Story Listening and Experience in Early Childhood

Donna Schatt is a storyteller, researcher, librarian, and writer based in Chicago, Michigan, and New York, USA. She is currently researching the effects of oral story listening on visualization abilities, as well as writing a novel.Patrick Ryan is a storyteller, teacher, researcher, and writer, based in Belfast and working throughout the UK, Ireland, Europe, and North America. He is the author of Shakespeare’s Storybook (2001) and several articles on storytelling.

"A wonderful new book by Donna Schatt and Patrick Ryan makes the compelling case for educators and policymakers ... . The appendices to this book are like dessert after a satisfying main course. With sample stories, further resources, and case studies, this book sets up teachers and policymakers with everything they need to get going." (Stephanie Hilder, English 4-11, Issue 80, 2024)  "The book is organized logically into six chapters ... . this is not just a book for storytellers and teachers. It is also a work that should be of interest to anyone who values the transformative power of storytelling as a tool for educational and social change." (Book 2.0, intellectbooks.com, Vol. 12 (2), December 11, 2022)

• Chapter 1. What storytelling is and isn’t: “I knew where I was the whole time”.- Chapter 2. Increasing engagement and focus: “I am able to really listen. It’s because of the stories”.- Chapter 3. Enhancing reader comprehension through visualization: “So, it was like, in my mind an activity”.- Chapter 4. The benefits of repeated story listening: "Sometimes I get so hypnotized I forget where I am…”.- Chapter 5. Using shared experience to build classroom community: “We were in a group, but I didn’t pay any attention to the other kids.  The story was being told to me and I got to take it and go.”.- Chapter 6. Collateral learning and the development of independent learners: “And it’s funny, I get stuck in bookstores…I go looking for stories more than other people.”.- Chapter 7. Reasons for investing time in storytelling and how to get started: “How often would you have to tell stories to your own children to have them get this experience?”.