Aaron Shepard's "Telling Your Story"

Reviewed by Cheri Eastwood

"Telling Your Story" by Aaron Shepard is part three of four storytelling pages which were "Reprinted in full from the booklet first published by Simple Productions, Arcata, California, 1990," and are all part of a much larger, quite extensive web site created and maintained by the author, Aaron Shepard. Some may be familiar with his Reader's Theater resources, but now is becoming more known as an author of folktale and classic literature retellings from around the world. This short, simple, encouraging page informs the reader or beginning storyteller on how to consider the audience when telling a story. It is very practical and straightforward advice from someone who was originally a professional storyteller. It is not clear if this particular page has been updated since 1996, when the web site was created. Navigation links at the top and bottom of the page easily guide the user to the main page of the author and to contact information. The page is very simple without the use of a lot of color or any graphics other than a caricature of himself. This page provides good tips about storytelling listeners and is a part of a very large and informative site.

Reviewed by Angela Lamb

I. Accuracy
This website is the third article in the series by Aaron Shepard called "Tell me a Story!" The article is very informative. It gives tips on how to be a successful storyteller. The information presented in this article is accurate and useful to all storytellers, new and old.

II. Authority
Aaron Shepard has been telling stories professionally since 1987. In 1990, he began writing children’s books. Even though he was not telling stories as a profession. His storytelling techniques showed at his book events. Aaron’s website is http://www.aaronshep.com.

III. Objectivity
The information in this article is objective. It is given from Aaron’s point of view and his experience as a storyteller. He gives new storytellers advice on beginning as storytellers and how to improve in all aspects of storytelling.

IV. Currency
Aaron Shepard published this article in 1996. The article is linked to Aaron’s storytelling page. His site has been online since 1996. No dates of update are given.

V. Coverage
The article begins by encouraging new storytellers to tell stories in small groups and then move to larger, less intimate groups to help the teller gain confidence when telling stories to large groups.

Aaron then advises the teller to prepare ahead of time by arriving early to warm-up, find a good place to tell the story and prepare for any other foreseen needs.

He also says to make the story personal and interactive with the audience by being sensitive to their reactions and making eye contact with as many listeners as possible.

Finally, he advises the storyteller to trust himself, his audience and his story.

Reviewed by Brenda Pier

Telling Your Story is a short but helpful website. It was written by Aaron Shepard, an award winning children’s author. Aaron Shepard is also a storyteller specializing in retelling folktales and classic literature. His website contains a link explaining who he is and what he has accomplished. According to the website, his storytelling has been recognized by organizations such as the American Library Association, National Council for Social Studies, and the American Folklore Society. Aaron spends time traveling and storytelling in elementary schools across America. Aaron’s name is written clearly on each of the instruction pages of the website, naming him as the author. Another page on his website has snippets of current news articles involving the author. Most of the snippets are linked to the original publication for those who would like to read the entire article or verify the authentication of the article. His website contains resources of value to those interested in storytelling or writing children’s books. Some of the resources include Scripts for Reader’s Theater, Folktales on Stage, Stories on Stage, and Readers on Stage. He has a Kidwriting Page with resources for writing and publishing children’s books. Aaron’s Bookshelf contains reading lists from Aaron’s story research. Aaron’s storytelling Page includes resources for storytelling. Aaron’s Indexes include guides to Aaron’s stories and scripts. Aaron’s Storybook contains a huge variety of stories all told by Aaron. The website is easy to navigate and locate information. The information included is factual in nature; he is not outwardly trying to sell his books or other services. There is no advertising on the page; however, some review links do send the user to Amazon.com. The page is current because current articles are listed on the page. The count of visitors as of September 2003 was 1.5 million. The date of the latest update was not evident. The storytelling information on the website is very easy to read. The language used is appropriate for the beginner. He guides the user step by step through the storytelling process. The instruction is broken up into four sequential parts. The storytelling instruction is not in-depth, but an overview of the storytelling process as Aaron shares his knowledge of storytelling with the storytelling novice. The accuracy of the information given is not discernable, as Aaron writes and publishes his own web site. There is no mention of editors or fact checkers. However, from what I can ascertain on the website, his information comes from a successful career as an award winning children’s writer and storyteller. This is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the art of storytelling.

Reviewed by Sarah Woodard

This website is authored by Aaron Shepard. He is a storyteller. There is a link at the bottom of the page to his contact information. The publisher is Simple Productions. However, it does look as if his webpage is a personal home page. He is solely in charge of updating the home page. The website is written by a storyteller. A lot of the information he gives is personal advice and tidbits of information. The site provides many links to other sites to give ideas for storytelling and ways to perform. Therefore, the information is valid and reliable, but it mostly comes from his experiences. The information he provides, though, is comparable to discussions and information I have learned about storytelling.

All of the links given are current, however, there is not information given on the last time the information was updated. There is a lot of information on storytellings he has given and advice he has for getting started in storytelling. However, this is all personal information and experiences. The site is a .com site however there does not seem to be any government or institution ties which may be contributing to an agenda. There are not any particular software or hardware requirements and can be reached through any browser. The site is easy to access and is free.

Aaron Shepard’s site has a lot of good advice and ideas on getting started in storytelling. The site is reliable based on the information he gives from his own experiences, not from scientific tests or studies.