Education and Inspiration through the ancient art of storytelling!
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February 22, 2009
It has been a busy couple of months with two new books in process, more news later, and a hectic touring schedule, but here is the next installment of the Fox Tales Newsletter:
With many library summer reading programs focused on Make A SPalsh, let me recommend my children's picture book about aquatic ecology The Web at Dragonfly Pond
October 20, 2009
Hello Folks,
Two newsletters in two months! This looks like it might be a little more periodic than I anticipated! I hope you are not getting too accustomed to this regularity. I do hope you enjoy the stories of the month and the weblinks are useful. If you have any questions or topics you would like me to cover please feel encouraged to Contact Fox
In this month's issue you can read about:
Rivers of Memory
The Catfish Blues
How to Tell a Scary Story
Stories of the Month: He Stepped on a Nail & He Got Out
American Indian Heritage Month
Darwin in Denver
Upcoming programs
Rivers of Memory
Today is yet another beautiful day on the Illinois River! It is hard to believe I have been telling stories on this boat for 16 years! At this very moment we are passing through the narrows, the most narrow stretch in 273 miles of the River Illinois. It was here in the mid-1840s that Captain Henry Detweiller crashed his steamboat into another boat heading downstream and the hull of his boat is still here in the silty mud at the bottom of the river.
On the port side is the Illinois American Water Company, which still uses one of the original pumping houses, now registered with the National Historic Preservation Association. It has real gargoyles for water spouts and still pumps Illinois River water into our pipes so those who ride the boat now have the river flowing through their blood streams.
There is a great blue heron wading in the shallows along the shore, bringing up the rear of the fall migration as the autumnal leaves are finally beginning to change and the hillsides catch fire with flames of red, orange, bronze and yellow trees.
We just passed a barge carrying corn or beans as the fall harvest begins and the rich fertile alluvial fill of this river valley continues to feed the world!
About 20 times a year we float up this river on an overnight cruise. As we travel, part of my job is to talk about the sights along the way and to share the history of the river.
As I love to tell passengers, "If you forget everything else I say, remember this: There are layers and layers of history everywhere you look, as soon as you open your eyes to look for it!"
These layers include:
There are layers and layers of stories waiting to be explored.
Many cultures believe that the land itself is stalking us with stories. As I look out the window of the boat, I am amazed at how everywhere I look along the river a story jumps up, literally: up out of the water jumps an Asian carp exclaiming a tale of invasive species and fisheries management; the willow bank speaks to me of duck hunters and the early conservation movement; and upon the cliff face hangs the spirit of the Piasa, the evil Manito that once devoured entire villages!
Open your eyes and begin to look anew, what are the rivers of memory that lurk from behind every shrub and stone? What are the layers of history that lay just below the surface?
Click here for lesson plans to bring River History to life!
If you wish to join us on an overnight cruise please visit The Spirit of Peoria.
To purchase CDs of Fox's River Stories, please follow this link.
The Catfish Blues
I'm a catfish, c-a-a-a-t-fish, singing the catfish blues!
With heartfelt gratitude to Joan Erickson and the Sun Foundation for commissioning the work and many thanks to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for funding, we are in the final edit of a new documentary film, "Voices For the River."
Modeled after a John Stewart or Stephen Colbert fake news show, inspired by Michael Moore and the whole series of Spinal-Tap mock-umentaries, our hope is to be first and foremost entertaining. There is a lot of humor and a boat load of vital information about the history of the problem and most importantly, what you can do to make a difference in the health of the river. Our goal is to be proactive. We can make a difference!
We have posted an MTV style video of the Catfish¡¦s point of view and a pre-view trailer about the making of the film on YouTube. Check it out!
The film should be done in the next few weeks, so watch my web page for more information!
How to Tell a Scary Story &
Stories of the Month: He Stepped on a Nail & He Got Out
Several years ago I wrote an article on How to Tell a Scary Story for the American Library Association's magazine BookLinks. Since Halloween is just around the corner, I thought I would dust it off and share it with you, along with two of my favorite easy to tell scary stories. If you scroll down to the bottom of the article there is an extensive bibliography of stories you can learn and tell. Click on a title to follow the links! And try not to shriek too loudly!
American Indian Heritage Month
Next month is American Indian Heritage Month, quite fitting to celebrate our Native ancestry during the same month as Thanksgiving. I present a lot of Native folktales and history all year round, but it seems there are more of these programs in November. I once asked an elder, "When people ask me about a Native American perspective on Thanksgiving, what should I tell them?"
He laughed and said, tongue in cheek, "I think it is funny that some folks only give thanks one day a year. For us, we give thanks every day we are alive, every moment, every meal, every breath!"
That thought has stayed with me. On this day, I give thanks for the gift of story. I give thanks to the elders who kept the stories alive and passed them on so I could tell them to you. I give thanks to the folks who love stories and make the effort to support the art, supporting artists by buying tickets and CDs and sharing the stories with their friends. I give thanks to the future generations of storytellers who are not yet born, those whose faces are not yet pushing up from the earth but will someday share these stories with our great-grandchildren¡¦s children!
In this spirit of gratitude and to pass the stories along, here are some lesson plans and a few of my favorite web sites for Native Folklore:
Turtle Island Tales
American Indian Stories by ZITKALA-SA (Gertrude Bonnin ) A Dakota Sioux Indian This is an unusual biography of a woman with a traditional upbringing and wonderful story, woven with folklore images.
Native Legends Scroll down for an index of hundreds of stories from dozens of Nations. As with any on-line resource a fair amount of sifting is required, but there are many gems wrth the surf.
American Indians in Children's Literature This is a blog by Debbie Reese sure to challenge and enlighten!
Please remember, when looking for stories from a culture other than your own, always make the effort to find stories written by a member of that cultural group!
Darwin in Denver
This is not only Darwin's 200th birthday, but November is the 150th anniversary of the publication of his controversial book, "On the Origin of Species." In November I will be performing as Darwin for the University of New Mexico Las Cruces, The North American Biology Teachers Conference, and the Denver Museum of Natural Sciences.
In celebration of this momentous moment I have published a book, Charles Darwin and His Revolutionary Idea, and a series of articles to help teachers make sense of this complex idea that is the foundation of all biological research. These articles have been published by the North Carolina and Iowa Science Teacher magazines, to name a few.
I also have a few dates still available if any teachers in the Denver area are interested in hosting a performance November 17 or 18. (Please contact me right away if you are interested.)
Upcoming programs
I hope to see you in the audience at an upcoming program OR if you see I am going to be in your neighborhood, please drop me an e-mail to book a show! Here is a partial list of some upcoming shows:
October 28 at Noon Fox will be portraying Charles Darwin for an Illinois Humanities Council luncheon in Downtown Chicago.
November 1, at 1:30 Fox will be sharing “Lincoln Tales Tall and True” at Graue Mill and Museum in Oak Brook, IL. Event is free and open to the public, sponsored through the Illinois Humanities Council.
November 10, at 9:00 am Fox will present “Charles Darwin and his Revolutionary Idea at the University of New Mexico, Las Cruces.
November 11, at 2:00 pm Fox will present “Adventures with Audubon” at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History in Albuquerque, NM.
November 12, at 9:00 am, Fox will keynote the North American Biology Teachers Conference in Denver.
November 14, Fox will present a docent workshop at 9:00, perform as Audubon at 1:00 and then present a teacher workshop at 2:00, all at the Denver Zoo in Denver, CO.
November 15, at 4:00, .
November 20 & 27, at 7:00 Fox will be part of the program for Dozing with Dinos at Chicago’s Field Museum.
November 28, and December 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, & 16, Prairie Folklore Theatre will present “A Prairie Christmas” on the Spirit of Peoria riverboat. Call for reservations: 309-689-8000.
September 15, 2009
Hello Folks,
Finally, after a few years of planning and getting distracted with book deadlines¡K My first e-mail newsletter! Because we have traded e-mail at some point you were automatically added to my e-mail newsletter list. If you would like to erase your name from the list please scroll to the bottom. If you enjoy these little nuggets, please share them with a friend! Every other month or so, you will receive a bit of news, a story, and some ideas for creating your own stories. Please tell me what you think of this new adventure!
To read a more interactive version with more links and photos please visit my webpage Newsletter. To see what I have been up to lately please visit my blog.
WOW! There is so much good news to share¡K where do I begin?
In this issue you will find:
News from the Frontlines of Literacy
Two new books find their way to Print:
Content Area Reading, Writing, and Storytelling and
Charles Darwin and His Revolutionary Idea
A chunk of December was spent in the studio to record three new CDs
Prepare now for the Bi-Centennial of Abraham Lincoln¡¦s Birthday!
Prepare now for the Bi-Centennial of Charles Darwin¡¦s Birthday!
On a Road Trip to Tennessee A New Young Authors¡¦ Blog is Born
News From the Frontlines of Literacy
Everywhere I go I am encouraged by the number of kids excited about books, reading and literacy. I know there are national trends that say kids are reading less and watching more TV, playing more video games. We have all seen test scores slide. It would be easy to get depressed and join the chorus of critics, but everywhere I go I become more optimistic.
It is always thrilling to me when kids show up ten or twenty minutes early to a program and we talk about what they are reading and they articulate insightfully why they love a particular book. Or, at a library in Chicago, a mother grabs one of the books the librarian has put out and reads to her child with drama and voice changes while waiting for the performance to start.
Last week I was at Morton Public library in Morton, Illinois for their summer reading program. The number of kids who showed up from this small town was impressive. The number of books they read even more staggering! The librarian pulled out all the stops to create a wonderful celebration of reading and everyone present was enriched! I had several conversations with kids about the books they were reading and was quite impressed with their appreciation for authors and illustrators, their summaries of storylines, and visceral response to books, books and more books!
At Rogers Park Library on the North Side of Chicago, two nine year old girls arrived early while I was still setting up. After a brief hello, I handed them one of my books to distract them while I finished getting ready. I found out later one was from Mexico and her friend was from Puerto Rico. Clearly, English was a second language for both of them. The simple fact that they came was encouraging, listening to them read, struggle with the enunciation and helping each other gain meaning from the text was thrilling. In their chatter they asked questions about words, went off on tangents about fish, birds and frogs to make the story personal, and made connections between text and imagery; basically they did everything a good reading teacher would ask them to do¡K and there was no one looking over their shoulder and coaching them.
As long as there are active parents, good teachers and enthusiastic librarians I am not worried about the future of literacy in America!
My new book, Content Area Reading, Writing, and Storytelling is finally done!
This fall, Libraries Unlimited published a collection of stories and lesson plans designed to give teachers fresh ideas in literacy education using storytelling and creative writing across the curriculum. The book includes fun stories, easy to use lesson plans and lots of ideas to help students find their voice and improve reading and writing skills. There are beautiful illustrations by my friend Vin Luong. I am presenting a wide range of teacher training programs this year to support the book. I will also be a keynote speaker at nearly a dozen state and national teachers¡¦ conferences. Call to book an in-service workshop or performance for your school or district. Order copies of the book for all of your teacher friends to help them start the New Year with bright ideas!
Content Area Storytelling
A View from the River (With one of my favorite River Stories)
(The following is a brief excerpt from the introduction to my new book:)
Today as I type this, I am working on a riverboat on the Illinois River. The boat cruises up stream at seven miles an hour against a strong current; we have had a bit of rain this week, rain that is the remnant of a tropical storm that gathered its waters from the Atlantic Coast of Africa and crashed into the Gulf Coast a few days ago. I watch a beautiful snowy¡Vwhite egret stalk fish along the river¡¦s shore. I watch as she wades in the shallows, silently stalking her prey. Her head darts into the water and she struggles to swallow a large squirming fish. She stands still for several moments, glancing around. The egret simultaneously leaps up and flaps her wings to get lift, rising from the river. I know we are in between the spring and fall migration; the young have fledged and are stretching their wings. In just a few weeks millions of birds will wing their way from the Great North Woods to the Tropical Rain Forest, from the Arctic plains to Tierra del Fuego. They all stop to rest and refuel along this river. My imagination longs to follow them south.
Global climate issues and the water cycle, the algebra and geometry of a storm¡¦s travel and river¡¦s rise, the aerodynamic flight of birds, the amazing journey of migration, and the intense drama of predator-prey relations are all brought to life in this tiny piece of a poetic passage, a photographic moment within a story. Stories are the raft that carries you through the delta of your imagination!
Come on, climb aboard, and take a ride to see where stories just might lead you!
To read one of my favorite river boat stories follow the link The Walking Catfish
If you wish to join us on an overnight cruise please visit The Spirit of Peoria
A chunk of December was spent in the studio to record three new CDs
In addition to recording the book Charles Darwin and His Revolutionary Idea, I also recorded a new CD of Celtic Stories, Under an Ancient Oak. It includes several of my favorite Irish and Scottish stories, a few poems, and some amazing music from
In addition to recording the book Charles Darwin and His Revolutionary Idea, I also recorded a new CD of Celtic Stories, Under an Ancient Irish Oak. It includes several of my favorite Irish and Scottish stories, a few poems, and some amazing music from The RoundStone Buskers, my favorite Irish Band. I also worked with my old buddy Barry Cloyd to weave together songs and stories for Prairie Folklore Theatre¡¦s new CD, Civil War Ghosts and Legends, which includes several ¡¥true¡¦ stories woven with poetry by Walt Whitman, songs from Stephen Foster, and fiction from Ambrose Bierce. Follow the links to hear an excerpt or buy a copy!
Prepare now for the Bi-Centennial of Abraham Lincoln¡¦s Birthday!
Prepare now for the Bi-Centennial of Charles Darwin¡¦s Birthday!
Did you know that Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln have the same Birthday? February 12, 1809! I am curious to see which programs are more popular. February was bursting at the seams and it appears that Lincoln is ahead, but this fall is also the 150th anniversary of the publication of ¡§On the Origin of Species¡¨ so we will see. Next February 2010 is also filling up quickly! Drop me an e-mail to book a show.
In celebration of Darwin¡¦s birthday, I have already spoken at several state science teachers¡¦ conferences including Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico, and Colorado. I will be a keynote speaker at the Nebraska conference in October, The National Biology Teachers Conference in Denver in November, and the Ohio Science teachers¡¦ conference in February . I adamantly believe that teachers need to hear what Darwin said, instead of the misquoted, misunderstood, misinterpreted nonsense. Towards this end I have published a series of articles about Darwin with the author of The Voyage of the Beatle, Ann Weaver; the goal of these articles is to provide teachers with lesson plans to teach inquiry and evolution. Most of my script is taken directly from his text. If you are interested in inviting Charles Darwin to your school, nature center or conference, please follow this link for more information The Voyage of the Beagle
If you would like to purchase a copy of my new book, Charles Dawin and His Revolutionary Idea, based on this performance, please follow the link. The aforementioned series of magazine articles to celebrate Darwin include classroom tested lesson plans that support the book.
DARWIN VS. LINCOLN!
Because I live in Illinois I must admit I am a huge fan of Abraham Lincoln. I now have four programs about the life of Lincoln. I perform as a childhood friend of Lincoln in Lincoln Tales Tall and True.
I perform as Walt Whitman who wrote one of the most powerful accounts of Lincoln¡¦s Assassination
William Herndon, Lincoln¡¦s law partner, speaks about Lincoln¡¦s illustrious career as a lawyer
And Mathias Stritt, a German Immigrant and Civil War soldier gives a personal account of the war, woven with short stories by Ambrose Pierce and poetry by Whitman, Civil War Ghosts and Legends
I have already been booked for more than 100 shows this year as ¡¥A Friend of Lincoln!¡¦ Visit my calendar to see when I might be presenting a program near you.
Order a copy of my CD Lincoln Tales Tall and True to learn a few tales of your own!
Visit my web page for a set of lesson plans so you can write and tell a few Lincoln tales of your own!
On a Road Trip to Tennessee A New Young Authors¡¦ Blog is Born
At this moment my teenage daughter is driving me home from a trip to Tennessee where we visited my father and several of her friends from the Tennessee Young Writers Workshop. Not only is this a great program with published authors as instructors, (I was a guest lecturer one year ;), but she made several life-long friends, hence the visit. Over the course of the weekend I found myself engaged in several conversations with parents and my daughter¡¦s friends about writing and publishing. I was inspired by the questions they asked, their insightful comments about their work and most potently by their self-motivated drive and determination. They write because they love to write!
I have also been a featured speaker at several dozen Young Author events over the years. I enjoy discussing my work. But even more so, I enjoy hearing about their work and the issues they struggle with as writers. Inspired by my daughter, her friends, and the hundreds of Young Authors I work with every year I have created this blog to share some thoughts, practical instruction and a little inspiration, as little as possible. I also hope to create a space where Young Authors can share their work, thoughts and a little more inspiration. If you would like to share, drop me a short query, maybe 50-100 words about the topic you wish to explore or a synopsis of your story and then I will gladly post the work that fits. Check back frequently to see what your peers and colleagues are writing about!
For teachers, encourage your writing classes to utilize some of my lesson plans and send me the results! OR Read through the blog and send me a short essay, 200 ¡V 500 words about why they like to write or why writing is important or about something they read that inspired their writing, or¡K or¡K or¡K
For my first entry, I would like to share three simple ideas that have the potential to help all aspiring writers to make the grade and move from a wannabe to a published author¡K Follow this link to read more: Young Authors' Blog
DIVERSITY! A shout out to fellow storytellers about beating the economic downturn!
This past year I have made an extended effort to stretch myself as a storyteller and challenge my audience to broaden their concepts of what storytelling is and can be. Towards this end I found myself working in venues that I had not even considered. Based on an organic business model, diversity is a foundation for more than just survival, but a thriving ecosystem. I would encourage fellow storytellers to always keep their ears open for unusual opportunities where their talents might find purpose.
What are the varieties of work you have already done?
How might some of these projects morph into something new and productive?
To look at it another way, I like to say, ¡§The more pans I have in the fire, the more likely there is food on the table!¡¨ I know that sometimes certain things are simmering on a back burner and other things are bubbling up and over, needing stirring to keep it from burning, while other projects will go into the freezer to be enjoyed later when there isn¡¦t much coming in.
Speaking more specifically, this past year:
I was invited to write the narration and perform stories with the Galesburg/Knox College Symphony Choral. They even took one of my poems and hired a composer to turn it into a choral piece for four part harmonies. To hear this poem sing with eighty voices and an amazing piano accompaniment was truly heavenly.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency hired me to write, produce, direct and narrate a documentary film based on oral history interviews to explore the problems with the Illinois River and look for possible solutions. It is in the format of a John Stewart fake news comedy and there is Youtube preview on my home page.
I developed a one-man show as Charles Darwin and through a proactive marketing campaign was hired by a dozen state science teacher conferences to perform before several thousand teachers, all potential clients for more storytelling. I also turned the script into a book and CD that is supported by lesson plans published in about a dozen state science teacher magazines.
I took my performances as a friend of Abraham Lincoln, wrote four new songs, and stretched it into a musical theatre production for four actors. This has been touring the Midwest, focusing on the old vaudeville era opera houses that are being restored for community theatre.
During the past sixteen summers I have been the Riverlorian for a paddle-wheel boat, I recently used this experience to work closely with tourism boards to train historical interpreters and write brochures and scripts to assist them in the art of telling their stories.
There are three new CDs, two new books, and the typical tours of libraries, schools and conferences, but I have also been reaching out to art, science and history museums, performing at thematic festivals, (not storytelling festivals), and looking everywhere to find new audiences. This not only keeps me busy, but this work blazes trails for other storytellers to create new work.
Diversity is the key to making our work recession proof!
Never let anyone put storytellers in a box!
Life is good and promises to get better!
Brian ¡§Fox¡¨ Ellis
Here is a brief list of a few exciting upcoming programs you might want to catch if you are in the neighborhood¡K or better yet, visit my calendar and see if I am passing through so you can book a show, sharing my travel expenses!
Friday and Saturday, September 4 & 5, Sterling, IL Storytelling Festival
Sunday and Monday, September 6 & 7, Jacksonville, IL Chautauqua
September 11, @ 7:00 Deere-Wiman Home, Rock Island, IL
September 14-15, 21-22, 27-30 The Spirit of Peoria riverboat!
October 2, A teacher workshop at The Denver Museum of Natural History
October 3-4, 10-11, Annual Springdale Cemetery Tour in Peoria, IL
October 9, The Nebraska Science Teachers¡¦ Conference
October 16, Midwest Environmental Education Conference, Urbana, IL
AUGUST 2008
Kayaking the Mississippi
While touring Mississippi libraries last month I had a magical afternoon kayaking on the lower Mississippi River while the flood waters crested. What a mighty river! I have paddled much of the Upper Miss and countless tributaries from the large Illinois and Ohio Rivers to the smaller Kickapoo Creek and Spoon River, but I had never experienced a river with so much power.
I found the Quapaw Canoe Company on-line. John Sloan, the owner and chief guide, is very knowledgeable about the river. He carves traditional dugout canoes, and he is an amazing blues musician. He leads groups of two to twenty. He supplies all of your gear. Now he has branch offices in St. Louis, Clarksdale and Helena.
He and his crew are pumping life back into several smaller river towns through eco-tourism. He employs several high school kids each summer and just opened a new shop in Helena, Ark with the expressed aim of helping more folks fall in love with the river through an adventurous first hand encounter.
We put in where the Saint Francis River empties into the Ol¡¦ Miss. The clear water swirling and mixing in with the muddy Mississippi was by itself an astounding sight. Because the current was flowing at nine miles per hour, our main goal was to steer the boat, the river did all of the work. I saw a least tern, several Mississippi kites, a pileated woodpecker and prothonatory warbler and I did not even have my new binoculars.
25 Birds in 25 Minutes!
Last month, Eagle Optics signed on as a sponsor of my current tour, ¡§Adventures with Audubon.¡¨ Eagle Optics is the premiere on-line source for binoculars and spotting scopes. As rare as an Ivory-Billed Woodpecker in the world of on-line shopping, they offer great service and great prices. From the high end Zweiss spotting scopes to the affordable Bushnell binoculars they have the right tool to bring your bird watching to the next level. Visit their web page to check out the great deals: Eagle Optics
I have a new pair of Vortex 8x42 binoculars that I got from Eagle Optics. I just love them. I was performing for the Shabbona Historical Society a few weeks ago and had a little free time before the program so I went out to Shabbona State park for a quick early morning bird hike. Within moments of stepping out of my car and onto the trail I had seen several common species: red-winged black birds, robins, cardinals, blue jay, morning doves, a brown headed cowbird and starlings. There were a number of swallows swirling above the lake eating insects. It is simply amazing what a difference good binoculars can make: I was able to follow the swallows in their swoops and swirls to differentiate between the purple martins, greenish tree swallows and dusky brown northern rough winged swallows and blue backed orange throated barn swallows. I could see the different head stripes of the common English sparrow and not so common chipping sparrow. I saw my first orchard oriole of the year; they are a darker red than their orange cousin, the northern or Baltimore oriole.
There were mallards out on the lake. I saw a female wood duck sitting on its house. A belted kingfisher dove for a minnow right before me. I saw great blue herons and a white egret.
Out on the edge of the forest and prairie I saw a meadowlark, bluebird, kingbird, indigo bunting, red-tailed hawk and a turkey vulture circling overhead ¡K 25 birds in 25 minutes¡K
I have long been a bird watcher, but not until I stepped up to a better pair of binoculars did I realize how important good optics really are. Thank you Eagle Optics.
Life is good and promises to get better!
