“It develops the imagination, trains his mind and he gets many moral lessons, although I never tell stories as a means of preaching to children.
Develops the Child’s Mind
“Story telling means far more to children than many people realize. The love for stories is born in every child and it takes but a remarkably short time before almost every child becomes a really wonderful listener.
“It is interesting to observe how the mind of the child is developed. At first, many can keep their attention on a story only a short time, but they soon learn the power of application and can listen breathlessly for an hour and then ask for another story, even though they know the time is up. After their attention has once been gained, children will listen to stories as long as the story teller will continue.
Librarians Enthusiastic
“After a year or more of story telling in the public libraries, I believe in the power of the story more than ever. Between the settlements and the libraries, over 1,200 children come to listen to me each week, and besides I have been conducting a normal class to teach young librarians how to tell stories themselves.
“All the librarians appear to be enthusiastic over the story hour, and although it adds to their cares and confusion, they welcome me each week with a friendliness that is truly genuine.
“But the real inspiration comes from the children themselves. They never seem to tire, and sometimes keep me for an hour and a quarter with ‘A little more, please, just a few minutes. We want to know what became of Oliver,’ or ‘Didn’t Siegfried come to life again?’