Rhyme
It's a good idea to begin and/or end with a nursery rhyme or poem during your group story sessions, and to ensure that you have something fresh to recite alongside the old favourites you will need to update your poetry collection every so often. The Oxford Nursery Collection contains a mixture of stories, poems and nursery rhymes. In all there are five well-loved tales and 32 rhymes and poems to dip into, some, but not all, of which will be familiar to most listeners. Every one of the 91 pages contains large, easy-to-view illustrations, which makes for a lot of discussion time and the book is not too large or unwieldy to hold up in front of the group. This collection is illustrated by Ian Beck and is available in hardback, priced 12.99.
Also from Oxford, the Treasury of Children's Poems is a vast selection of 171 poems and rhymes in an easily manageable format. This softback book has poems set across double page spreads or two to a page with a comprehensive mixture of black and white and colour illustrations, drawn by a whole crowd of artists and so in many different styles. The poems are loosely grouped together by subject matter like animals and pets, the weather and families and range from very old rhymes, via Robert Louis Stevenson and Ogden Nash, to contemporaries like Roger McGough and Kit Wright. A very useful purchase at 8.99.
* Telephone 01865 267201
The Dorling Kindersley Book of Nursery Rhymes, compiled and illustrated by Debi Gliori, provides larger-than-life artwork to accompany the rhymes, plus interesting facts about the rhymes in question. Animal rights activists in your nursery may be relieved to hear, for example, that the pig that Tom stole was, in fact, a pastry pig filled with currants, rather than a live animal. There are more than 50 well-known rhymes in this book and nearly all of them are given the 'fascinating fact' treatment. Available in hardback, priced Pounds 9.99.
* Telephone 020 7010 3000
Story
The Story Tree: Tales to Read Aloud from Barefoot Books, is a collection of seven tales from around the world, assembled and retold by professional storyteller Hugh Lupton. As you would expect from someone who works with the spoken word, there is a strong emphasis upon repetition and rhythm in these adaptations, which makes them particularly suitable for reading to young children. The stories themselves originate from Germany, India, Russia, Norway and England, and two are African- American and Jewish. While the children may already be familiar with The Three Billy Goats Gruff and the The Little Red Hen, other tales like the Jewish 'The Blue Coat' and the African-American 'The Sweetest Song' may seem completely new. An interesting project, based around storytelling, could examine how stories change from culture to culture while still retaining universal links and themes. The Story Tree is illustrated by Sophie Fatus and is available in hardback, priced 12.99.
* Telephone 01225 322400.
The Puffin Book of Five-Minute Animal Stories is the latest addition to this publisher's 'Five Minute' collection which includes 'Five Minute Stories' and 'Five-Minute Bear Stories'. There are 19 tales in this book and these are illustrated on every page, in a frequently humorous, tongue-in-cheek manner by Steve Cox. The stories themselves are a mixture of old favourites like Puss in Boots and The Three Little Pigs, with lesser known tales like A Fish Of The World, from Terry Jones, and The Strange Bird, by Adele Geras. Published in softback, price 6.99.
* Telephone 020 7416 3000
Favourite Bible Stories, retold by Libby Purves and illustrated by Eric Thomas (Dorling Kindersley), could be read to mixed age groups because each of the 29 tales has an accompanying full-page panel of illustrations, which follow the story on the opposite page in almost comic book style. A brief commentary panel is also given at the bottom of each story page to provide extra information on the background and meaning. Available in hardback, priced 9.99.
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When you get an especially good reception to a particular character or story line it's always a good idea to hunt down a collection of similar stories or tales with more of the same. Once you have an anthology you can use it for the last week of term or as a special treat here and there. Winnie the Witch is an award-winning character who strikes a chord with a great many young children, not least because of the slightly eccentric and highly detailed illustrations. The Winnie the Witch Three Story Treasury contains Winnie the Witch, Winnie in Winter and Winnie Flies Again in hardback form, priced 12.99 from Oxford. Whether or not you are already acquainted with Winnie it's worth going the whole hog here.
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Sampling
Anthologies are also an excellent route to introducing young children to stories which would be too long and/or complicated in their original form for you to read aloud and for them to digest as a group. Tales from The Wind in the Willows is such a one. Kenneth Grahame's original story is retold here, with younger readers in mind, by Stella Maidment and illustrated by Graham Philpot. There are six stories, of ideal length for reading aloud to a group; plus a very useful introduction that provides helpful information about each of the main characters in the stories. The book is in large format with lots of whole-page illustrations which will be able to be seen from the back, but may encourage children to creep forward for a good look. Published in hardback by David Bennett Books at 14.99.
Also from David Bennett and in the same large format with whole-page illustration is the Children's Favourite Animal Fables. These are retold and illustrated by Graham Percy to be readily accessible to younger children without losing their meaning or style. There are eight fables included here. Some, like The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, will be familiar to most of the group, while others, like The Heron and the Fish, may be less so. At the beginning of the book we are told the story of the fable and the moral of each story is given, but it is up to you whether you provide the children with the moral before or after you have read each tale - most groups are likely to enjoy guessing the meaning for themselves. It is priced 12.99.
* Telephone 020 7738 0314
OLDER CHILDREN
For older children, or for those who prefer to lie back and listen rather than become involved with illustrations and group participation, Oxford will publish two new complementary story collections in March. The Nightingale that Shrieked contains 15 tales from Europe, the Near and Middle East and Africa which are grouped according to where they originate from. Why the Fish Laughed contains 19 stories from Asia and India, the Americas and the Pacific and again these are grouped according to origin. Among the stories there are some favourites like Ali Baba and the Pied Piper of Hamelin but there are also plenty of tales which are likely to present a first read and these books are a good introduction to different aspects of cultures from around the world. Available in paperback, the collections are priced 4.99 each.
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