Rainbow Tales

Stories from every culture and time come full of meaning and mystery. We hope that the stories herein unfold hours of questions, discussion, and enjoyment. It is, after all, what the spoken word is for.

Rainbow Tales (and its sister volume Rainbow Tales, Too) bring together some of America's premier storytellers to celebrate both the diversity and the commonality of our storytelling tradition. From Lake Wobegon to the Cape Verdean Islands, from remembrance of a Cajun childhood to remembrances of Mother Jones' march for children, from the classic "Little Red Hen" to Brother Blue's spontaneous street raps, from Hawaii to a little French Canadian border town, this exhilarating collection fairly shimmers with delights for children and adults alike.

Recommended for ages 8–100.

The storytellers, writers, and publishers of Rainbow Tales, Too have donated their profits to benefit Grassroots Leadership, a non-profit organization that, since 1980, has worked to help people and communities in the South learn how to work together for a better world. Rainbow Tales, Too will specifically benefit Grassroots' Barriers & Bridges program which works to help us all understand and do something about the prejudices and hatreds which divide us from each other. To learn more about Grassroots Leadership and the Barriers & Bridges program or to make your own tax-deductible contribution, please write:

Grassroots Leadership
PO Box 36006
Charlotte, NC 28236
Phone: 703/332-3090
Fax: 703/332-0445
http://www.grasslead.org/

To learn more about storytelling: contact the National Storytelling Association, a national non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting and perpetuating the art of storytelling.

National Storytelling Association
PO Box 309
Jonesboro, TN 37659
Phone: 800/525-4514

Personnel: Brenda Wong Aoki / Judith Black / Brother Blue / Len Cabral / Donald Davis / Carmen Agra Deedy / Diane Ferlatte / Doug Lipman / Jay O'Callahan / Maife Ortega / J.J. Reneaux / Roadside Theater / Gayle Ross / Clara Yen

Formats

Compact Disk: Rounder CD:8033 Cassette: Rounder CS:8033

Produced by John McCutcheon
Year Released: 1997

Why the Sky Is So High told by Diane Ferlatte

One of Diane Ferlatte's most vivid childhood memories is of listening to her relatives tell stories on her grandparents' porch in New Orleans. Diane views storytelling as a traditional art form and an expressive way to pass on history, culture, and values. Southern and African-American are the stories she loves to share, however her interest and scope are not limited as she weaves tales from many cultures, utilizing her skill in American Sign Language. Her one-woman show, Sapelo: Time Is Winding Up, features tales from the Georgia Sea Islands.

Diane has toured throughout the world and received awards from Parent's Choice and the American Library Association.

For bookings, audio and video recordings contact:
Diane Ferlatte
6531 Chabot Road
Oakland, CA 94618
Phone: 510/655-2719

Wish Sandwiches written and told by J.J. Reneaux

J.J. Reneaux is a third generation singer-songwriter and storyteller who performs songs and stories drawn from her Cajun/Choctaw and Southern heritage. A native of south Louisiana and Southeast Texas, she now lives with her family in the country near Athens, GA.

J.J. has authored two books, Haunted Bayou, a collection of ghost tales from Louisiana, and Why Alligator Hates Dog, both published by August House.

For bookings and recordings contact:
J.J. Reneaux
PO Box 7782
Athens, GA 30604
Phone/fax: 706/549-7212
http://www.redhouse.com/books/JJReneaux

Ahhh written and told by Brother Blue

Dr. Hugh Morgan Hill, writer, storyteller, actor, street performer is known and loved the world around as "Brother Blue." Blue received his doctorate from the Union Graduate School by presenting a show entitled Soul Shout in a prison accompanied by a musical band of over twenty inmates. Since then prisons, schools, conferences, radio, film, and street corners have been his milieu. In addition to his many original stories, Brother Blue includes many stories from western cultures, folk stories and spiritual stories from Asia and Africa, as well as one-man street versions of Shakespeare's plays.

A recipient of the Zora Neale Hurston Award from the National Association of Black Storytellers, he was also a frequent contributor to National Public Radio's All Things Considered. Brother Blue is the official storyteller for both Boston and Cambridge, MA.

For booking, recordings, and books contact:
Ruth Hill
PO Box 381315
Cambridge, MA 02238-1315
Phone: 617/491-8399

The Clever Wife told by Clara Yen

Clara Yen heard her first story when her father told her what happens to little girls who don't brush their teeth. She told her first story to get out of trouble when she whacked her brother on the head with a checkerboard. Since those early years she has been collecting and sharing family, folk, and fairy tales with schools and libraries around the country. She has conducted workshops in her native Chinese American culture for colleges and boards of education.

She studied improvisational theater with Sue Walden & Co. and storytelling with Gay Ducey. Her first picture book, Why Rat Comes First, was published by Children's Book Press in 1991. The story, "From Good to Bad," is from Sweet and Sour Tales from China by Carol Kendall and Yao-wen Li (Houghton Mifflin/Clarion Books).

For bookings contact:
Clara Yen
1391 Moselle Court
Livermore, CA 94550
Phone: 510/455-5816

Mangoes and Magnolias written and told by Carmen Agra Deedy

Carmen Agra Deedy was born in Havana, Cuba and emigrated to the United States with her family during the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution. She grew up in Decatur, GA, and her combined Latin American and Southern heritage has had a rich influence upon her work. She is a frequent contributor to National Public Radio's All Things Considered.

Besides charming thousands of children and adults alike with her performances at festivals, schools, bookstores, museums, and trade shows across the nation, she is also the author of the best-selling books, Agatha's Feather Bed, Treeman, and the recording. Growing Up Cuban in Decatur, GA, a winner of the Parent's Choice Award.

For bookings, books, and recordings contact:
Robin DeFoe
384 McGill Place
Atlanta, GA 30312-1049
Phone: 404/521-3579

The Woman Who Saved the City told by Doug Lipman

Doug Lipman first added music and participation to stories when he was a preschool teacher struggling to hold his students' attention. Since becoming a professional teller in the 1970s, Doug has recorded over a dozen albums, written numerous books, and conducted many workshops in the mechanics of storytelling and coaching others to bring what is inside outside. Like many fine tellers, Doug views storytelling as both an art form and a movement.

"The Woman Who Saved the City" is from the book Folktales of Strong Women (Yellow Moon Press, 1986), which includes stories from Africa, Poland, Mexico, Israel, and Vietnam.

For bookings, video and audio recordings, and books contact:
Doug Lipman
PO Box 441195
West Somerville, MA 02144
Phone/fax: 617/391-3672
E-mail: douglipman@storylover.com

Strawberries told by Gayle Ross

Gayle Ross is a descendant of John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation during the infamous "Trail of Tears." Her grandmother told stories and it is from this rich heritage that Gayle's storytelling springs. She has been a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festival, the National Council of Traditional Arts' Master Storytellers tour and the all-Indian show, From the Plains to the Pueblos.

In addition to her many live performances, Gayle has published three books, How Rabbit Tricked Otter (Harper Collins), The Girl Who Married the Moon (Bridgewater Books), and How Turtle's Back Was Cracked, with Murv Jacob (Dial Books for Young Readers), and appeared in the Discovery Channel's award-winning, How the West Was Lost.

For bookings, recordings, and books contact:
Elizabeth Hodges
Hodges & Hodges Performing Artists
PO Box 158
Johnson City, TX 78636
Phone: 210/868-4337
Fax: 210/868-4477

Super Sundae written and told by Jay O'Callahan

Jay O'Callahan was raised in the Pill Hill neighborhood of Brookline, MA and has grown up to be one of America's best-loved storytellers. He told stories as a teenager to his younger brother and sister and twenty years later knew finally that storytelling, not teaching, was his destiny.

Since the mid-1970s Jay O'Callahan's résumé has read like a catalog of the awards and honors available to storytellers. His one-man shows, his books and recordings for children and adults alike, and his world-hopping touring schedule have born witness to what Time magazine called, "a genius among storytellers."

For booking, audio and video recordings, and books contact:
Jay O'Callahan
Artana Productions
Box 1054
Marshfield, MA 02050
Phone: 617/837-0962

Mother Jones written and told by Judith Black

Mother Jones is a true person, loved by working people throughout the world and, at the same time, branded "the most dangerous woman in America" by the company bosses of her day.

Judith Black is a true person, too, and one of America's foremost storytellers. After training as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, she taught school for three years before becoming a professional storyteller twenty years ago. Her work with children and adults, her original and interpreted works, and her passion for "real life stories" give her art a special poignancy. "Mother Jones" is an example of that passion.

Judith is a founding member of the "Three Apple Storytelling Festival" and has received commissions to create original stories for National Public Radio, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the US Department of Forestry, and many others.

For bookings and recordings contact:
Tidal Wave Productions
33 Prospect Street
Marblehead, MA 01945
617/631-4417

Nho Lobo told by Len Cabral

Len Cabral is a great grandson of a Cape Verdean whaler whose people immigrated to America from the islands off the coast of West Africa. Len's strong Cape Verdean ancestry comes alive in his lively retelling of Cape Verdean, African and Caribbean folktales as well as original stories and tales from around the world. Like Len's ancestors, Nho Lobo comes from the Cape Verdean Islands.

Besides a wide-ranging performing career, Len has authored several books and contributed to numerous anthologies. His recordings have been honored by Parent's Choice Magazine.

For booking, recordings, and books contact:
Len Cabral
30 Marcy Street
Cranston, RI 02905
401/781-0019

Aunti Anna told by Brenda Wong Aoki

Brenda Wong Aoki grew up in a Hawaiian-Mexican barrio in Los Angeles. It was there that she learned the Hawaiian concept, "Ohana", for "family, friends you can't live without." She grew up with the saying "Ohana por vida!" "Aunti Anna" is an Hawaiian story about ohana and the earth.

For over 15 years Brenda Wong Aoki has been presenting her distinctive blend of dance, music, and dramatic narrative in solo and collaborative theater works instilled with her modern feminist Asian American sensibility. She is a playwright and recording artist whose debut recording, Tales of the Pacific Rim (Rounder 8019) won the 1990 NAIRD "Indie" award for best storytelling and spoken word recording.

For bookings and recordings contact:
Brenda Wong Aoki
1736 Grove Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
Phone: 415/567-9546
Fax: 415/567-1704

The Peddler's Dream told by Maife Ortega

Maife Ortega, from Ecuador, is a middle school student at Roosevelt Middle School in Eugene, OR. Maife is a part of the Roosevelt Troupe of Tellers, a 25 year old tradition, founded and directed by storyteller Bob Rubinstein. During the last quarter century, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students have told stories to some 70,000 students in the Eugene-Springfield-Bethel, OR area. Additionally, they have given presentations and conducted workshops throughout the Northwest.

Bob Rubinstein is the founder and director of the Multi-Cultural Storytelling Festival, the only one of its kind. Responding to racial and religious attacks to member of minority communities in his region, Rubinstein founded the Festival as a positive approach to racial and religious differences.

For information about the Roosevelt Troupe of Tellers and the Multicultural Storytelling Festival contact:
Robert Rubinstein
90 East 49th Avenue
Eugene, OR 97405
Phone/fax: 503/344-8176

The Strongest Woman I Ever Knew written and told by Donald Davis

Donald Davis was raised in Haywood County, NC and his stories never seem to be far from home. Surrounded by gifted storytellers, his talent came to him as naturally as the ease with which his listeners are transported to his storied Western North Carolina childhood. An ordained Methodist minister, Davis' tales have a sense of place and of purpose that place him in the forefront of those introducing many newcomers to the world of the spoken word as an art form.

His numerous books, published by August House, in addition to his thirty recordings and video tapes, have endeared him to listeners...in person and in print...for over fifteen years now.

For bookings, audio and video recordings, and books contact:
Donald Davis
Storyteller, Inc.
PO Box 397
Ocracoke Island, NC 27960
Phone: 919/928-2587

Cat and Rat told by Roadside Theater

Roadside Theater is a community-based, professional, ensemble theater located in the heart of the Appalachian Mountain coal country of southwest Virginia and east Kentucky. Since 1975, it has been writing, producing, and touring original plays drawn from the rich history and culture of its mountain home.

Roadside's performers and writers, all rooted in the Central Appalachian region, have called upon their traditions to develop a theatrical form that combines a natural storytelling style with acting and music. This kind of theater allows Roadside to speak to its audience in a forthright and intimate manner.

For booking information contact:
Roadside Theater
306 Madison Street
Whitesburg, KY 41858
Phone: (606) 633-0108
Fax: (606) 633-1009
E-mail: RoadsideTh@aol.com
http://www.uky.edu/Projects/Appal/rstabt.htm#info