Ready-To-Tell Tales

Anyone who has watched a master storyteller mesmerize an audience without benefit of set, props, or musical score, has wondered: How do they do that? The trick, this anthology tells us, is in the material. And the 40 contributors should know. They are some of America's most popular storytellers, each of them sharing a story guaranteed to work in front of the most demanding audience.

David Holt Bio:

David Holt found his life's journey in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. With a passion to become an old-time banjo player, David traveled to remote mountain communities like Kingdom Come, Kentucky and Sodom Laurel, North Carolina searching for the best traditional musicians. Holt found hundreds of old-time mountaineers with a wealth of folk music, stories and wisdom. There was banjoist Wade Mainer, ballad singer Dellie Norton, singing coal miner Nimrod Workman, and 122 year-old washboard player Susie Brunson. Holt learned to play not only the banjo but also many unusual instruments like the mouth bow, the bottleneck slide guitar and even the paper bag.
For over three decades, David's passion for traditional music and culture has fueled a successful performing and recording career. He has earned four Grammy Awards and performed and recorded with many of his mentors including Doc Watson, Grandpa Jones, Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Roy Acuff and Chet Atkins. Today he tours the country performing solo, with his band The Lightning Bolts and with Sutton, Holt and Coleman. His work has been featured in a number of public television productions.

The Three Dolls (India)

12

(4)

David Novak

Those Three Wishes (based on an American short story)

16

(4)

Carol Birch

Fox's Sack (England)

20

(9)

Bill Harley

The Lion's Whisker (East Africa)

29

(5)

Len Cabral

The King's Child (Jewish)

34

(4)

Judith Black

The Story of the Half Blanket (Northern Ireland)

38

(4)

Maggi Kerr Peirce

Lazy Jack (England)

42

(6)

Gay Ducey

The Magic Pot (China)

48

(3)

Pleasant DeSpain

Trouble! (African-American)

51

(6)

David Holt

Bill Mooney

Strength (West Africa/Limba)

57

(7)

Margaret Read MacDonald

Urashima Taro (Japan)

64

(5)

Rafe Martin

The Magic Gifts (Cajun)

69

(5)

J. J. Reneaux

La Muerta: Godmother Death (Mexico)

74

(6)

Doug Lipman

Jack and the Haunted House (Appalachia)

80

(6)

Elizabeth Ellis

The Storekeeper (American South)

86

(5)

Doc McConnell

Rabbit and Possum Hunt for a Wife (Native American/Cherokee)

91

(3)

Gayle Ross

The Black Prince (Egypt)

94

(6)

Laura Simms

The Horned Animals' Party (Antigua/British West Indies)

100

(5)

Diane Ferlatte

The Mischievous Girl and the Hideous Creature (American)

105

(5)

Beth Horner

What He Could Have Been (Jewish)

110

(3)

Steve Sanfield

Is It Deep Enough? (African-American)

113

(5)

David Holt

The Old Giant (England)

118

(7)

Jon Spelman

Little Hare and the Pine Tree (Native American/Winnebago)

125

(4)

Joseph Bruchac

The Dead Mule (American Midwest)

129

(4)

Jim May

The Golden Arm (England)

133

(4)

Jackie Torrence

The Twelve Labors of Hercules (ancient Greece)

137

(4)

Barbara McBride-Smith

How the Turtle Cracked His Shell (Native American/Cherokee)

141

(5)

Robin Moore

The Magic Mortar (Japan)

146

(5)

Jay O'Callahan

The Electricity Elixir (American South)

151

(6)

Chuck Larkin

Panther and Rabbit (French Cameroon)

157

(5)

Michael Parent

The Time Jack Got the Silver Sword (Appalachia)

162

(13)

Donald Davis

Little Burnt Face (Native American/Micmac)

175

(4)

Milbre Burch

The Magic Pomegranate (Jewish)

179

(5)

Peninnah Schram

Santa Visits the Moes (Appalachia)

184

(4)

The Folktellers

The Talking Skull (West Africa)

188

(3)

Heather Forest

Honey Bunny (African-American)

191

(4)

Ed Stivender

The Wise Judge (Japan)

195

(6)

Susan Klein

The Wreck of the Sea Rover (Eastern Seaboard)

201

(6)

Bill Mooney

Jack and the Magic Beans (England)

207

(5)

Bobby Norfolk

Sweet Harmony Chapel (based on an Appalachian short story)

212

(7)

Gwenda LedBetter

The Freedom Bird (Thailand)

219

(4)

David Holt

Acknowledgments & Permissions

223

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Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials