A World Full of Story
The Greenfield Public Library, with support from the Greenfield Cultural Council, is proud to be hosting a series of world-class story performances on Saturdays in May. Each performance will run from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Greenfield Public Library and is free and open to all.
On May 3, Motoko will enchant and entertain with traditional Japanese storytelling. An award-winning storyteller, Motoko enchants audiences of every age with her weaving of ancient lore, original tales, lyrical movement and traditional music. Her repertoire includes Asian folktales, Zen tales, comical tales from rakugo (a Japanese traditional style of storytelling), funny mime vignettes, as well as personal stories from her childhood in Japan and her life as an immigrant in the U.S.
On May 17, local musician and storyteller
Brendan Taaffe will amuse and entertain with a mix of stories from around the world. A popular elementary school music teacher, Brendan began using story as a way to capture attention in the classroom, and quickly his relaxed and magical telling became the hit of the school. Illustrating the stories with expert music, Brendan is sure to capture the imagination.
On May 31, Eshu Bumpus brings his mix of African and African-American stories, always a hit with every audience. A renowned storyteller, an accomplished jazz vocalist and a master at physical characterization, Eshu has performed on the Exchange Place stage at the National Festival and performed 36 sold out shows in 13 days at the Smithsonian. After appearing at the 10th Annual Connecticut Storytelling Festival in 1991, Eshu was acclaimed as "a fresh, responsible and knowledgeable voice... distinct and compelling... the hit of the Festival.”
All of these events are open to all. For more information contact the children’s librarian at (413) 772-1544 ext. 5.
A World Full of Story
"Book to Movie Fantasy Reading Club ~ This fall, I started the Book-to-Movie Fantasy Reading Club. When I went to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last summer, the theater showed previews of The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising and The Golden Compass and I knew from visiting the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art that there were big plans for The Spiderwick Chronicles. I had learned from our director that we had increased circulation in all material types in our library with the exception of young adult. In our library as in many, that collection represents kids ages 9 to 13. Thus was born the Book-to-Movie Fantasy Reading Club, geared for exactly that group. For the Susan Cooper and Philip Pullman books, I actually purchased paperbacks enough for a group of 10, and asked our Friends group to subsidize movie tickets. The Greenfield Garden Cinemas are across the street from our library, and owner George Gohl was very happy to cordon off a section of the theater on opening night of each movie for our discussion group. We distribute books a month before the film opens; hold a book discussion on the Monday night of the opening week; go to the opening as a group; and meet after the film to talk about the book and the movie. Our plans for Spiderwick are more elaborate and include a tour of the "Spiderwick: from Page to Screen" exhibit. We have borrowed copies of the five books from other libraries (hooray for the network!) so that ten kids can read all the books and come to five discussion meetings, one for each title. Future titles include Prince Caspian in May and Inkheart when that release date is announced. I highly recommend doing this. It has helped me bond with this age group more than ever and it's a great way to show kids how Hollywood changes books, for good or ill, to adapt them to film. "
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