The 2008 Storytelling World Resource Awards


Below are the 2008 winners and honors selected from several hundred nominated stories, books, and recordings. Beneath each award title is a short descriptive phrase about the resource contents. The major evaluative criterion was "story-listener appeal" for the items selected in Categories 1-6, and "usefulness for storytellers" for the resources honored in Category 7. These awards are also featured in the 2008 May/June issue of Storytelling Magazine/Storytelling World. To purchase a copy of this magazine, go to the National Storytelling Network website.

Category 1: Stories for Young Listeners

(See also Categories 2, 5, 6.)

Winners:

Wolf! Wolf!
An extended-story twist on the classic Aesop fable
by John Rocco
Hyperion Books for Children, www.hyperionbooksforchildren.com

Grandpa for Sale
A child’s viewpoint of an antique grandpa’s value
by Dotti Enderle and Vicki Samsum
Flashlight Press, distributed by IPG, www.ipgbook.com

Priceless Gifts
An adapted tale proving that one man’s surplus is another man’s treasure
by Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss
August House, www.augusthouse.com

Honors:

The List
A poignant tale about gift giving
by Hazel Hutchins
Annick Press, www.annickpress.com

Fiona’s Luck
A story of leprechauns and luck
by Teresa Bateman
Charlesbridge, www.charlesbridge.com

How Tiger Got His Stripes
A folktale from Vietnam
by Rob Cleveland
August House, www.augusthouse.com

I Love My Pirate Papa
A story poem about a father and son
by Laura Leuck
Harcourt Children’s Books, www.harcourtbooks.com

One-Eye! Two-Eyes! Three-Eyes!
A recrafting of a Grimm’s folk tale
by Aaron Shepard
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

(Available at your favorite book seller)

With You Always, Little Monday
The blending of a popular legend with the story of a mother’s love
by Geneviève Côté
Harcourt Children’s Books, www.harcourtbooks.com

 

Category 2: Stories for Pre-Adolescent Listeners

(See also Categories 1, 3, 5, 6.)

Winners:

Swift
A heroic Alaskan adventure
by Robert Blake
Penguin Young Readers Group
www.penguin.com/teachersandlibrarians

Prairie Christmas
An 1880 Christmas birth (from the viewpoint of the midwife’s daughter)
by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, www.eerdmans.com/youngreaders

The Great Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog
An adapted folktale from Great Britain
by Margaret Read MacDonald
August House, www.augusthouse.com

Ghost Ship
A Cape Cod story
by Mary Higgins Clark
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
(Available at your favorite book seller)

Honors:

The Buffalo Soldier
A humanizing glimpse into American history
by Sherry Garland
Pelican Publishing Company, www.pelicanpub.com
Moses
Harriet Tubman’s fictional spiritual journey
by Carole Boston Weatherford
Hyperion Books for Children, www.hyperionbooksforchildren.com
The Rich Man and the Parrot
An adaptation of a classic tale by Rumi, a famous 13th century Persian poet
by Suzan Nadimi
Albert Whitman, www.albertwhitman.com
The Tsunami Quilt
The story of the 1946 tsunami at Laupāhoehoe Point
by Anthony D. Fredericks
Sleeping Bear Press, www.sleepingbearpress.com
The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School
A gloppy, messy, slimy poetic story
by Judy Sierra
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
(Available at your favorite book seller)
The Day the Stones Walked
An Easter Island tsunami story
by T.A. Barron
Penguin Young Readers Group, www.penguin.com/teachersandlibrarians
Two Goats on a Bridge
A DVD of stories that promote peace
by Yvonne Young, www.truthtales.com

 

Category 3: Stories for Adolescent Listeners

(See also Categories 2, 4, 5, 6.)

Winners:

One Thousand Tracings
A World War II healing story
by Lita Judge
Hyperion Books for Children
www.hyperionbooksforchildren.com
It Happened in the White House
True stories of eight Virginia presidents and their wives
CD by Lynn Ruehlmann, www.cascadingstories.com
Sweet Land of Liberty
The story of Marian Anderson’s Lincoln Memorial performance
by Deborah Hopkinson
Peachtree Publishers, www.peachtree-online.com

Honors:

The Summer of Treason: Philadelphia 1776
The story of how our country gained its independence
CD by Syd Lieberman, www.sydlieberman.com
A Summer’s Trade (Shįįgo Na’iini’)
A Native American story in both English and Navajo
by Deborah W. Trotter
Salina Bookshelf, 1254 W. University Ave., Ste. 130, Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Vinnie and Abraham
The account of a young female sculptress
by Dawn FitzGerald
Charlesbridge, www.charlesbridge.com
The Longest Season
A baseball story by Cal Ripken, Jr.
Penguin Young Readers Group, www.penguin.com/teachersandlibrarians

 

Category 4: Stories for Adult Listeners

(See also Categories 3, 5, 6.)

Winners:

The Magic Pomegranate Seed
A story about honesty and respect
On CD By the River: Women’s Voices in Jewish Stories
by Cindy Rivka Marshall, www.cindymarshall.com
The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness
A multitude of ancient tales woven into one longer (4-disc) true account of a storyteller who lost his voice
CDs by Joel ben Izzy
HighBridge Company, www.highbridgeaudio.com

Honors:

Ray’s Amazing Grace
Connie’s story about Ray Hicks
On CD Dive-Into Stories by Connie Regan-Blake, www.storywindow.com
Lily and the Magic Camera
A story about maintaining hope
On CD Mystical Whimsy by Mica White, whitemica@gmail.com

 

Category 5: Storytelling Collections

(See also any story collections listed in Categories 1-4 with specific stories identified.)

Winners:

Tales to Tickle Your Funny Bone
Stories from around the world that contain an element of humor
by Norma J. Livo
Libraries Unlimited, www.lu.com
Tales with Tails
Nature stories with an abundance of related classroom information/activities
by Kevin Strauss
Libraries Unlimited, www.lu.com

Honors:

Chicken Soup for the African American Woman’s Soul
and
Chicken Soup for the Entrepreneur’s Soul

Collected personal/inspirational stories
by Jack Canfield and others, www.jackcanfield.com
 

 

Category 6: Storytelling Recordings

CDs or DVDs for listening and/or viewing pleasure for any age

(See also recordings listed in Categories 1-4 with specific stories identified.)

Winners:

Lion in Love
Cultural stories, proverbs, and music
CD by Eshu Bumpus, www.folktales.net
The Crack Between Worlds
Ghost stories and mysterious tales of life at the edge
CD by The Storycrafters, www.storycrafters.com
Once in a Blue Moon
Traditional tales and a true story from Ellis Island
CD by Dolores Hydock, www.storypower.org
Wickety Whack, Brer Rabbit Is Back
Diane’s clever versions of Brer Rabbit tales
CD by Diane Ferlatte, www.dianeferlatte.com
Far from Perfect
A collection of personal stories
CD by Catherine Conant, www.4astoryteller.com
Book Every Saturday for a Funeral
and
Christmas at Southern White Old Lady Hospital

Personal stories about Aunt Marguerite
Two CDs by Andy Offutt Irwin, www.andyirwin.com
 
Troubling Trouble
Six stories about dealing with trouble
CD by Donna Washington
DLW Storyteller, www.Donnawashington.com

Honors:

The Teacher in the Patriotic Bathing Suit
and
The Divine Bovine

Stories that “stretch the truth”
CDs by Bil Lepp, www.buck-dog.com
 
“Because I Said So”
Stories about mothers and kids
CD by Milbre Burch and Gay Ducey
August House, www.augusthouse.com
Too Much Hair!
A collection of personal stories
CD by Donald Davis
August House, www.augusthouse.com
The Mermaid’s Shoes
A collection of enchanting stories
CD by Jenni Cargill-Strong, www.thestorytreecompany.com.au
Cowboys & Indians
Three cowboy and three Indian stories
CD by Tim Lowry
Sound & Fury Studios, www.storytellertimlowry.com
Tell Me a Story 2: Animal Magic
A collection of multicultural folktales
CD by Amy Friedman, www.mythsandtales.com
All the Way to America: Immigrant Journeys
Jewish family stories about immigration
CD by RoseLynn Katz, Rosecarol@cluster.net

 

Category 7: Special Storytelling Resources

Winners:

Story Proof
The science behind the startling power of story
by Kendall Haven
Libraries Unlimited, www.lu.com
Wisdom in the Telling
How to find inspiration in traditional folktales and myths
by Lorraine Hartin-Gelardi
Skylight Paths Publishing, www.skylightpaths.com
The Storytelling Classroom
How to incorporate storytelling into the educational curriculum
by Sherry Norfolk, Jane Stenson, and Diane Williams
Libraries Unlimited, www.lu.com

Honors:

Diane Wolkstein: A Storyteller’s Story
A DVD with archival footage of a 40-year storytelling career
Cloudstone, www.dianewolkstein.com
Brujerias
Information and stories (in both English and Spanish) about witchcraft and the supernatural in the American Southwest and beyond
by Masario García
Texas Tech University Press, www.ttup.ttu.edu
A Girl Called Tootsie
A CD example of a longer story performance
by Sandra G. Harris
W. Edward Harris, www.sonicartistry.net
Christmas in the Trenches
Both story and song about the December 1914 event
Book and CD by John McCutcheon
Peachtree Publishers, www.peachtree-online.com
Pigsty
An example of a book/CD combination for encouraging young readers/listeners
Book by Mark Teague, narrated by Skip Hinnant
Scholastic Audio, http://store.scholastic.com