Beginnings - Draw and Tell Stories

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.

 

Draw and Tell Stories - Getting Started

Before I delve into the various sources of draw and tell stories, I would like to talk a little about this method of storytelling.

Try it, you'll like it!

Don't be intimidated by the fact that you have to draw a picture. It's really easier than it looks and no drawing talent is needed. What is needed is the willingness to spend some time practicing. As with any newly learned skill, it may seem difficult at first but will become easier with each story. Start with simple stories and remember that you are aiming for a recognizable image not great art. If you have ever doodled, you can do draw and tell stories. The picture you are drawing is broken down into steps so you are only drawing a small part of the picture each time you tell part of the story. Learn those steps and practice them and before you know it you will have mastered your first tale.

Why spend the time learning how to do draw and tell stories?

Learning this method of storytelling is worthwhile because it appeals to a wide age range. Although very young children are not impressed by the "magic" of a picture appearing as a story is told, older toddlers like to guess what you are drawing. If you work with only babies and toddlers, learning this new technique may not be worth the time. (Of course if you are interested, learn it anyway for you never know when you might use it.) Preschoolers love guessing so this is a great format to use with them. I often did a draw and tell story at the start of storytime to introduce the theme. The challenge is that the children become quite good at guessing which means you will eventually need to learn more complex stories. Draw and tell stories are great for class visits. Older children have usually not encountered them. They also appeal to adults making them a good choice for an all ages or family storytime. You do not need to use this technique for every storytime. I like to use a variety of storytelling techniques including cut and tell stories, puppets, props and the flannel board. Draw and tell stories are simply another tool to add to your storytelling repertoire.

Here are some tips to help you get started:

*As with choosing the books for storytime, keep the age of the children in mind.

*Memorize the drawing sequence not the story. Tell the story in your own words. Feel free to make changes so that you are comfortable telling the story.

*Practice drawing your story on scrap paper. I start out using small pieces of scrap paper to memorize the drawing sequence. Once I have done that I move up to the backs of outdated flyers to get comfortable telling the story. Use a white board or chalk board to practice a full sized drawing. 

*There are a few options for drawing. You can use a white board or a chalk board thus eliminating the need for paper. However, get one that can easily be turned around because some of the best stories require the picture to be drawn upside down. Also some drawings look better when the board is on its side. Some stories may require folding as well as drawing so if you want to do those you will have to use paper. I use 18" by 24" newsprint paper. I use the cardboard from the back of a used up pad as my backing. (If you are just starting and thus have no finished pad, there is no law that says you can't take the back off of the pad you are using.) I clip the paper to the cardboard. It is lightweight and easy to turn. I place it on an easel. It is a good size for large groups. Since markers bleed through paper, the cardboard protects whatever is behind it. For outreach I would clip sheets of paper to one side and move a sheet to the other side as needed.

The Halloween Hike

Inspired by Flannel Friday's annual Halloween Round Up, I wrote another Halloween draw and tell story. This is my third one!

 

The Halloween Hike

Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room

 

Joe loved to hike and explore. So did his big sister, Meg. One sunny Halloween morning they decided to explore a nearby park.  "A nice long hike will help pass the time until we can go trick-or-treating," said Joe. "We should have plenty of time to explore before then," answered Meg.

 

When they got to the park, the first thing they did was walk around a crystal clear lake. (Draw 1) On the other side they came to a high hill. They decided to climb up the hill.  (Draw 2) The hill turned out to be much higher than they expected and it took a long time to get to the top. (Draw 3) Fortunately Meg and Joe had packed lunch and water in their backpacks. They had a nice lunch on top of the hill. Then they went down the other side of the hill. (Draw 4) It was much easier going down than up! There were lots of trees on this side of the hill. (Draw 5) They came across a pond with plants floating in it. (Draw 6) There was also a log in the middle of the pond. (Draw 7) They watched a dragonfly skim across the pond. (Draw 8) Joe and Meg walked around the pond. (Draw 9) There were lots of trees on the other side of the pond as well. (Draw 10)

 

"I feel like I am being watched," said Joe. "Me, too" said Meg. "Let's hurry home. We don't want to be late for the trick-or-treating tonight." Meg and Joe quickly left the park. Who was watching them on their Halloween hike?

 

 

 

This week's Flannel Friday is hosted by Sue of Library Village. Be sure to visit Flannel Friday for more storytime inspiration!

 

Kevin's Favorite Animal

Note: This is the first draw and tell story that I wrote. I think I wrote it in 2001. I didn't write another one until 2012. I managed to find this in a box of storytelling material in my basement. The reason I decided to dig it up was that it goes with this week's Flannel Friday theme. Children will guess the animal quickly so I suggest telling them to wait until the end of the story so everyone can shout it out together.

"Kevin's Favorite Animal"

by Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room
 

Kevin likes to do many different things. He likes to play in his room. (Draw 1) He has bookcases in his room with books about his favorite animal (Draw 2) He sits in a comfy chair in his room to read the books about his favorite animal. (Draw 3) Sometimes he builds towers with blocks in his room (Draw 4) Sometimes he plays with his sister in her room. (Draw 5) Sometimes he plays with his brother in his room. (Draw 6) Sometimes he plays with his brother and sister in their backyard. (Draw 7) However, Kevin's favorite thing to do is to go to the aquarium to see his favorite animal. (Draw 8)
 

What is Kevin's favorite animal? SHARK!!
 

 

This week's Flannel Friday celebrates Shark Week and is hosted by Sharon of Rain Makes Applesauce. 



Springy Arms to the Rescue!

One of my family storytime programs this summer will be about robots. There are plenty of books about robots but I try to have a variety of stories to keep the interest of this multi-age group. The following is the story I came up with to tell using our magnet board. It will work well with a felt/flannel board too.

Springy Arms to the Rescue!

by Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room 

LR1 was a bored little bot. The big robots were always busy running back and forth all day long. Not one had time for him. He wanted to help but no one would stop to tell him what to do.

One day LR1 had an idea. He noticed that the big robots had to slow down to get around him, but he was the only little bot so they quickly sped up again. He thought, "If there were lots of little bots then the big robots would have to slow down even more. Then I could talk to them." LR1 needed to get into the "Robot Production Room" so he could make more little bots. He looked around and saw three doors. One door had the letters RRR on it. That must be the "Robot Repair Room." That was where the robots who broke down went to get fixed. The second door had the letters RLR on it. That was the "Robot Lubrication Room." Once a week each robot went in there to get a bath of fresh oil to keep all parts running smoothly. The third door had the letters RPR on it. "Yes!" said LR1, "That's the "Robot Production Room." Now since LR1 was a very small bot, the door handle was out of reach. For a second LR1 was worried but then he remembered, "I have springy arms. Springy arms to the rescue!" His arm uncurled and easily reached the door handle. He quickly opened the door and slipped into the "Robot Production Room," closing the door behind him. The big robots were too busy to notice. LR1 went to the control panel and punched in all the information needed to make little bots. He made sure that they all had springy arms. Then he pressed the start button. The conveyor belt began to roll. Pieces were assembled. It did not take long to make more little bots. "Now we can slow down the big bots," said LR1. "Follow me!" The little bots followed LR1 into the other room. Almost immediately the big robots started slowing down. They didn't want to trip over the little bots. If they did, they would end up in the "Robot Repair Room." "Where did all these little bots come from?" asked BR1. "We're here to help!" said LR1. "What do you want us to do?" BR1 thought for a moment and said, "It's difficult for us to bend down. Perhaps you can pick things up for us. You can use your springy arms to reach under things for us too." "Great!" said LR1. "Springy arms to the rescue!"

Each little bot was paired with a big robot. LR1 was no longer bored. Not only did he have a job to do but he also now had lots of little robot friends.

LR1 and BR1

 

Doors and Control Panel

 

LR1's arm uncoiled

 





Notes: Since my library has a magnet board, I made my robots out of card stock and colored them with marker. Each "springy" arm is made by cutting a spiral. Then glue the outer end to the back of the robot. Since I am using paper, it will be easy for me to make more robots. I will run a master through the copy machine. I will probably make 10 of each. Five would be fine if you don't want to make that many. The children will get the point. I drew my own robots which is easy to do but you can also use clip art which is also easy to reproduce. The robots can also be made of felt. Some of you may already have ones you can use if you've done the "Five Little Robots" rhyme. I would still make the arms from paper since it coils and uncoils so well. My additional figures will all have numbers. For the little robots it will be LR2, LR3, LR4 etc. and for the big robots it will be BR2, BR3, BR4 etc. LR stands for Little Robot and BR stands for Big Robot. Numbering the robots is optional.

I am hosting this week's (small) Flannel Friday round-up. Click here for the direct link.

Building a Bot

I have a feeling that there will be many "Robot" storytimes this summer since the theme goes so well with the CSLP's "Fizz, Boom, Read!" theme. I've found cute songs and rhymes to go with this theme  but not too many other activities for family storytime. Instead of building a robot on the flannel board, I plan to put one together using Sharon's magic envelope. I've also come up with a draw and tell story to go with the theme.

Sometimes I like to change things up when I do something on a regular basis. Most draw and tell stories are pretty straightforward but every once in a while a picture is drawn upside down. The following story is drawn that way. Please note that you cannot draw this story on something that cannot be turned upside down. I like to use a sheet of newsprint paper clipped to cardboard. It's portable and very lightweight. Also, I recommend telling this story at the beginning of the program so the children can guess the theme.

"Building a Bot: A Draw and Tell Story"

by Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room

Carl and Cindy liked to make things. Their parents let them have a special place in the basement to work (1). There was a table for Carl (2) and a table for Cindy (3). There was also a long bench which they used when they worked together (4). Cindy liked to make things with boxes - little ones (5), big ones (6), and medium-sized ones (7). They were all fun to use. Carl liked to work with wires. He used long wires (8), curly wires (9) and short wires (10). Today Carl and Cindy were working together on a project. It was almost done but wasn't quite right. "I know," said Cindy. "These two boxes should help finish it." She added two boxes to one end of the project. (11). "These wires aren't quite right," said Carl. "I'll fix them." Carl fixed two of the wires. (12). "Now we're done!" said Cindy. "Perfect!," said Carl. What did Cindy and Carl make? (Turn drawing.)

Complete Drawing Sequence

(Step by step instructions will be available soon.)

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is hosted by Lisa of Libraryland 

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Where Has Polly Gone?

While I was exploring mathisfun.com, I came up with my final activities for my shapes family storytime. I was looking at polygons when the title of the following draw and tell story popped into my head. All I needed was a story to go with it. You will see that all the shapes that make the figures in this story are polygons. I make no apologies for the pun.

"Where Has Polly Gone?"

by Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room

Jake was worried. His puppy, Polly, had gotten out of the house and was taking herself for a walk. Jake went out to look for her. He could not see Polly. "Where has Polly gone?" wondered Jake. (Write A on top of page.) He looked all around his front yard. (Draw #1) Then he saw his neighbor Sarah playing in her front yard. "Have you seen Polly?" asked Jake. "I saw her running down the street," Sarah replied. "She turned right onto Oak Street." (Draw #2) "Thanks!" yelled Jake as he ran after his dog. He turned onto Oak but he did not see Polly. He did see a lady working in her garden. He asked her if she saw a puppy running by. "Yes," said the lady. "A puppy with a pointy nose came trotting past my house. It stopped to look at some birds and then went around the corner to Spruce Street." (Draw #3) "Thank you!" said Jake. He ran onto Spruce Street but again he was too late. He could not find Polly. Jake saw a man working on his car and asked him if he saw a puppy go by. "I saw a puppy with one ear sticking up and another ear flopping down sniffing around my tree. Then the puppy ran over to my neighbor's yard where it had fun running around his trees. Then the puppy turned right onto Elm Street." (Draw #4) "That's Polly!" said Jake. "Thank you!" Jake ran onto Elm Street. Far ahead at the corner of Elm Street and Pine Street, Jake saw a puppy in front of a very familiar place. It was a cozy house which had a very long front door handle. (Draw #5) Polly had gone all around the block and had ended up right back home! (Write B)

 

Drawing sequence:

#1/A

#2

 

#3 

 

#4

#5/B

 

 Finished drawing



Notes: This drawing is made up of three basic shapes - triangles, squares and rectangles. It can easily be simplified. You do not have to add A and B. The story will also work without drawing the house. Just say that Jake saw Polly in front of his house.

This week's Flannel Friday Round-up is hosted by Jbrary.

 

Something Special - A Valentine's Day Draw and Tell Story

Something Special - A Valentine's Day Draw and Tell Story

by Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room Blog

Usually Harry liked having two sisters and a brother. There was always someone willing to play. However, sometimes it made things harder. Valentines Day  was one of those times. His brother and sisters seemed to think of better things to give their mom than he did. Hugh, the oldest, was giving her a heart-shaped balloon (1). Sarah made a beautiful heart-shaped pillow for her (2). Lisa was giving her a heart-shaped box of candy (3). Harry only had a card with a heart on it (4). He wanted to give his mom something else as well. It had to be something special.

Harry walked downtown to to look at all the store windows (5). They were decorated for Valentine's Day. Maybe he would get an idea. He walked up the street to the jewelry store (6). There were lots of pretty things in the window that he was sure his mom would like. Harry was also sure that the money he saved was not enough to buy anything there. He walked past more stores but didn't get any ideas (7). He walked up another block (8) and there it was, the perfect present. He had enough money to buy one. It was pretty and reminded him of spring. He knew his mom would like it too, so Harry ran into the store and bought it (9).

Drawing sequence:

1. Draw first heart-shaped petal.

2. Draw second heart-shaped petal.

3. Draw third heart-shaped petal.

4. Draw fourth heart-shaped petal.

5. Draw stem.

6. Draw first half of right leaf.

7. Draw second half of right leaf.

8. Draw first half of left leaf.

9. Draw second half of left leaf.

This week's Flannel Friday is hosted by Mel of Mel's Desk.

At Grandma's House

There are two similiar draw and tell turkey stories that are popular. One is "Turkey Lake" found in Stories to Play With by Hiroko Fujita and the other is "Turkey Tale" found in Twenty Tellable Tales by Margaret Read MacDonald. Even though it has already been done, I chose to draw a turkey because it is a Thanksgiving symbol that is easily recognized by young children.

At Grandma's House: A Thanksgiving Draw and Tell Story

by Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room

November 8, 2013



George and his sister Lisa were visiting their grandmother for the long Thanksgiving weekend. George and Lisa lived in the city but their grandmother lived in the country. George and Lisa loved to explore around Grandma's house. As they were going by Grandma's garden they saw that there was still one large pumpkin left. (Draw #1) The sun was shining brightly in the sky (Draw #2). George and Lisa looked up and saw birds flying south for the winter (Draw #3). Then they decided to explore the woods behind Grandma's house (Draw #4). It was dark in the woods because of all the tall trees (Draw #5). George and Lisa each found a stick (Draw #6). They used their sticks to probe among the fallen leaves. Lisa found a pinecone (Draw #7) and George found a worm (Draw #8). Suddenly they heard a noise. Something was running through the woods. What did George and Lisa see?



Drawing sequence:

1. Draw pumpkin.

2. Draw sun.

 

3. Draw birds.

 

4. Draw woods.

 

5. Draw trees.

 

6. Draw sticks.

 

7. Draw pinecone.

 

8. Draw worm.


This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is hosted by Tracey at 1234 More Storytimes.

 

Shadows on the Moon

Flannel Friday's Annual Halloween Round-Up is this week. Last year I contributed a draw and tell story. I have another one for this year.

Shadows on the Moon: A Halloween Draw and Tell Story

by Linda Meuse

(Notes from the Story Room - 10/4/13)



It had been a great night for trick-or-treating. Mike and Sara were on their way home with bags full of candy. Sara glanced up to see a full moon in the night sky. (1) "The moon looks different tonight. It seems to have lots of shadows on it," said Sara. (2) "Some of those shadows look more like spots," replied Mike, stopping to look at the moon. "See, there is one right in the middle." (3) Sara also stopped to look carefully at the moon. "I see it," she said, "and there's an even bigger one under it!" (4) Mike started to get excited. "I see two more!," he said. "They are on top of the other spots. There is one on each side." (5) "It looks like the moon has a face," said Sara. "There is also something on top of the moon. It looks like the moon is wearing a funny hat." (6) Sara and Mike looked at the moon and then looked at each other. They both smiled for they realized that the moon was having some Halloween fun too!

Drawing Sequence:

(1) Draw moon

(2) Draw shadows

(3) Draw middle spot

(4) Draw big spot

(5) Draw two more spots

(6) Draw hat

Just for fun - Picasa automatically made this:

Click on "Halloween" in the Labels list to the right to find other Halloween storytime ideas on this blog.

This week's Round-Up is hosted by Storytime ABC's. Information about Flannel Friday can be found on the Flannel Friday blog. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest.



The Fisherman and His Wife - Draw and Tell Story

This is a part of a series of posts about "Telling One Story Five Ways." It is also my Flannel Friday contribution for this week.

This tale is fairly long for a draw and tell story. It can be done, though the resulting story is one for an experienced draw and tell storyteller. The reason I made it into a draw and tell story is to show how a single story can be adapted to various formats.

This story takes a bit of preparation. It has to be drawn on paper which will be folded in half lengthwise at the end of the story. Since markers bleed through most paper a second sheet of paper should be glued to the bottom half on the back. I took a second piece of paper, folded it in half and glued the halves together, and then I glued that to the back of the first piece of paper. I then folded the paper in half to create a fold line to use as a guide for the placement of the figures and buildings.

To help show how the drawing comes together, I used different colored markers in the examples below. When actually doing the drawing a single color is all that is needed. However, I liked how the final drawing turned out. I am definitely tempted try telling the story using the different colors. It would be a challenge.

It is also going to take a bit of time drawing the buildings as they get more elaborate. I would talk about the how each one differs from the previous one as I draw them.

The Fisherman and His Wife: A Draw and Tell Story

 Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room

Long ago there a fisherman (1) and his wife (2) who lived in a very small shack (3) by the sea. One day the fisherman went down to the sea to fish as usual. He quickly felt a tug on his line and pulled up the largest and most unusual fish he had ever seen (4). He was quite startled when the fish begged for his freedom. The fisherman released the  fish back into the sea.

When the fisherman returned home, he told his wife about his strange experience with a talking fish. "You should have made him grant you a wish!" she said. "You spared his life and he owes you a wish. Go back and ask him for a nice house for I am tired of living in a tiny shack." The fisherman went back to the sea (5) and called, "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish" "What does she want?" asked the fish as it came up above the waves. "She wants a nice house to live in," replied the fisherman. "Her wish is granted," said the fish disappearing under the waves. The fisherman returned home to find a nice house (6) where the shack had been.

A week passed but the wife was not happy. "This house is not big enough," said the wife. "Go back and tell the fish we need a fine mansion." The fisherman returned to the sea (7). "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish," called the fisherman. The fish appeared and asked, "What does she want?" "She wants a fine mansion," said the fisherman. "Her wish is granted," said the fish diving back into the sea. The fisherman returned home to find a fine mansion where the house had been (8).

A week passed but the wife was still not happy. She said, "Go back to the sea and tell the fish that I want to live in a castle. Since I will have a castle I should be king as well." The fisherman went back to the sea (9). He called to the fish, "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish." Again the fish appeared and asked, "What does she want?" The fisherman answered, "She wants to live in a castle and be king." "Her wish is granted," said the fish. The fisherman returned to find a castle (10) where the mansion had been. His wife was wearing a crown (11).

Another week passed. The wife was still not happy so she said to her husband, "Go back to the fish and tell him I want to be emperor and live in a magnificent palace." The fisherman returned to the sea (12) and called, "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish." "What does she want now?" asked the fish. The fisherman replied, "She wants to be emperor and live in a magnificent palace." "Her wish is granted," said the fish. The fisherman returned to find a magnificent palace (13) where the castle had been. His wife was wearing an even bigger crown (14).

Was the wife finally happy? No. A week later the wife said to her husband, "Tell the fish that I want to rule the universe and everything in it including the moon and the stars." Sadly the fisherman returned to the sea (15). The fisherman called, "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish." "What does she want?" asked the fish. "She wants to rule the universe and everything in it," answered the fisherman. "That she cannot do," replied the fish. "Now she must live with what she deserves." The fish dove into the sea never to be seen again and the fisherman returned home to find their tiny shack where the magnifcent palace had been (16).

Drawing Sequence:
(1) Draw fisherman with fishing pole near the bottom of the paper
(2) Draw wife below the fold line leaving enough room to draw the crowns on her head later in the story
(3) Draw the shack in the center with the bottom on the fold line
(4) Draw the fish
(5) Draw waves
(6) Draw house using the shack as a door
(7) Draw waves
(8) Draw mansion around house
(9) Draw waves
(10) Draw castle around mansion
(11) Draw crown
(12) Draw waves
(13) Draw palace around castle
(14) Draw larger crown
(15) Draw waves
(16) Fold bottom half up and draw the shack again

The front - with drawing sequence numbers:

The back:

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is being hosted by Library Quine of the Loons and Quines blog.