Teaching tales

Jul 17, 2010 — Foster's Daily Democrat

Jennifer Keefe

Jul. 17, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- DURHAM -- Without any hesitation, Storyteller Shawn Middleton's voice boomed out with an English accent, and his gestures and facial expressions adopted that of a haughty prince.

Suddenly, Middleton was no longer just sitting in the kitchen of his Durham home -- he was a character in a children's story.

It is this dramatic transformation from career storyteller to fictional character that captivates young children all over the Seacoast. Middleton, a University of New Hampshire graduate who started his own storytelling business in 1998 called Storytelling with Shawn, is hoping to expand his mission to include teachers and parents.

"The goal is to go into low economic communities to tell stories to children and work with teachers and teach them the art of literacy and storytelling," he said. "Then I go one step further and educate parents."

To accomplish this goal, Middleton is hoping to win a grant through the Pepsi Refresh project, which funds ideas that "refresh" communities by improving or enhancing health, art and culture, neighborhoods or education. To win grant monies of between $5,000 and $250,000, participants must be ranked one through 10 when the voting ends on July 31. Currently, Middleton is ranked 161.

Storytelling With Shawn -- and the art of storytelling in general -- provides a unique experience for children, Middleton said, as it goes far beyond simply reading a book. He incorporates different voices for the characters, costumes, gesticulations and movements to really bring the story to life. He has also included chanting, hip hop dance and sound effects in his stories.

"Usually I get a lot of smiles," he said.

Johanna Booth-Miner, Director of Live and Learn Early Learning Center in Lee, has welcomed Middleton and his stories to the center for years because of the impact it has on the children.

"They're blown away by his energy," she said. "He has amazing energy. He has the art of weaving stories in a way that engages children, and the language enhancement has far-reaching effects."

Booth-Miner said the children really adopted the storytelling by creating their own "story box" and telling stories to one another based on their own life experiences.

Many of his tales are made up on the spot, Middleton said, and are typically fairy tales "lumped in together" with his childhood memories. Middleton has published a book called Sam and the Peanut Butter Cracker that is based on him and his childhood babysitter. The story details how she turns into a superhero to save Sam because he has peanut butter stuck on the roof of his mouth.

"I try to have multiple moral lessons at the end, too," Middleton said, adding he often tells the story The Lion and the Mouse where the lion does something nice for a mouse and later, the mouse saves the lion.

"It shows you can do anything, no matter how big or small you are," Middleton said.

With the grant money, Middleton would reach out to lower-income communities like Rochester, Farmington and some in Massachusetts and tell stories to children "with the intention of entertaining, engaging and educating them," he said. He would teach parents how to read bedtime stories to "have fun with it" and encourage turning off the television and opening a book.

While Middleton's mission is fueled by a desire to educate and entertain children and adults, he is also passionate about the tradition of storytelling and a need to bring it back.

"It's important to tell these stories," he said. "If we don't, they're going to be lost."

People can vote for Middleton once each day every day until the end of the month. Find his project page at www.refresheverything.com/storytellingwithshawn.

Newstex ID: KRTB-1268-47049251