Books with author Bobby Norfolk

Confront your fears and listen to your mother!Every night when Billy Brown's mother puts him to bed, she tells him to keep his covers on so he doesn't catch a cold. Yet every morning when she wakes him, he has kicked the covers off the bed. Knowing how proud Billy is of his belly button, his mother tells him that if he doesn't keep the covers on the bed, the Belly Button Beastie is going to pay him a visit and steal his belly button. Billy makes a critical error when he disregards his mother's advice, only to find out the Beastie is real. The chaos that ensues when Billy Brown gets up the next morning interferes with his morning routine and follows him to school, until he and his classmates devise a plan to get his belly button back. With a little improvisation and a lot of bravado, Billy Brown tames the Belly Button Beastie and breaks him of his belly-button-stealing habit for good. Billy is courageous in his confrontation with the Belly Button Beastie and also grows from his experience. This story, taken from a Japanese folktale, celebrates a clever boy who learns of courage, fairness and resourcefulness.

Throughout history, traditional cultures have recognized the role of storytelling in teaching values to children. Yet existing curricula indicates most educators have not fully capitalized on the connection between storytelling, folktales, and character education. The Moral of the Story provides a user-friendly, hands-on approach to using storytelling and folktales in character education.

Throughout history, traditional cultures have recognized the role of storytelling in teaching values to children. Yet existing curricula indicates most educators have not fully capitalized on the connection between storytelling, folktales, and character education. The Moral of the Story provides a user-friendly, hands-on approach to using storytelling and folktales in character education.

Award-winning storyteller Bobby Norfolk brings his talents to six traditional stories. A mixture of classic stories and lesser-known folktales, these are all performance-tested audience favorites, capturing Norfolk's trademark energy and humor. Whether the story is from the American South, Japan, or the Caribbean, Norfolk pinpoints the message of the story and invites his listeners to celebrate the best in all of us.

While Bobby Norfolk was visiting the town of Kumasi in Ghana in the summer of 1993, a woman told him, “At four-thirty every afternoon, we try to gather together and have Anansi time. “ At her invitation, Norfolk attended the community-wide afternoon break and heard elders tell stories of Anansi, the tireless trickster of Ghanian tradition. Anansi appears in these stories in his most playful and creative guises. Norfolk's energetic and affectionate adaptations of Anansi's misadventures brim with action, sound effects, and humor. And now, any time is Anansi Time! TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction (0:30) 2. How Wisdom Came into the World (3:04) Anansi's selfish attempt to keep all wisdom for himself inadvertently benefits all of mankind. 3. How Light Came into the World (16:20) Spider teaches all the animals how to work together to achieve a goal. 4. Why Spider Has a Small Waist (4:16) When Anansi tries to keep track of what's being served at three different parties at once, the signaling system backfires. 5. The Spider and the Rabbit's Drum (6:58) Spider learns the hard way that one must share in the work if one is to share in the rewards. 6. Anansi and Turtle Go to Dinner (6:36) Turtle teaches Anansi a lesson in hospitality. 7. Anansi and the Tug o'War (8:16) Anansi may be little, but he's mighty powerful! Or at least, so it seems.

To kids everywhere, in the hope that their elders will never stop telling stories. Throughout history, traditional cultures have recognized the role of storytelling in teaching values to children. This user-friendly, hands-on guide to using storytelling and folktales in character education provides not only rationale for this approach, it includes stories. These twelve stories are fun, time- and audience-tested, and accessible to a wide range of listeners, from preschool to high school. The tales are enhanced by suggested activities or informal lesson plans, source notes, and extensive bibliographies that point the reader to additional sources of folktales suitable for character education. The Moral of the Story is fun, enjoyable, and remarkably effective!

A forced marriage. A dangerous job. A horrible assignment. Character-building experiences, we quip. And that's the truth. Painful as the truth may be, we cannot achieve our potential without facing force, danger, and horror head-on. Even as our children glibly chime, The truth shall set you free, we adults know that the truth is not easily discerned, or wisdom easily won. The six stories chosen by Bobby Norfolk for this new recording remind us adults and—through entertaining drama—teach our children that critical lesson. What Bobby Norfolk does with the material makes it so much more than an exercise in wisdom literature. Listening to this cassette, one has the sense of being in the presence of a master performer of the oral tradition. Bobby Norfolk's dynamic pacing, the range of his incredible voice, and his mastery of the story material itself, make this new recording an important and satisfying addition to your storytelling or folklore shelf.