Storytelling, Book Review,

Grey skies and rain and it doesn't look like there is any clearing in store. T

his is the kind of weather that inspires me to wrap up on the couch with a cup of hot tea and veg the day away.

But can't do that today.Storytelling is calling.
Taping my TV show this morning and teaching this afternoon.

Storytelling is saving me from wasting a day.

So - I will muster the sunshine I have stored inside my head and press on.

By the way - 37 Days countdown - 19 more days in the challenge.

BOOK REVIEW

A Bag of Moonshine
Folktales selected and retold by Alan Garner

The other night I pulled a Bag of Moonshine off a bookshelf thinking I would thumb through it before adding it to the discard bag. Several years ago I bought it on a library sale table and I have never used it because the illustrations turn me off.
Tonight I was making a decision about this book..

To my surprise it’s turned out to be a hidden gem. The book contains twenty-two old folktales with a strong British voice that are new to me. Happily it yields three good Jack tales which will adapt to fit me and my style of storytelling. And, The Salmon Cariad., the fantastical story of a young man who catches a feisty salmon. The fish woos and weds him – once it morphs into a beautiful young girl.

A Bag of Moonshine was published in 1988 in London. I have not changed my mind about the drawings. They are grotesque and not to my taste at all. Some of the words are so local I have to guess at their meanings which is challenging.

But, if you see it on a sale table take a look. If you are a storyteller you too could find a story in this collection that suits you.

Yes, I am keeping the book.