Category Archives: Story for Telling

The Mountain that Loved a Bird
Alice McLerran (author)

The Mountain that Loved a Bird is one of my all-time favorite books. Ever. I have told it numerous times and invariably listeners find themselves enraptured.

It is the tale of a mountain made of bare stone. No rivers or streams flow from it. No plants or animals have ever touched its surface, until one day a small bird stops to rest on its side. The mountain has never known anything like this bird and desperately wants it to stay, which of course it cannot. That deep desire to connect and the kind loyalty of the bird, however, are enough to crack open big changes in the mountain.

This story is beautiful, the language spare, and the outcome completely uplifting. It is a story of renewal and hope, loneliness and connection, and ultimately the irrepressible force of life in and around us. It has found world-wide acclaim and has been translated into many languages.

There are two English language versions that I am aware of.  The first was illustrated by Eric Carle and is no longer in print, but can be found in many libraries and through used book stores. The other English version was illustrated by Stephen Aitken and is published by Tulika Books in India.

The author, Alice McLerran, negotiated the rights to the text shortly before the book publishing world was rocked by the forces of e-books, print on demand, and looming e-tail monopolies.  She is currently looking for a publisher to release the book again with its new artwork from Stephen Aitken. Let’s hope she finds one soon – this is an enduring and beautiful tale that should be in the hands of adults and children in the US too (it’s all over the rest of the world).

As I mentioned above, I have told this tale many times in worship services and it has always played very well.  It can be read of course too, but the narrative structure is very strong, the characters solid, and the plot fairly easy to follow. It is fairly long, so requires more effort to learn than say a 500 word story, but it is well worth that effort.  Either way you present it, this one will be a joy!

Themes: Rebirth, Connection, Life, Hope, Joy, Separation, Healing, Home, Longing

Motifs: Mountain, Bird, Water, Tears, Seed, Flight, Sky, Stars, Joy, Green, Tree

Reviewer:  Kristin Maier
author, A Good Telling: Bringing Worship to Life with Story

The Story of Ferdinand
Munro Leaf (author), Robert Lawson (illustrator)
Viking, 1936

You know a book did something right if it was burned by the Nazis and banned in Franco’s Spain. Who would have thought that this sweet classic book about the Bull who liked flowers more than fighting could raise such a fuss?  And yet, published in 1936, just around the outbreak of the
Spanish Civil War, it became an instant success and just as instantly controversial. Ferdinand became know as the “peaceful bull” and the book was understood by many to be a criticism of the anti-Republic coup that would soon break out in Spain.

Though this children’s book’s relationship to its political context is fascinating, you don’t need to know anything about the Spanish Civil War to see the charm and beauty of this book. Through a twist of circumstances, the gentle, flower-loving Ferdinand is mistaken for an angry and ready to fight bull.  He is taken by cart to the city to be entered in the ring of a bull fight. Ferdinand is far more interested in the flowers on the ladies hat than in the red cape of the matador. This book speaks to themes of peace, non-conformity, the breadth of gender expression and potentially the unfair treatment of animals.

The cruelty of bull fighting is treated very lightly in the book, which helps it to be not-so-traumatizing for younger children. However, it left me feeling as if something more needs to be said. One approach is to offer a simple, age-appropriate statement about bullfighting when introducing the book. For example, I might say: “I am no fan of bull fighting.  I think it’s mean to the bulls.  I am a fan of The Story of Ferdinand the Bull, though.  It’s been a classic for over 75 years now.  I hope you like it too.”  Also, the story could be further softened if you are telling it rather than reading it.  A more direct point could then be made through the sermon or by other means with adults.

The classic narrative structure and language already suited to the spoken word make it a great story for telling – no adaptation required.  If you do share the picture book, the black ink line drawings are charming, though perhaps hard to see unless fairly close up.

Themes: Peace, Non-aggression, Non-conformity, Gender Identity, Difference,

Motifs: Spain, Bulls, Fighting, Flowers, Bees, Red

Reviewer: Kristin Maier, author
A Good Telling: Bringing Worship to Life with Story