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[CCBC-Net] Scary Stories
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From: melyons at adelphia.net <melyons>
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 8:23:29 -0400
When I was an elementary school librarian, Alvin Schwartz's easy readers, IN A DARK DARK ROOM and GHOSTS! GHOSTLY TALES FROM FOLKLORE were big favorites. For middle school kids, I used my now o.p. RAW HEAD, BLOODY BONES: AFRICAN-AMERICAN TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL (scary stories from the diaspora told in a variety of vernacular voices).
Though it might be too teacherly of me, I think scary stories from folklore are a great way to explain why people have always told--need to tell--them. For example, kids like knowing that talking skull stories were (are) important in rural African societies where cooperation was important for survival. Plus, the message of "The Talking Skull" is universal: "the foolishness of tongues is higher than mountains."
BTW, as far as I know (scholars may have tracked down more by now), the talking skull story is the only pure African story that survives in the diaspora.
Mary www.lyonsdenbooks.com
Received on Thu 20 Oct 2005 07:23:29 AM CDT
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 8:23:29 -0400
When I was an elementary school librarian, Alvin Schwartz's easy readers, IN A DARK DARK ROOM and GHOSTS! GHOSTLY TALES FROM FOLKLORE were big favorites. For middle school kids, I used my now o.p. RAW HEAD, BLOODY BONES: AFRICAN-AMERICAN TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL (scary stories from the diaspora told in a variety of vernacular voices).
Though it might be too teacherly of me, I think scary stories from folklore are a great way to explain why people have always told--need to tell--them. For example, kids like knowing that talking skull stories were (are) important in rural African societies where cooperation was important for survival. Plus, the message of "The Talking Skull" is universal: "the foolishness of tongues is higher than mountains."
BTW, as far as I know (scholars may have tracked down more by now), the talking skull story is the only pure African story that survives in the diaspora.
Mary www.lyonsdenbooks.com
Received on Thu 20 Oct 2005 07:23:29 AM CDT
