In this book, weaving is the craft of choice so I wondered, not without reason, if woven threads would make their way into the art. As it happens, there are plenty of water-soluble crayons, colored drawing pencils, inks, indigo, sugared green tea, and even art created by heat gun and fire in the illustrations, but nothing so simple as thread. Turk mentions this on his publication page and he puts a little note to the reader there as well.
Naturally, I was curious so I looked. However, as the stories appear within stories within stories, the diamonds grow more elaborate and decorative. Then, as the stories end one by one, the diamonds simplify once more. If you look closely at the borders of the book, you see that the diamonds appear when there is hope and fade from blue to brown diamonds when hope dries up.
The Storyteller: an Illustrated Book on Behance
As the storytelling increases the borders fill in more and more blue, just as the townspeople fill their fountains with bowl after bowl of water. Point out to a child reader the diamond motif and you are sure to be surprised by all that they find hidden in these pages. When I reviewed Grandfather Gandhi I had difficulty putting into words precisely what Turk does with his images. Instead, Turk centers his art through the hands and faces of his characters.
The hands of a cunning neighbor stroke her child as she schemes, while a princess, escaping on the night before her wedding, holds up her hennaed hands in despair. Specifically, some of that discussion has concerned those books written by white people about other cultures. If, for example, you are setting a story in Morocco, then you need to make the readers understand why you made that choice.
That he sets his story in Morocco contemporary Morocco, by the look of it is deeply purposeful. All is not lost, though.
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Turk then closes with a small Bibliography of sources on everything from storytelling to carpet weaving. There are still pockets that remember, though. As I mentioned before, storytelling everywhere is seeing renewed interest. Visually stunning with a storyline to match, Turk is beginning to make good on his talents. This is a man with storytelling in his blood and bones. Our children reap the rewards.
Jun 30, Edward Sullivan rated it it was amazing Shelves: In a series of nested stories, by retelling stories Scheherazade-style to a sandstorm in the form of a djinn, a boy saves a Moroccan city from being engulfed by the Sahara and replenishes its water supply. Stunningly illustrated in bold, mixed-media blending folk art and contemporary styles and full of symbolism. Aug 09, Katy rated it it was amazing. A beautiful picture book about storytelling as the life blood of a village.
Jul 31, Michele Knott rated it it was amazing Shelves: Everything about this book is beautiful.
Apr 12, Rebecca rated it it was amazing Shelves: First of all, Evan Turk's illustrations - which have a movement and style that are hard to describe - are rendered in "water-soluble crayon, colored drawing pencils, inks, indigo, sugared green tea, a heat gun, and fire. Be sure to read the Author's Note about Morocco's public storytellers. Oct 15, Carrie Gelson rated it it was amazing Shelves: Storytelling is the theme - told through stunning art, a visual journey and a tale that weaves into another tale into another.
However, Turk's art style is not my favorite, and some pictures are too busy and hard to read. Also, I liked the idea and symbolism stories can quench the thirst an 2. Also, I liked the idea and symbolism stories can quench the thirst and save the city from the drought of Turk's Scheherazade-like nested story and the different fonts and frames that help to track its multiple layers. However, the story itself wasn't that interesting to me.
I do appreciate the author's note though, in which Turk, inspired by the Moroccan storytelling tradition and its recent resurgence, urges the readers "to realize the magic" of such traditions as "storytelling and carpet weaving" and "share them with others, before they disappear. Mar 11, Danielle rated it it was amazing Shelves: Beautiful, beautiful book about storytelling itself.
Jul 08, Margie rated it it was amazing Shelves: As an educator and storyteller there is one moment in the film Three Men and a Baby which stands out more than any of the other, albeit, funny incidents. It focuses on reading aloud and the sound of the human voice. Do you remember this? When reading aloud to our children and students, without a doubt the words and images on the page convey more than we can fully understand given the life experiences each listener brings with them but our vocal interpretations have the ability to heighten th As an educator and storyteller there is one moment in the film Three Men and a Baby which stands out more than any of the other, albeit, funny incidents.
When reading aloud to our children and students, without a doubt the words and images on the page convey more than we can fully understand given the life experiences each listener brings with them but our vocal interpretations have the ability to heighten those words and images. If this is our belief, let's take it a step further to the cultural artistry of oral storytelling. There are several versions of a tale regarding the placement of televisions in the homes of an African village. Upon visiting the village an anthropologist notes the televisions have been removed from the homes and stacked in storage.
When the village elder is asked why his people would give up the opportunity to listen to and view more stories than they have ever heard from a traditional teller, his reply is the storyteller knows us. The gift of storytelling is a personal connection. The spoken words are passed from heart to heart, sometimes for generations. No matter how many times a well-told tale is heard the power does not diminish, it grows. On the first reading it envelopes you and does not leave. With each subsequent reading, your reader's heart expands with its power. Dec 15, J rated it it was amazing Shelves: In it there are several familiar feeling tales of old mixed with illustrations fitting of the Moroccan setting in which the tales are based.
Turk obviously did his homework to present both the written and illustrative parts of the book and make them feel like a cohesive whole. The Storyteller is the type of book that feels like the storytellers of old who passed on their know Anyone who has been exposed to folk tales of The Middle East will recognize the influence in Evan Turk's The Storyteller. The Storyteller is the type of book that feels like the storytellers of old who passed on their knowledge in the oral tradition.
A stunning book to read and equally as worthwhile to look at. This book is definitely a storyteller's dream Dec 12, Celeste rated it did not like it Shelves: I don't like to speak so negatively of a picture book, but I did not enjoy reading this one. I finally finished it after the third reading attempt because each time my eyes would glaze over and I would find myself very bored.
The art was not appealing to me, and I found the pages entirely too busy. I couldn't put my finger on what the artwork reminded me of but after talking about it with my boss he mentioned that it looked really 90s, like when graphic arts was still developing.
Gives me a kind of blah feeling. Jun 28, Earl rated it liked it. This gorgeous picture book features stories within stories. In a dry desert town, a boy in search of a drink meets an old man who begins a tale that satisfies another thirst he didn't know he had. What neither of them knows is that a terrible djinn in the guise of a storm is coming and it'll take a cunning solution to keep the town safe.
Sep 11, Sue K H rated it it was amazing. I absolutely loved this. Beautiful story about the power of storytelling. I wish I had a child to read it to. Great quote in the Author's notes "When a storyteller dies, a library burns. Nov 30, Olivia Desenberg rated it it was amazing. Non-European Folktale Theme s: Long, long ago, like a pearl around a grain of sand, the fertile Kingdom of Morocco formed near the edge of the great, dry Sahara.
Brief Book Summary sentences in your own words: This book follows the story of a young boy in Morocco. Morocco used to flow with water until people started to forget about storytellers. The boy went to find water and instead found an old storyteller. He weaves a plan to get the water back to Morocco.
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A nameless, thirsty boy meets a storyteller and is drawn to return day after day to listen to intricately linked stories and to learn the older man's art. The stories bring not only sustenance to the boy's inner life, but water to his lips, for in this world, storytelling and water are symbolically connected. Stories will ward off the great drought if the Sahara encroaches on the cities, but only if young people keep the tradition alive. And so, in the manner of Scheherazade, the stories unfold, and the protagonist retells the story of the boy who saved the city from the sandstorm that arrived as a large djinn by telling him a story, day by day.
With the stories embodying sharing, creativity, and hope, the life force of cool blue water appears in the illustrations, the antithesis of the destructive brown sand. Beautiful swirls of blue dominate many of the intricately bordered double-page spreads, fighting against the tans and browns of the djinn and the sands he represents. Each spread takes on a life of its own, sometimes highly geometric, other times full of swiftly crayon-drawn individuals, and still others with heavily inked and outlined figures. Original storytelling with the feel of the best folklore, enhanced by illustrations done in a style not seen anyplace else.
He encounters a wizened story-teller who begins to tell a fable to the boy about a family who always had enough water. The approach of a sand-tsunami that gathers out in the desert, and is rolling toward the city, alternates with the tale of an old woman who brings relief from drought to a village in the form of beautiful yarn that must be woven to realize the miracle. The boy repeats the story to the powerful storm.
In the process, he empowers the people and together they drive off the desert spirits who threaten to destroy the land. The use of a culturally important craft weaving to rescue a land surrounded by desert delivers a powerful message about the importance of preserving beautiful and useful traditions in the midst of adapting to the technology of the future.
The story design, of a story within a story within a story, is repetitive and circular, building from a story about a single weaver in a village to a city-wide uprising that defeats the storm, much like a carpet, woven from single threads, grows to cover an entire room.
The illustrations, rich in cultural references in design and color, are framed in motifs that suggest carpet edges. The linear style blends with the weft and warp of a loom and produces a seamless visual that enhances the text. This story begs to be read over and over, each page offering new details for discovery on each encounter, like the complex patterns of a beautiful rug.
Turks book concludes with an Authors Note, that offers insights into why he wrote this story, and a list of resources labeled Further Learning. Not only are the images captivating, but the story reveals information about culture. Many folktales include white, european culture and characters. I agree with both reviews in that the book begs to be looked at every inch. Additionally, I love how the book embraces storytelling and how important storytelling is.
Evaluation of Literary Elements sentences in your own words: The pictures in this book are breathtaking. Every page of the book has edging detail. This book also has a very cohesive color scheme that attracts the reader. One thing I really appreciate about the book is the text is in boxes with a white background so you can read the text well. The book has rich vocabulary and lots of room for talks of culture. Consideration of Instructional Application sentences in your own words: This book could be connected to a mini lesson on imagery since it is so descriptive.
It is definitely a mentor text since it has plenty of specific words. I think art is a great way to connect this book to other content areas. There are so many different types of lines and patterns. You could introduce Moroccan culture and art in the classroom with this book. A project based lesson around this book would be a great way to use art and teach social studies. Apr 17, Jenni Davis rated it it was amazing Shelves: This folklore is a story of hope and will leave a smile on your face at the end of the book!
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The Storyteller is a folktale about a young boy living in Morocco just at the edge of the Sahara Desert. Throughout the years, the kingdom grew and the people forgot about the dangers of drought and the S Folklore: Throughout the years, the kingdom grew and the people forgot about the dangers of drought and the Sahara. Finally, the fountains in the kingdom dried up and the wind of the Sahara began to stir. A young boy went to the Great Square to look for water but instead found a storyteller. The story was not yet over and the boy was told to come back the next day.
The following day, he listened and his cup was full yet again. After multiple days of listening to the storyteller, the young boy learned of the hope that filled the kingdom in the story of the Endless Drought. A few days later, the sandstorm rose up and threatened to destroy the kingdom.
The young boy persuaded the sandstorm to listen to the story of the Endless Drought. Once the story was over, the whole kingdom had gathered to listen and they too stood with cups filled with water. All of the people in the kingdom poured the water into the fountains and defeated the sandstorm. The hope in the story and in the people of the kingdom saved them from thirst. I think that this book would work well for either 4th or 5th grade students. This book has a very cyclical nature which would be interesting to explore with students.
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One of the main activities I would do in my classroom with this book would be to have students create their own story and then be the storyteller for the class or with a partner. Encourage students to think of stories that they may hear from their parents that they can pass down to others. Another activity that students could do with this folktale is to draw in sequence the events in the story. Drawing these events can help students understand the order in which they happened and the time period story or real life in which they are happening.
I think that this activity will also allow students to see the main theme of hope in the folktale. This book was most definitely a WOW book for me! Free eBook offer available to NEW subscribers only. Must redeem within 90 days. See full terms and conditions and this month's choices. Tell us what you like, so we can send you books you'll love. Sign up and get a free eBook! The Storyteller By Evan Turk. Illustrated by Evan Turk. Price may vary by retailer. Add to Cart Add to Cart. Phoograph c by Veronica Lawlor. P - 3 Ages: The Storyteller Hardcover Get a FREE e-book by joining our mailing list today!
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