Telling Tales

Telling Tales

Reviewed By Delaine Ulmer

“Welcome to Telling Tales” announces the homepage! This site is created by...well, no one is sure! The welcome page lists that this site is maintained by otaylorsnr@aol.com and the material is copyrighted 1997 by Elmitt Enterprises. However, it is unknown who these absent partners are--as there is no further information provided anywhere on the site. There is supposed link to Kate Elmitt, who one could suspect has something to do with Elmitt Enterprises, but the link is not active. The editor of Telling Tales website is Bob Wilkins, who one suspects might actually organize the site since his performance pictures and fees, stories and extensive history are linked throughout.

Telling Tales is, at best, an average site--not too glamorous or easily navigated. It is not fancy in terms of graphics or layout, but instead depends on multicolored text and underlining to break its sections apart. Its descriptions and layout are rather wordy at times. The menu bar situated on the left is almost illegible. Every link creates a new scroll window under the original menu, which makes it less able to view both menus. Once you have moved into the content pages it is hard to get back to the welcome page and menu--the “home” link is not working properly. All this aside, the most frustrating aspect of this site is the little pop-up window for each of its main links that thanks you for visiting and tells you the number of visits to that page. Don’t try to close it--it just comes back!

Even with these irritations, this website contains some worthwhile information. From the homepage, visit these areas for valuable information:Things to Do: A fun link that has cute story starters of all kinds--story chains, create a character, story skeletons, animal picture story starters, and more that would be fun to use in the classroom.Teachers: The site gives permission for teachers to use the contents for educational purposes. There are some good ideas/games/activities for storytelling and writing, such as Commentary (a commentator interjecting into a storyteller’s story with additional information), Something Overheard (developing a story based on a “tidbit” that came from another conversation), Let’s make a Story (using stuffed animals as props and inspiration). However, some of these ideas will be “old news” to teachers, such as story mapping and creating big book stories.Stories to Listen to: Features stories retold by Bob Wilkins--some are text only and some are audio (you will need Real Player installed to hear these). Only one was not working properly. The recordings contain quite a bit a background static, but Bob’s voice is mesmerizing nonetheless! Books: Contains listings of helpful storyteller resources--most contain a short annotation and cover picture. There are abundant links to Amazon.com here!Other Sites to Visit: This is one of the most informative pages contained in this site. It includes links to numerous other rich storytelling sites, including storytelling research, sites for kid stories, about storytelling and more.

The site also contains a link to a Directory of Storytellers which is not at all helpful since these storytellers are only available in the UK. You can hear a short audio clip of their work using Real Player) and see the sound quality rating (who rates them is not known) prior to purchase (you will need to know the exchange rate). Also there is a link to information about Bob Wilkins that tells about his experiences and work, however he is also only available in the UK. Even if you did want to book him for your school -- his fees (again-the exchange rate needed) have not been updated since December 2001.

Despite its aesthetically plain look, its organizational confusion and its suspected narrow viewpoint, Telling Tales still has a lot to offer storytellers. It is well worth a look!