
Each
story on audiocassette
 |
One
cassette per title, with Tom Chapin's
narration and music |
 |
Storage
Container |
THREE-STORY
KIT
Item # SK1 $195 (a $500 value)
Titles included:
Jasmine |
Wolves
in Yellowstone |
Chessie, The Travelin' Man |
SIX-STORY
KIT
Item # SK2 $295 (a $ 975 value)
Titles included:
Jasmine |
Bentley
and Blueberry |
Ruffle,
Coo and Hoo Doo |
Chessie,
The Travelin' Man |
Wolves
in Yellowstone |
Hope |
To
order these kits, please contact ReadPlay
directly by calling (847) 848-8727.
|