Note: Most of the books I used as resources for draw and tell stories are out of print. However, it was fairly easy to obtain decent and relatively inexpensive used copies.
Margaret Oldfield's books have been around a long time. Tell and Draw Stories was first published in 1961. (Note: This title has the author listed as Margaret Olson.) The other two titles are More Tell and Draw Stories and Lots More Tell and Draw Stories. The drawings in these books are simple and straightforward. All the drawings are animals and the stories that go with them are not long. These were the first draw and tell stories that I used. They were great for preschool storytime. I could learn them quickly and the children loved guessing what I was drawing.
The theme for my first storytime was "Ducks." I used "Danny's Winter Vacation" from More Tell and Draw Stories. From then on Oldfield's stories became a regular part of storytime. Telling these simple stories gave me the confidence to try more complicated draw and tell stories. "Frankie and the Cat" from Tell and Draw Stories is probably my favorite and the one I used most often. At one point I could tell it from memory.
Some of the stories are dated and need to be changed. For example, I changed "Two Little Indians" in Tell and Draw Stories to "Two Little Campers." The boys camped in tents (not tepees) with their families and then decide to go on their "adventure." If I do not like something about a story, I have no problem changing that story to suit my needs. Oldfield herself states this in her introduction which is in each book. This type of storytelling is fluid and easily adaptable.
These books are great for those new to draw and tell storytelling. If you plan to do draw and tell stories often, it may be worth the effort to purchase used copies. Since the stories and drawings are not complicated, they will appeal to younger children. If you will be doing them for mostly older children then you may want to consider one of the other books I will be writing about in upcoming posts.
