Boastful Beaver and His Beautiful Tail

I came across a version of this Ojibwa story when searching for folktales about tails for my next Family Story Time. The version that I based my adaptation on can be found here. I decided to make it into a magnet/flannel board story which can be found as a Google document here.

The story reminded me of Keith Faulkner's The Long-Nosed Pig which is one of my favorites. (This pop-up book is a great choice to read to large groups. I have used it for numerous class visits as well as storytimes. Sadly it is out of print.) Faulkner's book inspired my retelling though I am dealing with the opposite end.

I used clip art for my animals, some from Microsoft Publisher and some from other sources such as Open Clip Art Library. Since only two animals are on the board at any one time, I made the figures larger than I usually do.

Beaver - Before

The Other Animals

Beaver - After

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

Amazon Theater #2 - The Bird and the Trees

Winter is the topic this month.  I will be a substitute librarian for Toddler Time next week and telling winter stories at Family Story Time the following week.  I'll be using ideas from Flannel Friday posts for Toddler Time so thank you fellow participants.  For Family Story Time I will be telling some winter folktales.  As I have mentioned before, I like to use various methods of storytelling so I adapted a story to tell using props.  I call it "Amazon Theater" because my stage is an amazon.com box.  I simply put my props on the overturned box as I tell the story.  (See my post for 9/1/11 for another example.)

The following story is adapted from one by Rick Walton, a pourquoi tale called "Why the Evergreen Trees Keep Their Leaves in Winter."  His site is an excellent source for finding stories to tell. 

My version is called the "The Bird and the Trees" and can be told using props as I have or using felt or magnet board pieces.  I based most of the figures on clip art from Microsoft Publisher.  I made the North Wind and the Frost King into stick puppets to hold over the "stage" at the end of the story but they can be board pieces as well. 

The story:

The Bird and the Trees

Once there was a bird who could not fly south for the winter with the other birds. He had injured his wing and could not fly. As the cold winds started to blow, the bird knew he would have to seek shelter. The forest was full of trees with sheltering branches. So he went into the forest to find a place to stay for the winter.

First the bird came to a willow tree at the edge of the forest and asked, “May I please spend the winter in one of your branches? My wing is injured and I cannot fly south this year.” The willow replied, “Goodness no! My branches are much too delicate to have a bird living in them!”

The bird went a little further into the forest until he came to a birch tree and asked, “May I please stay in one of your branches until the spring comes?” “I’m sorry,” the birch tree answered, “but I have to look after myself this winter and it would be too much to look after you as well.”

So the bird hopped even deeper into the forest looking for a tree to shelter him. He came to a tall oak tree. “Please,” asked the bird, “may I stay in your branches for the winter?” “Harrumph!” said the oak, “If I let you stay in my branches, you will eat my acorns all winter long and I can’t have that!”

The bird hopped even deeper into the forest not knowing what to do for none of the trees wanted to help him. “What are you doing so deep in the forest little bird?” asked a spruce tree who saw him hopping along. “I’m looking for a place to spend the winter,” answered the little bird. “My wing is injured and I cannot fly south with the other birds.” “You are welcome to spend the winter with me,” replied the spruce. “Come, hop onto this branch,” said the spruce as she lowered one of her large, wide branches down to the ground. The pine tree saw what had happened and said to the bird, “Although my branches aren’t as warm, I will help shelter you when the wind blows for I am big and strong.” Then the juniper tree said, “I may not be big but I have delicious berries that you are welcome to eat all winter long.” The bird thanked each of the trees for their kindness and stayed safely with them throughout the winter months.

But that is not the end of the story. The North Wind was playing in the forest and wanted to blow everything off the trees. The Frost King would not let him touch the trees who had helped the bird. The Frost King declared, “These trees showed great kindness by taking care of the injured bird. Their branches will remain green throughout the year. However, you may blow the leaves off the trees who thought only of themselves. Their branches shall stay bare until the springtime comes.” The North Wind had fun blowing the leaves off of the selfish trees.

So it is today. The spruce, pine and juniper trees are green all year long while the leaves of the willow, birch and oak trees fall to the ground when the cold wind blows.

The figures:

 The Selfish Trees

 Bird with the Kind Trees

North Wind and King Frost Stick Puppets

How the props are supported

This week's Flannel Friday is hosted by Melissa of Mel's Desk, the one who started it all.  Please be sure to look at her post about starting Flannel Friday just one year ago.  Many thanks to Melissa and the others who have worked so hard this past year to make Flannel Friday the wonderful resource it is today.

Turtle Talks Too Much

"Turtle Talks Too Much" is another Native American story that I adapted for the Family Story Time program of November 29, 2011 (see post for 11/30/11).  It is based on "How Turtle Flew South for the Winter" in Native American Stories told by Joseph Bruchac.  Although I told it using props, it can easily be told as a flannel/magnet board story.  I remember reading a version of this tale several years ago but of course I have forgotten where I came across it.  My version can be found as a Google document here.

The props were fairly simple to make.  The stick came from my front yard.  When selecting a stick make sure it is small enough for the clothes pins to fit on it.  I drew the turtle and birds and colored them with markers.  The turtle's shell is plain and I put a piece of white sticky-backed Velcro in the center of the shell and colored it with green marker.  I then made a cracked shell putting the other part of the Velcro on the back of it so it can be attached after turtle falls.  I put card stock behind the figures to reinforce them.  This also helped the birds stay upright on the stick.  I then taped clothes pins behind the birds' feet and behind turtle's head.  I taped a mouth onto turtle's clothes pin. 

Birds carrying turtle:



How it is put together:

After the fall:

It's my turn to host the Flannel Friday Round-Up so please come back Friday evening for the last Flannel Friday of 2011!

Crow's Great Gift

One of the stories I told at last month's Family Story Time (see post for 11/30/11) was "Crow's Great Gift" which is based on the story "Rainbow Crow" from The Grandfathers Speak: Native American Folk Tales of the Lenape People collected and written by Hitakonanu'laxk (Tree Bear).  Libraries may have the book, Rainbow Crow by Nancy Van Laan, which is a nice retelling of this story.  Other versions can also be found by searching the internet.  My version can be found as a Google document here.

I used clip art from Microsoft Publisher to make stick puppet figures.  However, this story would work just as well as a board story.  I like to vary my ways of telling stories in a program so I decided to use stick puppets for this one.

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up can be found at Liz's "Putting Smiles on Faces" blog.

Why We Need the Wind

This story for the flannel/magnet board is an adaptation of the story "Gluscabi and the Wind Eagle" found in Native American Stories Told by Joseph Bruchac.  I have simplified the original so that only a few pieces are needed to tell the story.  It can be found as a Google document here.

Pieces awaiting lamination:

Once the pieces are cut out I will "push" the canoe back and forth on the magnet board to illustrate Gluscabi's trouble with the wind.  Once Gluscabi reaches the top of the mountain I will use the eagle flapping his wings to make the wind.  Once Gluscabi starts to talk to the eagle I will use the standing eagle figure for the rest of the story.  Next to the standing eagle in the photo above is the carrying strap that Gluscabi makes to capture the eagle.  It will be placed across the eagle.  When Gluscabi returns to the lake, I will place the canoe back on the board.  When he returns to the mountain, I will place the standing eagle back on the board.

I enjoy using pourquoi tales in my family story time programs.  They often feature animals and animal stories are always popular with my audience.

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is hosted by Cate's Storytiming blog.