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Professional storyteller Diane Ferlatte combines sign language, funny noises, expressive facial movements and song when she tells her stories.
And she encourages the children in her audiences to do the same.
Children at Longfellow Elementary reveled in the opportunity to wave their arms and make monkey noises, squeak like a mouse or roar like a lion.
Ferlatte was telling them the story of Molly Mouse, who might be small but who acts like she's tall. When the lion, the king of the jungle, gets caught in a net, none of the other animals in the jungle can help him. Molly is able to chew a hole in the net so the lion can get free.
Whenever the kids feel small, Ferlatte said, the children should remember Molly.
Ferlatte, from Oakland, Calif., will give presentations in different Minot schools through Monday. She also gave a free performance Thursday evening at Magic City Campus. Her visit to Minot is sponsored by the Minot Public Schools Foundation, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, Darryl Strube, Brokers 12 Realtor, SRT and the Town and Country Credit Union.
Ione Sautner, principal at Longfellow Elementary, said the children in Ferlatte's audience already knew many of the signs she used. The school has a hearing impaired program and children have learned some signs from the sign language interpreter.
The kids responded to Ferlatte's combination of play and seriousness.
She based one story on a childhood reminiscence by Yolanda King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. Little Yolanda was 7 when her daddy made her return a candy bar that she'd taken from an airport gift shop without paying for.
Another story emphasized that people have more in common than they think. Crocodile couldn't figure out why Hen kept calling him "Brother.'' Then another animal told him that hens, like crocodiles, are hatched from eggs and in that sense they are related.
Ferlatte has been a storyteller for more than 20 years. More information about her can be found at her Web site at (www.dianeferlatte.com).
By Andrea Johnson
And she encourages the children in her audiences to do the same.
Children at Longfellow Elementary reveled in the opportunity to wave their arms and make monkey noises, squeak like a mouse or roar like a lion.
Ferlatte was telling them the story of Molly Mouse, who might be small but who acts like she's tall. When the lion, the king of the jungle, gets caught in a net, none of the other animals in the jungle can help him. Molly is able to chew a hole in the net so the lion can get free.
Whenever the kids feel small, Ferlatte said, the children should remember Molly.
Ferlatte, from Oakland, Calif., will give presentations in different Minot schools through Monday. She also gave a free performance Thursday evening at Magic City Campus. Her visit to Minot is sponsored by the Minot Public Schools Foundation, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, Darryl Strube, Brokers 12 Realtor, SRT and the Town and Country Credit Union.
Ione Sautner, principal at Longfellow Elementary, said the children in Ferlatte's audience already knew many of the signs she used. The school has a hearing impaired program and children have learned some signs from the sign language interpreter.
The kids responded to Ferlatte's combination of play and seriousness.
She based one story on a childhood reminiscence by Yolanda King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. Little Yolanda was 7 when her daddy made her return a candy bar that she'd taken from an airport gift shop without paying for.
Another story emphasized that people have more in common than they think. Crocodile couldn't figure out why Hen kept calling him "Brother.'' Then another animal told him that hens, like crocodiles, are hatched from eggs and in that sense they are related.
Ferlatte has been a storyteller for more than 20 years. More information about her can be found at her Web site at (www.dianeferlatte.com).
By Andrea Johnson
