Ready-To-Tell Tales: Sure-Fire Stories from America's Favorite Storytellers - Paperback

by Bill Mooney (Author), David Holt (Author)

Winner of the Pennsylvania School Library Association "YA Best of the Best" Award & Selected for The Elementary School Library Collection Storytelling World Award

Anyone who has watched a master storyteller mesmerize an audience without benefit of set, props, or musical score, has wondered, "How do they do that?" The trick, this anthology tells us, is in the material. And each of the 40 contributors should know. They are some of America's most popular storytellers, each of them sharing a story guaranteed to work in front of the most demanding audience.

In addition to a delightful story, each teller has included tips for unlocking the story and telling it in performance. This multicultural collection includes stories from Africa, India, ancient Greece, Egypt, Japan, the British Isles, Mexico, Thailand, as well as the African-American, Cajun, Appalachian, Jewish, and native American oral traditions.

Author Biography

David Holt Bio:
David Holt found his life's journey in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. With a passion to become an old-time banjo player, David traveled to remote mountain communities like Kingdom Come, Kentucky and Sodom Laurel, North Carolina searching for the best traditional musicians. Holt found hundreds of old-time mountaineers with a wealth of folk music, stories and wisdom. There was banjoist Wade Mainer, ballad singer Dellie Norton, singing coal miner Nimrod Workman, and 122 year-old washboard player Susie Brunson. Holt learned to play not only the banjo but also many unusual instruments like the mouth bow, the bottleneck slide guitar and even the paper bag.
For over three decades, David's passion for traditional music and culture has fueled a successful performing and recording career. He has earned four Grammy Awards and performed and recorded with many of his mentors including Doc Watson, Grandpa Jones, Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Roy Acuff and Chet Atkins. Today he tours the country performing solo, with his band The Lightning Bolts and with Sutton, Holt and Coleman. His work has been featured in a number of public television productions.