Ashley Bryan is the consummate storyteller--at one with his stories and possessing a seemingly effortless command of the storyteller's craft. Rhythm, voice, and sound effects all blend into a singular listening experience. Bryan's energy radiates from each of the tales in this Coretta Scott King Award winner. The signature story is one from the Ila-speaking people of Zambia in which the brightly colored birds urge Blackbird to share some of his fine and shiny black coloring with each of them. That folktales embrace cultures everywhere is brought to bear in tales of a lazy, yet crafty frog who tries to take advantage of a neighboring hen and of a slow tortoise and a speedy hare. Hear about times when one frog and one snake had a fabulous day of play and another frog "was pu-l-l-led to the east and pu-l-l-led to the west" in a terrible predicament and could only cro-o-o-ak! A.R. Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

 

Bryan reads his poems from Sing to the Sun and tells his stories, "Ananse the Spider in Search of a Fool," "The Cat's Purr," "Turtle Knows Your Name" and "The Story of Lightning and Thunder." The stories work better than the poetry, but the program really demonstrates a storyteller who is better in person than on audio-cassette. In person, Bryan is electrifying, using his body and his face to create a visually exhilarating performance; on tape, the inflections and variations in pitch and timing seem peculiar and difficult to grasp. S.G. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

 

Ashley Bryan is the consummate storyteller - at one with his stories and possessing a seemingly effortless command of the storyteller's craft. Rhythm, voice, and sound effects all blend into a singular listening experience.

 

"Bryan gives a joyous performance of his work on this recording...this project capitalizes on all the author's storytelling strengths. His enthusiasm and emphasis on certain passages will quickly captivate young listeners."

 

" Bryan performs six stories from his published works on this rousing collection. Bryan's tales come alive on the page with his stylized writing - and his delivery and vocal performance are a perfect match. Bryan creates an irresistable folktale experience."

 

Ashley Bryan's Beautiful Blackbird and Other Folktales by Ashley Bryan
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