The 2019 Storytelling World Resource Awards


This section features the 2019 winners and honors selected from the numerous 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. Questions may be e-mailed to florajoy@comcast.net or they may be answered on the website www.storytellingworld.com where these winning resources are featured with embedded links to their respective websites.

Category 1: Stories for Young Listeners

(See also Categories 2, 5, 6.)

Winners:

Holes in the Sky
A heartwarming grandmother story
by Patricia Polacco
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, www.penguin.com/youngreaders

Prince Ribbit
A reimagined fairy tale with an extra twist
by Jonathan Emmett
Peachtree Publishers, www.peachtree-online.com
I Love My Purse
A story about children who don’t follow gender norms
by Belle DeMont
Annick Press, www.annickpress.com




Honors:


Drummer Boy of John John
A story inspired by the early life of Winston “Spree” Simon (a pioneer in the development of the steel drum)
by Mark Greenwood
Lee & Low Books, www.leeandlow.com

 
Izzy Gizmo
A poetic story to inspire future inventors
by Pip Jones
Peachtree Publishers, www.peachtree-online.com

Animal Village
An authentic folk tale (from the Zarma culture of West Africa) embracing the wisdom of ancestral stories
by Nelda LaTeef
Sub-Saharan Publishers, www.africanbookscollective.com/publishers/sub-saharan-publishers

Never Satisfied
A retelling of the classic stonecutter folktale
by Dave Horowitz
Nancy Paulsen Books, www.penguin.com/youngreaders

Fox and Raccoon
A tender story about friendship
by Lesley-Anne Green
Tundra Books, www.penguinrandomhouse.ca



Category 2

Stories for Pre-Adolescent Listeners

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

Winners:


Girl Running
The true story of the first female Boston Marathon runner
by Annette Bay Pimentel
Nancy Paulsen Books, www.penguin.com/youngreaders

 
Flowers for Sarajevo
An unlikely act of heroism demonstrating the power of beauty in the face of violence (With CD)
by John McCutcheon
Peachtree Publishers, www.peachtree-online.com

 

Write to Me
A story created from letters from Japanese-American children and sent to the librarian they left behind
by Cynthia Grady
Charlesbridge Publishing, www.charlesbridge.com




   


Honors:

Midnight Teacher
The true story of Lilly Ann Granderson and her secret school
by Janet Halfmann
Lee & Low Books, www.leeandlow.com



Cinderella and the Furry Slippers
A Girl-Power fractured fairy tale
by David Cali
Tundra Books, www.penguinrandomhouse.ca
 

 
The Turtle Ship
An episode in Korean history and naval engineering loosely based on the true story of Admiral Yi Sun-sin
by Helena Ku Rhee
Lee & Low Books, www.leeandlow.com

 
 

Category 3

Stories for Adolescent Listeners

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

Winners:

Voices from the Underground Railroad
A look into an attempt to escape enslavement
by Kay Winters
Dial Books for Young Readers, www.penguin.com/youngreaders

Into the Dark
Creepy stories from the shadows (for teens and adults)
CD by Rona Leventhal
Road Candy Records, www.ronatales.com

 

Honors:

 
The Story of World War II Hero Irena Sendler
The story of a social worker/secret agent who saved thousands of Jewish children
by Marcia Vaughan
Lee & Low Books, www.leeandlow.com


Confucius, Great Teacher of China
A brief biography of “China’s uncrowned king”
by Demi
Lee & Low Books, www.leeandlow.com

 

Fufi
A story about dog ownership and its impact on future relationships
In Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, by Trevor Noah
John Murray Publishers, www.trevornoah.com

Turning Pages
Sonia’s story of how books influenced her life
by Sonia Sotomayor
Philomel, www.penguin.com/youngreaders

Category 4

Stories for Adult Listeners

(See also Categories 3, 5, 6.)

Winners:

Woody Guthrie: When the World’s on Fire
An original true story of one of America’s folk heroes
On CD It Might as Well Be a Myth, by Adam Miller
www.folksinging.org

Etched in Clay
The free-verse biography of an enslaved potter and poet
by Andrea Cheng
Lee & Low Books, www.leeandlow.com

 

Burnt into Memory
The story of how Brownfield, Maine, residents faced the fire that destroyed their town
CD by Jo Radner www.joradner.com





Honors:

Vietnam: Medic Tom Kelley
One American soldier’s personal disclosure of his experience in the Vietnam war
In Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam (a collection of interviews)
by Elizabeth Partridge
Viking, www.penguin.com

The Dreadful Summer of 1991
A story of racial struggle and progress
by Howard Bryant
In Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration, edited by Rose Brock
Philomel, www.penguin.com/youngreaders

Power Play
A personal story about workplace harassment
by Anne B. Thomas
In ROAR: True Tales of Women Warriors, edited by Jessica Robinson
www.bettersaidthandone.com/Roar

 


Category 5

Storytelling Collections

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

Winners:

Fairy Tales and Fables from Weimar Days (New and Revised Edition)
Collected traditional German tales transformed into utopian narratives, with added social commentaries by Weimar Republic political activists
Edited/translated by Jack Zipes
Palgrave Macmillan, www.palgrave.com

Dancing on Blades
A collection of rare and exquisite folktales from the Carpathian Mountains
by Csenge Zalka
Parkhurst Brothers, www.parkhurstbrothers.com

 

 
 
 

 

Honors:

Shropshire Folk Tales for Children
Old and wild tales for brave children
by Amy Douglas
Trafalgar, www.ipgbook.com

 

Meet Me at the Well
Stories about fourteen strong women of the Bible and their often-hidden lives
by Jane Yolen and Barbara Diamond Goldin
Charlesbridge Publishing, www.charlesbridge.com

 
Rising Above: Inspiring Women in Sports
Eleven true stories of female athletes
by Gregory Zuckerman
Philomel, www.penguin.com/youngreaders

Under the Oaken Bough
A compilation of folk and fairy tales of yore
by Simon Brooks
Parkhurst Brothers, www.parkhurstbrothers.com

The Garden of Wisdom
A collection of Earth tales from the Middle East (for children)
Edited by Michael J. Caduto
Green Heart Books, www.p-e-a-c-e.net



Category 6

Storytelling Recordings

CDs or DVDs for listening and/or viewing pleasure for any age
(See also the recordings listed in Categories 1-4 with specific stories identified.)

Winners:

Once Upon a Midwinter
Original stories and music with a winter theme
CD by Jeff Stockton
www.jeffstockton.ca

 
Love and Armadillo Migration
Aunt Marguerite’s “love” at age 85
CD by Andy Offutt Irwin
Road Candy Records, www.andyirwin.com

 

Circle Sam and Other Tales

Retellings of selected folktales for young listeners
CD by Jack Pearson
Ottertunity, Inc., www.jackpearson.org

 
Further Around the Bend: More News from the Town Around the Bend
Family and community stories that are witty, silly, and wise
CD by Bill Harley
Round River Music, www.billharley.com

 
Monkey Bars, Middle Age, and Other Natural Disasters
Personal stories that look deep into the dealings of humanity with tenderness and insight
CD by Kim Weitkamp
Road Candy Records, www.kimweitkamp.com


 


 

Honors:

Classics with a Twist Junior
A collection of twisted tales especially for children
CD by The Storycrafters
www.storycrafters.com

 
Sakura Tales
Eleven stories from Japan
CD by Anne Shimojima
Road Candy Records, www.anneshimojima.com


Story Beats
Rhythmical children’s stories with an Australian flavor
CD by Lillian Rodrigues-Pang
www.thestoryline.com.au/CD.html

Well, Well!
Retellings of Appalachian tales
CD by Adam Booth
www.adam-booth.com



Category 7

Special Storytelling Resources

Winners:

Storytelling Strategies for Reaching and Teaching Children with Special Needs
A collection of articles by professional storytellers and educators
by Sherry Norfolk and Lyn Ford, Editors
ABC-CLIO/Libraries Unlimited
www.abc-clio.com/LibrariesUnlimited

 

 
Storytwisting
A guide to remixing and reinventing stories
by Jeri Burns and Barry Marshall
Parkhurst Brothers, www.parkhurstbrothers.com


Wordwings
A novel about how the power of story can triumph over horrendous conditions
by Sydelle Pearl
Guernica Editions, www.guernicaeditions.com

 

Distilling Hope (Book and 2 CDs)
12 stories to distill the 12 steps (with discussion and story information)
Adapted and edited by Beth Ohlsson
Book: Parkhurst Brothers, www.parkhurstbrothers.com
CDs: Road Candy Records, www.bethohlsson.com

Beyond the Sword Maiden
A storyteller’s introduction to the heroine’s journey
by Dorothy Cleveland and Barbara Schutzgruber
Parkhurst Brothers, www.parkhurstbrothers.com



Honors:


 

 

 



Special Note: A frequent request received from Storytelling World readers is for us to suggest resources containing information for crafting new stories. The resources below (including the honors) provide this type of information—as is, they aren’t tellable stories, but they offer text for varied and creative compositions: What Was the Holocaust? (by Gail Herman)
Who Was Booker T. Washington? (by James Buckley, Jr.)
Who Is Pelé? (by James Buckley, Jr.)
Who Was Coretta Scott King? (by Gail Herman)
Who Was Henry VIII? (by Ellen Labrecque)
Who Was Aretha Franklin? (by Nico Medina)
I am Sacagawea (Brad Meltzer)
I am Harriet Tubman (Brad Meltzer)
I am Gandhi (Brad Meltzer)
Grosset & Dunlap, www.penguin.com/youngreaders
(Only two of these resources are pictured.)
2019 Storytelling Awards