Storytelling; Features and Swaps
at the Andover Bookstore
Susan Lenoe and participant in the Friday storyhour
It’s a simple idea, and an ancient one, to sit around and tell each other tales . . . there is no better venue to do it in than around the fire at the Andover Bookstore.
Brother Blue, a Boston icon, has regaled a standing room-only crowd with his rap-like yet elegant style, bringing people to tears with his story of Miss Wunderlich, the teacher who believed in him when he was a scared little boy, the only black child in a hostile classroom sixty-some years ago.
Our audiences have seen Marcia Estabrook, the premier historical re-enactor in the country, bring to life three very different Lowell mill girls with just a change of costume piece and her artistry.
We’ve heard tales of murder and Celtic myth, first communion and Native American lore from well-known storytellers such as Rafe Martin, author of The Rough-Face Girl.
Nationally known storyteller Diane Ferlatte performs at the Andover Bookstore
And we have belly laughed at stories like Peggy Melanson’s “Christmas Turkey,” about the time she found her cat stuck inside the turkey after he’d eaten most of the bird and made himself too fat to back out.
Local tellers Magdalen Cantwell, Lani Peterson, Jane Gossard, Nicolette Heavey, and Andrew Mungo, with his stories of growing up in Lawrence, have made it clear that you don’t have to come from afar to enchant us with stories.
Then there are the story swaps, evenings where anyone in the audience is invited to share a yarn. On one such night, two men, both named Joe, told two unique stories — one of Boston history, one of a small Maine town, complete with down-east accent.
The town moderator, Mr. Jim Doherty, has spun out tales from his memory of Andover when he was a child. Bernice Haggerty, a beautiful older woman with white hair and a gracious manner, tells stories of Andover that go much further back than her memory.
Children, in fact whole families, come and listen. Then one of them will rise to speak out loud their first tale. He or she will be cheered and applauded enthusiastically!
There is a renaissance of storytelling in this country today and the Andover Bookstore is a part of it.
A young storyteller at the Friday morning storyhour
Storyhour
Storyhour at the Andover Bookstore. 10:00 a.m. on Friday, October through June. Truly a delightful event. It’s filled with pre-school children, babies and their mothers, nannies, fathers, and grandparents.
The lively forty-five minutes is a mix of welcome rituals, songs, tellings, and the reading of at least one recent book that is featured on our shelves. Then there are games, comment time (when the kids sing, tell, and share), and “nursery theater.” The children act out such narratives as Little Miss Muffet, Three Billy Goats Gruff, Little Bo Peep, and Where the Wild Things Are. The children may play any part they wish. For instance, sometimes we have eight goats, or five Miss Muffets, and one or two could be boys.
We’ve acted out Jack and the Beanstalk, and the Giant was made into a Monster. The “actor” who played the Monster up in the Big House in the Sky was an eight-month-old in a baby-seat who just grinned from ear to ear, pleased with being the center of attention, And Jack might be played by Hannah, or Lee, or Ivy…or by Joe. The children are brilliant helpers in these creative endeavors.
Once, one shouted out in the midst of a sequence, “Miss Susan!” “Yes?” I paused. “I love you up to the stars!”
Storyhour — a little noisy sometimes, but it’s magical.
It is open to all. Off for the summer, it will start up again on Friday, October 8th.
