Inspired by great classic children’s authors such as Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, Ronald Dahl, and Charles Dickens, Alan has now written over seventy-five original tales. Thousands of children and their families from around the world have adored the sound of Alan’s rich warm voice as they are transported to the world of make-believe as they listen to classic and Alan’s original stories on his website at The Story Home.com.
One of his most popular stories, “The Boy Who Finally Listened”, (available on The Story Home website and The Story Home YouTube Channel) struck a deep chord with listeners whose hearts were moved by the story of a young boy searching for a home for his imagination. In many ways, this story reflects Alan’s own growth as a storyteller, celebrating the four most magical words in children’s literature, once upon a time.
A Storyteller’s Secret
Whenever I tell a story to children, I look down at my young listeners and see their beautiful faces looking up at me. It’s a wonderful sight! And it doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s a fairytale, a folk tale, or one of my own stories. The look in their eyes is always the same, pure wonder, and behind each of their eyes is a picture screen called imagination. In each of their hearts is a pool of feelings that are stirred and touched. For such is the power of a well-told story, that it lights the imagination, speaks to the child’s inner knowing, and touches the heart. It is no wonder that I will never tire of telling stories to children, for it is a pure delight.
This is why I created a special program called “Storytelling First”.
Storytelling First Program
“When storytelling is taught to children, a lifetime of communication begins.”
The Storytelling First program, is designed to motivate and inspire young learners as they acquire the skills of narrative, descriptive, and expressive language. The course is based on observing and interpreting pictures, seeing what they say and what they mean to us.
Because young people always prefer learning that is fun, I designed Storytelling First as a creative laboratory, asking the whole class to divide into small teams of four kids each to make up stories together. They learn to throw out ideas, to co-edit their ideas, and string them together for a presentation. This forces them to listen, ask questions and be open-minded. Remember, there is no right answer! There are, instead, creative possibilities!
This story-building practice teaches kids how to form the language they will use to write down their stories. Planning is everything, that’s why storytelling should be first at school.
Language acquisition through creative interaction.
We have programs for each grade level Kindergarten through 5th grade.