Who will help me tell these chicken stories??? Last Saturday, I did some traditional storytelling for a family audience over at our Buena Vista Library. The kids had a blast helping me act out and participate in various chicken stories. I have a special partiality to chicken stories, so this was an “egg-cellent” treat for me as well. And, I got to exercise my “oral storytelling” muscle! There are a couple of pictures from the event posted on my flickr page (Programs for Older Kids).

Intro Music: Chicken Dance

Opening Song: Let Everyone Clap Hands with Me (Pete Seeger)

Story #1: “Book! Book! Book!” (This is a well-loved librarian anecdote about a chicken that comes into the library. One version, “The Well-Read Frog” can be found in Margaret Read MacDonald’s Three Minute Tales. There is also a picture book, Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss that expands this tale.)

Story #2: “The Little Red Hen” (This is a traditional folktale, possibly of Russian-origin. Children dressed up and acted out the parts. I used a singing refrain from storyteller Heather Forest’s sound recording Sing Me a Story.)

Story #3: “Poule and Roach” (This is a Louisiana French tale about a chicken who marries a cockroach. One version can be found in Margaret Read MacDonald’s Celebrate the World. I was also inspired by storyteller Priscilla Howe’s recording “Poule and Blatt” on her cd Chickens! and Other Stories for Young Children.)

Song: “Barnyard Gate” (This is a traditional song that I learned by listening to Pete Seeger recordings. The children used puppets and made the appropriate animal sounds.)

Story #4: “Henny Penny” (This is an old fable with African origins, also known as “Chicken Little” or “The Sky is Falling”. Children dressed up and acted out the parts. I was partially inspired by a version I watched on You Tube from the TV-series Golden Girls.)

Movie: “The Wise Little Hen” (Disney’s The Mickey Mouse Club—Week One)