It’s World Storytelling Day! Time to bring people (and animals!) together and weave a world of stories. Let’s start with Lindsay Bonilla and Noar Lee Naggan’s beautiful fable, The Storyteller.
The Storyteller, by Lindsay Bonilla/Illustrated by Noar Lee Naggan, (March 2024, Nancy Paulsen Books),
$18.99, ISBN: 9780593109588
Ages 4-7
Griffin’s grandmother is The Storyteller: she spins incredible stories that captivate her listener. From fairy tales and folk tales to family stories (with a big of tall tale), The Storyteller nourished Griffin’s spirit and soul with story after story, putting him in the middle of the most amazing tales. But Griffin sees what no one will tell him outright: The Storyteller is fading, and he must go on one last adventure with her. Buying “magic beans” and growing a beanstalk, he confides in his grandmother that he is scared. She promises him that they have faced far greater foes, and tasks him with keeping the stories alive before departing. This intergenerational tale of love and loss is moving and powerful. Naggan’s watercolor and pencil illustration give us a magical Storyteller with long gray hair and a colorful caftan; truly a magical person of wisdom. Griffin in his sweater and boots, is an eager student. Naggan places the two in our real, day-to-day world and in fantastic landscapes where we see Grandmother walking alongside a giant cat wearing boots, and Griffin, wearing a red cape with horns and looking like a mashup of Max from Where the Wild Things Are and Red Riding Hood, chasing a Big Bad Wolf through the woods. Bonilla’s narrative reaches that piece of us that needs stories like we need food: “The Storyteller fed him milk, fresh-baked bread, and all kinds of stories. Folktales, fairy tales, and legends”. Their goodbye is at once painful and beautiful, and we see how Storytellers leave their mark on us, and how we go on to become Storytellers ourselves. An incredible journey for readers, this is an excellent addition to collections.
On a personal note, I’ve just lost my own Storyteller, so this book meant the world to me.
The Storyteller has a starred review from Kirkus.
★“Brief but potent text is paired with illustrations that exude a sense of magic and the joy of storytelling. . . . Warmly and tenderly conveys the comfort of sharing the lore of days gone by.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)
Lindsay Bonilla is a professional storyteller and author whose previous picture books include Parents’ Choice Award winner Polar Bear Island, I Love You with All of My Hearts, and The Note Who Faced the Music. She lives with her husband, two wild and creative kids, and her dog, Blitzen, in North Canton, Ohio. Learn more at lindsaybonilla.com.
Noar Lee Naggan (noarleenaggan.com) also illustrated Lilah Tov Good Night (by Ben Gundersheimer). Originally from Israel, with a background in animation and graphic design, he is now a full-time illustrator in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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