RYAN LELY/SONOMA VALLEY SUN
Jackie Baldwin, host of KSVY Sonoma 91.3 FM show, Story-Lovers World! has teamed up with the Sonoma Valley Regional Library to teach kids how to tell stories on the radio.
Gary Carnivele
Jackie Baldwin, the host of the weekly KSVY 91.3 Sonoma show Story-Lovers World!, and the Sonoma Valley Regional Library have teamed up to teach Sonoma’s kids how to tell stories on the radio. During the eight-week program, which begins June 26, students will be asked to select a fairy tale, folklore piece or personal story that they’ll work with to sharpen their storytelling skills. The program will wrap up with the participants telling their tales during a live recording session. The stories will air on Baldwin’s show in late August or early September.
Story-Lovers World! has been airing Sundays at 5 p.m. since September 2006. Baldwin hosts the best storytellers from all over the world telling every kind of story imaginable. Tellers send in discs that Baldwin reviews, edits into her show, and then shares with her audience. It has been a goal of Baldwin’s to include more Sonoma kids on her programs.
“We want kids to have the fabulous experience of working in the radio medium. It’s an opportunity they won’t get many times in their lives,” Baldwin said. “Secondly, we want them to fall in love with stories and storytelling and to feel what it’s like to tell stories and have their audience respond with laughter, recognition and love,” she added.
A resume like Ms. Baldwin’s illustrates why she’s the perfect person to usher young people into new creative adventures. This seasoned professional has been teaching storytelling and creative writing in Sonoma for the past 10 years, and has enjoyed a successful 25-year career in the Bay Area as an educational television writer-producer of children’s programming. In the past two years, Baldwin has published nine books, which include shortened stories of many kinds. Some of her titles are “Ancient Persia,” “Old Russia,” “Halloween,” “True Love” and “Frog Stories.”
During the first week, kids will learn about the elements of a good story, understand the importance of storytelling and practice overcoming stage fright, which will be stressed in every session. Week two will focus on selecting a story and the memorization of that story. Baldwin will help her pupils understand the importance of structure, plot, dialogue, detail and character in stories, when they meet in that third week. The fourth week will cover the use of music, props, body movement, and gestures. During the fifth week, the future radio stars will practice using music, props and body movement as they begin to engage an audience. Openings, closing and tips for making each performance come to life, will be offered during week six. The seventh session will have the children taking part in a dress rehearsal, after which a group discussion about each performance will happen. Finally, the last class will be a performance recording for KSVY Radio 91.3 Sonoma.
“I’m one of the few lucky storytellers in the country who has a weekly storytelling radio show and because I’ve worked in media with children for so many years and have seen first-hand how much the benefit from being involved in storytelling, I wanted to bring that experience to Sonoma kids – to let them experience the real hands-on thrill of radio production,” Baldwin explained. “KSVY is the perfect radio station for doing this – it’s community-oriented and fully supportive of innovative programs of the kind,” she went on to say.
What better place to delve into the wise and wonderful world of short stories, tall tales, funky folklore and fantastical fairy tales than the library. The Sonoma Valley Regional Library, located at 755 W. Napa St., offers shelves and shelves of new and traditional tales from all over the world. And if there’s a book sought after by a program participant – or any other card holder – the book can most likely be found somewhere within the Sonoma County Library System.
“The goal is to give young tellers the skills, practice and opportunity to tell their own stories, as well as to learn traditional tales. Then, during the final session, the kids will tell their stories for those tuned in to KSVY 91.3 FM,” said Clare O’Brien, Children’s Librarian at Sonoma Valley Regional Library.
The free workshops will happen every Tuesday afternoon, June 26 through Aug. 14 at 2 – 4 p.m. The sessions will be held at the Sonoma Valley Regional Library. Young people 8 – 18 are invited to join this unique program. Spanish speakers are welcome to attend. The sessions will be taught in English, but words and phrases from Spanish, as well as those from other languages, can make for very colorful storytelling. To join in on all the fun, contact Clare O’Brien, Children’s Librarian, at 707.996.5217, or Jackie Baldwin at 996.1996. Enrollment is limited to 12 participants.
Sonoma Valley Regional Library offers a summer chock-full of storytimes, reading clubs, puppet shows and much more. Here’s what’s available:
Storytimes for toddlers, ages 0-3, Tuesdays June 5 -August 7 at 10:30 a.m.
Storytimes for preschoolers, ages 4-5, Tuesdays June 5 – August 7 at 11:30 a.m.
Flute Sweets and Tickletoons Introduces Classical Thursday, June 21 at 2 p.m.
On Nature’s Trail with Sonoma County Regional Parks, Thursday, June 28 at 11 a.m.
Nick Baron Puppets in “T-Rex Thunderlizard Wild West Revue” Thursday, July 5 at 11 a.m.
Cotton Candy Express: Kids with a Groove, Wednesday, July 11 at 7 p.m.
Make a Clue! Crafts! Thursday, July 12 at 11 a.m.
Finale! Get a Free Book! Thursday, July 26 at 11 a.m.
