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Week celebrates the art of storytelling

Feature by Emily Bright

HERE’S the tale of how one organisation is helping children to develop a greater love for storytelling. The National Literacy Trust is running National Storytelling Week, which starts on Monday (30 January). The week is designed to celebrate the power of telling stories.

Activities include performances by professional storytellers, a webinar with historian and broadcaster Greg Jenner about his podcast You’re Dead to Me and a chance for children to write their own adventure stories inspired by Anthony Horowitz’s teenage spy series Alex Rider.

Storytellers open up a world of possibilities

The trust is also offering schools free downloads of River of Stories, a four-volume collection of poems and stories from all 53 countries of the Commonwealth.

Whether they’re teaching about historical figures and different cultures or firing up imaginations, storytellers open up a world of possibilities. At the same time, storytellers can also reflect universal and fundamental themes in our own lives.

Perhaps the greatest storyteller of all time was Jesus. He often told parables – stories with a message – to explain important truths about what God is like and how people can

For instance, he once said: ‘Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock’ (Matthew New International

Those words remain true to this day. Engaging with Jesus’ stories in the Bible and listening to the lessons within them will equip us for whatever challenges we may face. Following Jesus and his teachings may not always be easy, but doing so will set us on the greatest adventure of