by
Heather Stamper
A group of
elementary school children were on a tour of their local library. Part of the tour included a story in the
children’s section. Instead of selecting
a picture book to read, the youth resources librarian decided to use oral
tradition to tell a Native American folktale from the Pacific
Northwest . It was the tale
of the Trickster Raven bringing light to the people.
To paraphrase the tale, the chief
of the Sky People had all the light of the universe hidden in a box and refused
to let it out. Raven infiltrated the
chief’s house by turning himself into a hemlock needle floating in the
water. The daughter of the chief drank
the water, swallowed the needle, and in the course of time, gave birth to Raven
incarnate who then stole the light.
The young children were visibly
bored by the story that for the most part went completely over their
heads. (Of course, there was the smarty-pants
who had to ask about where babies came from.)
Their teachers looked at each other in shock and couldn’t meet the eyes
of the parents who came along as chaperones.
While the storyteller meant well in
attempting to share another culture with seven year olds of the Calumet Region,
she could have told a local tribal tale or read from an actual book instead of
going off the cuff and dwelling on the Raven baby growing in the princess’s
belly.
When you
select a reading, it is very important to be mindful of your audience. A story about conservation might not go over
well at a lumberjack convention. You
might get more than a chilly reception with Bears fans if you read that fan
fiction about playing for the Packers.
Or as in the case of the Inappropriate Storyteller, you could alienate your
potential readers.
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