Tell Me a Story in the Dark: A Guide to Creating Magical Bedtime Stories for Young Children

by John Olive

Overview

Tonight, don't read your child a story. Instead, dim the light, lie down, and create storytelling magic. Weave a spell that will enchant your child . . .

Written by an award-winning playwright, Tell Me A Story In The Dark provides you with every tool you need to tell great and entertaining stories. In a day when parents want to spend more quality time with their children, Tell Me A Story In The Dark:

• Shows you how to prepare and tell a story.
• Communicates the enormous benefits—ending the bedtime battle of wills, building vocabulary, making room for effective parenting moments.
• Provides a treasure trove of stories that parents (and grandparents) can adapt for their children.
• Teaches you how to make up and tell your own stories.

Anyone who loves children will love this book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781939629586
Publisher:	Familius
Publication date:	03/17/2015
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

John is a widely produced and award-winning playwright. His plays include Minnesota Moon, Standing On My Knees, Killers, The Voice of the Prairie, The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, Clara's Play, The Summer Moon, God Fire, et al. Producing theaters have included: The Manhattan Theatre Cub, Wisdom Bridge, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Oregon Shakespeare Co., Old Globe, South Coast Rep, Steppenwolf, ACT/Seattle, and many others. John has won fellowships from the Bush Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Summer Moon won the Kennedy Center Award for Drama. In the past twelve years, John has written many plays for young audiences including Sideways Stories From Wayside School, The Magic Bicycle, Jason and the Golden Fleece, Pharaoh Serket and The Lost Stone of Fire, Johnny Tremain, and others. Producing theaters have included Seattle Children's Theatre, South Coat Rep, The Arden, Nashville Children's, Oregon Children's, First Stage Milwaukee, et al. John's latest at Seattle Children's (his 6th), Art Dog, opened in April of 2014. John has also written YA novels, including Smartass and Deep River (in-progress, in collaboration with David Grant) and screenplays (Amblin' Entertainment, ShadowCatcher, etc). John is presently writing an immersive adaptation of Crime and Punishment, with Live Action Set. He writes theater reviews for HowWasTheShow.com and lives in Minneapolis with his wife Mary and their son Michael.

Table of Contents

• PART ONE: THE SHIMMERING DARK
• Two Scenarios
• The Bennies, A Story In The Dark Why-To
• Become A Master Storyteller
• Enter The "Creative Zone"
• Counteract The Pernicious Influence Of Glowing Screens
• Build Vocabulary
• End The Battle Of Wills At Bedtime o Address A Child's Need For Stories
• Create Wonderful Parenting Moments
• How To: Prepare A Bedtime Story, Set Up The Room, How To Tell It, Story Points
• The Importance of Sense Detail
• The Importance Of Dialogue and Vocalized Thoughts
• How To "Wing It"
• Make The Bedtime Story A Special Occasion
• The Issue Of Story Intensity
• PART TWO: A SEA OF STORIES
• One Nighters vs. Stories Told Over A Series Of Nights
• Nonsense Stories, 3 examples
• Myths, 2 examples
• Legends, 3 examples
• Tall Tales, 3 examples
• Fables, 1 example
• Religious Stories, 2 examples
• Stories From History, 1 example, 5 ideas
• Stories From Contemporary Life, 4 ideas
• Stories From Family History, 5 ideas
• Found Stories, From Books, Movies And Plays, 2 examples 
• Fairy Tales, 6 examples
• PART THREE: THE GREATEST GIFT, STORIES YOU CREATE YOURSELF
• Introduction
• The Idea Approach
• The Character Approach
• A 1-2-3 Method For Creating Effective bedtime stories

Editorial Reviews

"John Olive writes just as he tells stories, gently and humorously, as he teaches us this lost art. In a world where we are up to our eyeballs in technology, this book is a must for parents who want to preserve their child’s humanity—as well as their own."
—LOUIS SACHAR, author of Holes and Sideways Stories From Wayside School

"Although basically intended as an instructional primer on oral storytelling, Tell Me a Story in the Dark: A Guide to Creating Magical Bedtime Stories for Young Children has an important relevance for aspiring authors seeking to create and write entertaining and original stories for children of all ages and is therefore very highly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Writing/Publishing as well as Parenting instructional reference collections."
—MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

"The re-tellings of both familiar tales and Olive's own originals are vivid, lively and noticeably theatrical, which helps demonstrate what sets them apart from reading the same stories out of a book."  
—MINNESOTA PLAYLIST

"Practical, fun tips from a master storyteller. Bedtime with my child is so much better after reading this book!"
—ANTONIO SACRE, national storyteller and author of My Name is Cool

"An eminently readable and very fun book about an extremely important subject for families that can make all the difference in a child’s life, now and in the future."
—BILL RATNER, Hollywood voice-over artist and author of Parenting for the Digital Age

"John Olive's charming guide is intended for anyone wishing to entertain a child with a bedtime story. He inspires the storyteller in all of us with assurances that we can do this. His step-by-step process will have you ready and waiting to tuck a little one into bed. Olive will have you equipped to bond with your child and have a tiny listener hanging on your every word, image, and sound effect."
—MEL RYANE, author of Teaching Will: What Shakespeare and 10 Kids Gave Me That Hollywood Couldn't

"As a retired developmental psychologist who spent years working with kids and parents, I have to say [John's] new book is a breath of fresh air and wisdom. [John's] well thought out and beautifully written book should be on every parent's bookshelf. Kudos . . . for sharing this big idea so well."
—SIG FURY, retired developmental psychologist

From the Publisher

"John Olive writes just as he tells stories, gently and humorously, as he teaches us this lost art. In a world where we are up to our eyeballs in technology, this book is a must for parents who want to preserve their child’s humanity—as well as their own."

—LOUIS SACHAR, author of Holes andSideways Stories From Wayside School

"Although basically intended as an instructional primer on oral storytelling, Tell Me a Story in the Dark: A Guide to Creating Magical Bedtime Stories for Young Children has an important relevance for aspiring authors seeking to create and write entertaining and original stories for children of all ages and is therefore very highly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Writing/Publishing as well as Parenting instructional reference collections."

—MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

"The re-tellings of both familiar tales and Olive's own originals are vivid, lively and noticeably theatrical, which helps demonstrate what sets them apart from reading the same stories out of a book." —MINNESOTA PLAYLIST

"Practical, fun tips from a master storyteller. Bedtime with my child is so much better after reading this book!" —ANTONIO SACRE, national storyteller and author ofMy Name is Cool

"An eminently readable and very fun book about an extremely important subject for families that can make all the difference in a child’s life, now and in the future." —BILL RATNER, Hollywood voiceover artist and author of Parenting for the Digital Age

"John Olive's charming guide is intended for anyone wishing to entertain a child with a bedtime story. He inspires the storyteller in all of us with assurances that we can do this. His step-by-step process will have you ready and waiting to tuck a little one into bed. Olive will have you equipped to bond with your child and have a tiny listener hanging on your every word, image, and sound effect." —MEL RYANE, author of Teaching Will: What Shakespeare and 10 Kids Gave Me That Hollywood Couldn't

"As a retired developmental psychologist who spent years working with kids and parents, I have to say [John's] new book is a breath of fresh air and wisdom. [John's] well thought out and beautifully written book should be on every parent's bookshelf. Kudos...for sharing this big idea so well." —SIG FURY, retired developmental psychologist

Endorsement