Storytelling is ideal for hard-working parents who wish to enrich their limited family time by creating their own storytelling tradition at home. Parents are encouraged to make up stories with, rather than just for, their children. Instead of offering storytelling “how-to’s” to either parents or children, this website focuses on the interactive process of storytelling between parent and child. In fact, all the stories on this website resulted from the spontaneous creative interplay between my two sons and me.
On this website, you will find a monthly story that my children and I have created together. The stories are selected for kids between 5 and 11 years of age, but older kids, as well as adults, will enjoy them as well. Most of the stories are divided into four categories (Animal Stories; Adventures and Folk Tales; Historical and Cultural Stories; and Growing Up Stores) that mirror the growth and development of children, progressing in order from those that especially delight younger children to those that reflect maturing children’s concerns and questions about the world around them.
You will also find an archive of recent posts, a gallery of art work that my children and I created to illustrate our stories, videos of our presentations to school groups and book clubs, and essays with hints, suggestions, and parenting insights on how to tell stories with your children. If you are interested in learning more about storytelling with kids, check out the News and Events page for a list of upcoming events, articles, book reviews, and comments from other readers.
We hope this website will guide and inspire you and your family to create own family tradition of storytelling at home. Always remember, the wonder of storytelling is that you will leave your children with a gift they will always treasure . . . the memories of spending time with you making up wonderful and fantastic stories.
Thank you for your wonderful comment, and for sharing with me a love of storytelling and the wonderful benefits it gives to children, young learners, and families. Happy storytelling!
What an awesome site. It is so great to see storytelling being promoted like you do. I do strongly believe that telling stories to our children can literally change there life! It creates unique moments to share between us, parents, and our children, teaches them a lot about life and moreover give them the love of books which will be precious for them during their whole life! Every children in the world deserve to be told stories! Nice job!
Hey John, congratulations on a great job. When I think of the many discussions we’ve had over the past few years and your intense desire to get these stories written and published, i am delighted that it has finally come to pass. In this day of sound bites and overwhelming visuals, it sometimes seems like the younger generation has lost the joy and mystery of the imagination. You’ve tapped into a long lost tradition of story telling that is so refreshing and i wish you and the boys success with it all. i will be reading your book to my great granddaughter next time she visits.
John,
I enjoyed meeting your on our trip up to New York City from Washington, DC yesterday. I think you’ve created an amazing and invaluable gift for children and parents around the world. What a creative and fabulous way to enrich the lives of young children everywhere, and provide an opportunity for better parent-child bonding!
You’re my hero. I wish you the greatest of success with your book also. If you’re interested in my novel, the title is The Cicada Prophecy, and excerpts may be downloaded (free) from Amazon.com to your Kindle or iPad. I’ll let you know how things turn out with my opportunity with HarperCollins, as well as the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.
All the best!
Reid
hello I am Katherine. I am 7 years old and I love this book. it’s really imaginative and I read the back its funny that you will not tell a story about star wars’. I love all the story’s. my favorites’ are a goth Christmas and the royal bulldog and last but not least the fruit bat and the vampire bat. I forget when but I took the book to school. we read the royal bull dog. my friend’s loved it. I told them it was related to Spencer. I pointed out who was Conner and who was Will. any way I love this book and thanks’ for giving it to me love, Katherine
Dear John -
I so enjoyed meeting you at Rosedale & would love to chat again – & get your book!! Pie Friendly
This is a delightful book. My kids have been lucky to hear several McCormick stories. I am in awe of his dedication to the art of storytelling. Everyone should own a copy!
This book is a real gem. Its wonderful for kids of all ages and parents too! My kids and I both look forward to bed time.
John-
The way you began storytelling by telling a second story “with your mouth”, as Will put it, reminds me of something Bubu’s little sister Aden recently said. Because she has been to Sheridan frequently, she considers it “my school”, not just her big brothers’. She remarked the other day that she wants to go to school and learn something. (Aden’s two years and ten months old). I asked her, “What do you want to learn?” She replied, “Spanish”. I was interested and asked her, “Why Spanish?” and she replied, “Because I don’t have any Spanish in my mouth.” This was so literal and yet profound. I don’t have any Spanish in my mouth either and I probably never will, I thought, because I’m not good at learning new languages.
Anyway, I really like your book and web site and have learned well now to ask Aden to tell me what she wants to hear about.
See you around.
Allan
You don’t have to be a parent to enjoy this book. A delightful read for kids of all ages!
This book is a true joy! Gone are long nights of my son staring blankly at me while I stumble through yet another rendition of “Jack and the Beanstalk.” I would highly recommend this book to anyone who yearns to ignite the imagination of their kids…and themselves.
A wonderful addition to any storybook library. The stories are fun and interesting and the author provides great insight into the art of storytelling itself. A purchase you won’t regret!
For a Dad that always struggles with fun creative stories for boys and girls, this book is terrific! I typically find myself telling the same story over and over again, with a few minor deviations. This book has opened up a whole new world for me. The stories are fun, intersting, and there is just the right amount of explanation for each, which allows me to think up my own slightly unique adaptations. I highly recommend this book for families with young kids. It is well worth the money!