The Different Forms of Children’s Storytelling

Oral Storytelling  Earliest form of communication  Children learn to mimic our daily behaviors, thus learning how to communicate through sentences and eventually dialogue.  This is the easiest (yet most difficult to master in the beginning stages) and most important form of storytelling for children in terms of development socially and academically.  Children who are immersed in oral communication tend to learn language skills faster and have a better understanding of their world around them.  Children who are seldom spoken to or read to usually learn to talk later than other children their age.

Speech Development  Babies usually start cooing at around 2 months  At 6 months they are babbling with “coo’s and ahh’s”.  A child usually speaks in gibberish, called jargon, by the first birthday.  At 15 to 18 months, a typical toddler understands much more than he or she is able to put into words.  This lag in spoken language is often followed by a burst of talking between 18 and 24 months

Children’s Books Picture Book- Birth to Five Years  Narrative story and bright, colorful pictures that attract and draw the viewer in.  The text is considered simple and covers anything from numbers and letters to bunny rabbits and ugly ducks.  Children find this form of storytelling easy to relate to even in their early stages.

Easy Readers Ages Five to Seven  These books are geared to build the child’s learning and reading skills  Early readers are a step above the picture books.  Early readers are great for children to increase their literary knowledge in their beginning stages.

Chapter Books  Short chapter books -ages seven to nine  Long chapter books -ages nine to twelve  Chapter books tell the story strictly through narrative and little to no illustrations.  Chapter books contain a plot, character and setting.  Children are excited to learn how to read their first chapter books, this is a great starting point for their educational uses and personal interests.

Young Adult/Adult Readers Ages 12 to 18  Similar to children’s chapter books with plot, character and setting with more attention to detail.  Adult novels are characterized as having interesting genre and elements that readers find believable and relatable to their everyday life.  Research supports that young adult novels are the most successful both inside the classroom for educational purposes and for personal interest.

Poetry  Poems are usually written in verses or stanzas and use metaphors and similes to evoke emotions.  The length can vary and subject matter can be just about anything.  Poetry for school ages children can be quite hard to understand due to the nature of the wordiness and emotions that most children have yet to encounter.  Until children have studied literature and understand both the basics and complexities entirely, poetry will remain a mystery and continue to frustrate young children.

Drama/Plays  The Lion King production is the fifth longest running production in history with its first opening play on November 14, 1996 and over 6,212 showings since. The Beauty and the Beast is number eight with its first opening act on April 18, 1994 and last showing on July 29, 2007 with 5,461 productions in between.  In 2011, 1.23 billion movie theater tickets were sold; that same year there were only million tickets sold for Broadway plays. To put this in comparison, in just one week, Sunday Night Football had 18.7 million viewers.  An adult Broadway musical can cost ten million dollars to produce with a weekly running cost of $300,000 or more.  Broadway musicals are costly to produce and with little attendance (compared to other mediums such as television or movie) they are in danger of dying out.

Movies & Television  The most popular form of children’s story telling today is movies and television  Broad range of subject matter including its educational purposes, easy accessibility, relatively inexpensive, user friendly and it grabs and holds the user’s attention easier than any other form.  Author Tim Hollis documented about 1,400 local children's shows in a 2002 book, Hi There, Boys and Girls.

Works Cited Page  “Storytelling Here”- Edwards, Ruthanne. Storyteller-Ruthanne Edwards. n.d. 11 October  Velveteen Rabbit- Dad's Army Website. 05 November  The Ugly Duckling- Wondering Aloud: Philosphy with Young People. N/A. Website. 25 October  Child Reading- She Knows Parenting October  Novels- The Best Creative Writing Blog October  Ink Pen & Paper- Poetry Through the Ages October  The Lion King- QueenBeeTickets.com Website. 03 November